Skeleton Crew Will Give Young Star Wars Fans A New Entry Point To The Franchise
"Star Wars" Celebration is happening right now in London, England, and we're getting a lot of information on upcoming developments in a galaxy far, far away. So far, fans have learned about some new films set in the "Star Wars" universe (including one with Rey), gotten a look at the "Ahsoka" series, learned more about "The Acolyte," and met the young cast of the upcoming "Mandalorian"-era series "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew."
The latter show stars Jude Law as a Jedi who is trying to help a group of kids lost in the galaxy to find their way home. /Film's own Debopriyaa Dutta wrote about the footage shown at the event. She revealed it was inspired by Amblin films like "The Goonies" and that it was described as "a story about a group of kids [...] in the 'Star Wars' galaxy, who have a sense of wonder [...] [and] go on an adventure." In addition to Law, who appeared at the event with some of the show's kid actors, the cast includes Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Tunde Adebimpe, and Kerry Condon, with Jon Watts and Christopher Ford serving as showrunners and executive producers.
After Lucasfilm's Studio Showcase panel, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy spoke to IGN about the show and how "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" is a good entry point for young "Star Wars" fans.
A new entry point into Star Wars
Among other things, Kathleen Kennedy was asked about her hopes for the "Star Wars" shows highlighted at Celebration and what they could bring to the franchise, "Skeleton Crew" included. She described the shows as an "opportunity for fans to find where their entry point is in 'Star Wars'" and admitted it can be intimidating, coming into the franchise nearly 50 years after "A New Hope" hit theaters. "You don't want people to feel like they have to see everything in order to step into 'Star Wars,'" she explained.
Huh. That's a great thought, but, then again, "Star Wars" is also the franchise that devoted almost three whole episodes of "The Book of Boba Fett" to progressing the story in "The Mandalorian." Then, when the latter show returned for its third season, there was nary an explanation for those who hadn't watched "Boba Fett" as to how Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, et al) and Grogu had reunited in-between seasons. It seems to me like you do, in fact, want people to feel they have to see everything in order to step into "Star Wars," ma'am.
That wasn't all she said, however, and it sounds as though "Skeleton Crew" might be a genuinely good place for newcomers to board the "Star Wars" train (kids especially).
A show for both kids and adults
Another thing Kathleen Kennedy mentioned is that they're looking "at the generational aspect of 'Star Wars'" with a show like "Skeleton Crew." She explained:
"So something like 'Skeleton Crew' we're really excited about because it's aimed at younger kids, but will still bring in the fans, still bring in adults. But that's an opportunity for a kid that — you know, so many of us can relate to a kid that can step into 'Star Wars' and make it their own. And I think that's the beauty of the storytelling that's going on now, is that everybody can kind of find where their entry point is."
A "Goonies"-style adventure would definitely have lured me in as a kid. To be fair, the adventure story of "A New Hope" did that just fine, going by the number of lightsabers that are currently in my house. Still, I think that's something we haven't seen much of in the main live-action "Star Wars" universe. We've seen younglings there before (RIP), but now we have Grogu from "The Mandalorian" and young Leia from "Obi-Wan Kenobi," with the kids from "Skeleton Crew" soon to join their ranks.
My own entry point may have been long ago, but I love the idea of being able to see this galaxy from the perspective of a kid.
"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" is currently in post-production and is expected to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2023.