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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Review
Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Loading...Author’s Note: This is a non-spoiler review of the first three episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew based on screeners provided by Disney.
Writers Jon Watts and Christopher Ford explore a new corner of the Star Wars Universe with the new live-action series Skeleton Crew. While the subject of Star Wars can be quite exhausting and polarizing, Watts and Ford have managed to weave together a whimsical, entertaining adventure story, following a group of misplaced kids who get lost in space without a way home. Watts and Ford weave their influences of that classic Amblin Entertainment, Spielbergian-style, along with Lucasfilm nostalgia. They introduce a fresh set of characters with a story in a unique corner of the Galaxy that feels new and different than previous stories.
Watts and Ford set Skeleton Crew during the post-Empire New Republic Era. The Empire has fallen, and the New Republic seeks to maintain order. However, it’s a large Galaxy, and interstellar piracy has been on the rise since the Empire’s dissolution. The first episode largely follows the show’s wayward young heroes: the young dreamer Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers); the studious, snouted Neel (Robert Timothy Smith); the aspiring racer Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong); and the smart and kind cybernetically enhanced KB (Kyriana Kratter). They all hail from a peaceful, safe, idyllic world. It’s a world that Wim, who dreams of becoming a Jedi, finds utterly boring, but the adventure Wim seeks is right around the corner.
Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Wim discovers a mysterious hatch not far from his school, which he believes is a lost Jedi temple. After roping in his best friend Neel to explore their find, they meet Fern and KB, who have staked their claim on the area and want to search it for hoverbike parts. They soon discover these are not the ruins of a Jedi temple but the guts of a derelict pirate ship, which Wim unwittingly reactivates and sends into hyperspace. The children are now lost in space in a strange and dangerous galaxy with no way to get home.
The first three episodes introduce the kids, setting them off on their wayward adventure, flitting them into another side of the Galaxy. The next two episodes delve into the Galaxy’s piracy culture, which reveals some intriguing secrets regarding the children’s home. Along the way, they become entangled with the mysterious Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), a strange scoundrel who appears to be Force-sensitive; but charlatans faked those abilities before, as some fans might recall from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Thus far, the most intriguing aspect of Skeleton Crew is the unraveling mystery surrounding the lost children’s home world. At first, it seems to be an idyllic utopia where everyone lives peacefully and prosperously, free from war and tyranny. It even provides a first look at what suburban, middle-to-upper-class neighborhoods would look like on a prosperous planet in Star Wars mythology. The children’s home planet hides some closely guarded secrets. The series reveals these secrets gradually throughout the season, and the treasure the pirates want comes from an unlikely source.
The clear standout and scene-stealer in the cast is the surly pirate droid, SM-33, who becomes an unlikely companion for the children during their adventure. It’s not a Star Wars show without quirky droids, and SM-33 is as quirky as they come. SM-33 is a fun character and grows into an important protector and muscle for the children as they brave a highly dangerous Galaxy filled with scoundrels, pirates, and cutthroats.
Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.
The child actors play their roles skillfully, especially Timothy Smith as Neel. The characters are likable and believable. Mileage may vary in this story since it is youth-oriented, and the narrative unfolds from their perspectives. The benefit of their youthful perception unveils in the sense of awe and wonder at all the new things they are experiencing for the first time that might seem old-hat to longtime Star Wars viewers. For example, the children have never before experienced anything like jumping through hyperspace for the first time, going on a space ship, meeting pirates, and other alien species. It was amusing hearing a child say the word alien in Star Wars for the first time, but it makes sense given the context surrounding the idea that the children have never previously been off-world.
The first three episodes fail to provide enough of Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood. The character gives the initial impression that he is a sly con artist and scoundrel not to be trusted. Law interacts well with his young co-stars, but the initial three episodes fail to provide enough material involving his character to get a full read on him. There could be more fascinating developments with his character later in the series. At least Jude Law seems to enjoy putting his spin on a Star Wars Universe scoundrel, but it’s unclear whether Jod will emerge as a gold-hearted scoundrel or a reprehensible reprobate.
Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Skeleton Crew delves further into the world of interstellar piracy of the Star Wars Universe, who serve as the primary antagonists. There are some cool-looking pirates and baddies, but the show does not spend enough with the pirate captain, Brutus (Fred Tatasciore). Their mostly practical costumes, designs, and animatronic work all look impressive, so later episodes would be well-served to take more time to develop the pirate baddies into villains the audience will love to hate. So far, the pirate-filled starport becomes a key location in one of the episodes, providing the series’ best visuals, action, and texture to the storyline.
Watts, who directs the first episode, wisely avoids connecting the story to the grander saga and mythology. Skeleton Crew presents a fresh new set of characters operating within its own corner of the Star Wars Universe. The series introduces new and unique lore elements, but hardcore lore enthusiasts might find some of the reveals later in the series more interesting. The first episode presents one incredibly deep-cut reference, and its inclusion will likely make longtime Star Wars enthusiasts to freak out. It’s nice to watch a new Star Wars encumbered by lore and continuity. It makes Skeleton Crew an easy, enjoyable viewing experience.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew launches with its first two episodes on December 3, exclusively on Disney+.
