'Skeleton Crew' Releases In Less Than A Month, What Do We Know?
Image Source: StarWars.com
With just a few weeks until the release of the first episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on December 3rd, we here at CultureSlate thought it was a good time to pull together the core information from recent interviews and news articles to give readers a summary of what to expect.
Plot
Written by Christopher Ford, Jon Watts, and Myung Joh Wesner, Skeleton Crew is set in the same period as shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. It heavily draws from the 80s action-adventure genre of films, particularly Steven Spielberg’s repertoire of films across that decade, by repeating the motif of kid characters making a surprising discovery that sets them off on a quest of discovery that could change their lives.
In this case, the four kids discover an old pirate ship mysteriously buried on their homeworld before activating it and being sent hurtling into the stars. Lost and unable to easily return home, the group attracts the attention of pirates and other space criminals. But the youngsters are aided by a droid left dormant on the ship (called the Onyx Cinder) and a mysterious man who offers to help them get home if they help him in return. There is some element of a treasure hunt likely at play, too, if the show’s second trailer is to be believed, but we don’t know much else.
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Main Characters
Image Source: StarWars.com
Skeleton Crew has a core cast of four kid characters, alongside several adults and doubtlessly more characters yet to be revealed. Here is the rundown!
Wim: Played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Wim was described by Jon Watts as “a total starry-eyed dreamer who just rushes into any situation before he's thought about it for one second”. This seems supported in the second trailer for the show when Wim is the one to touch a button on the pirate ship that seems to launch the vessel into space. We also got a shot of Wim looking at a story involving a Jedi and excitedly theorizing the ship is a buried Jedi temple in the first trailer. Wim will likely play the role of the heart in the story or the idealistic leader.
Neel: Played by Robert Timothy Smith (with assistance from others), Neel has been the subject of intense scrutiny but also adoration by the fanbase. Initially believed to be an Ortolan (he is not), Watts made clear Smith helped transform the character into a more comedic role and that he is Wim’s best friend. He will, obviously, be the funny one in the group, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Fern: Played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Watts, and Ford stated they wanted someone to play a duality in Fern, someone incredibly smart, able to play up the idea of a sweet, pleasant daughter of some government official, but also a rebel willing to stand up to bullies, noting Leia Organa as a similar sort of character to Fern. We haven’t seen much of Fern in the trailers, but it sounds like she may be the more realistic leader, or the “brawn” as much as the group of four kids on their own has that.
KB: Played by Kyriana Kratter, we hadn’t seen much from KB in the marketing for the show. She is best friends with Fern, much as Neel and Wim are best friends, and fans at one time speculated she might be a Miraluka, a humanoid species in Star Wars who lack eyes but who have been shown to wear visors or cloth to cover this absent feature. However, this is not the case, as KB is human, and the visor instead telegraphs that she is likely to be the tech wiz of the group.
SM-33: Voiced by Nick Frost, SM-33 is a fairly mysterious droid the crew of kids encounter within the Onyx Cinder. We see him deactivated in some of the promo images for the show, but later, we see him reactivated and defending the kids in the second trailer for the show. How friendly he may be to them is a mystery, nor is it clear what his relationship with the Cinder is.
Jod Na Nawood: Played by Jude Law, Jod has been a source of intense interest for many. Highly mysterious and possibly in possession of a Force connection, Jod’s role in the story beyond his offer to help the kids and then traveling with them for much of the show is unknown.
Wendle & Fara: Whim’s father, played by Tunde Adebimpe, and Fern’s mom, played by Kerry Condon, look to be fairly straight-laced parents in the show. Wendle has gotten the most screen time, seeming to disagree with his son and also seemingly the more clearly distraught about their departure. However, the focus has been mainly on the kids, their allies, and the pirates, so there may be hidden depths to both Wendle and Fara.
The Pirates: Skeleton Crew has an expansive and motley group of pirate villains set to appear in the show. Among their number is Vane (still played by Marti Matulis), who many fans will recognize as the one pirate who got away from the destruction of Gorian Shard’s pirate crew in Season 3 of The Mandalorian. He is accompanied by Gunter, played by Jaleel White, Brutus, voiced by Fred Tatasciore, Pax, portrayed by Mike Estes, and Chaelt, played by Dale Soules. Many other pirates are also seen in trailer shots, and it looks like this will be a diverse crew of villains for the heroes to face.
Locations
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Skeleton Crew looks to be a galaxy-hopping romp, but we are lacking names for most of the planets or locations we will see. However, there was a recent update to some promotional material previously only released by Empire Magazine, which gives us the names of two upcoming locations, both seen in these images. One is a world called At-Achrann, which appears fairly worn and clouded, possibly in conflict. The connected image has Neel with a character called Hayna, played by Hala Finley, existing in a moment of quiet. Hayna is dressed in armor and seems to have a fierce disposition, contrasting sharply with Neel and his bright colors in the scene. The other world is called Lanupa and appears to be a highly mountainous and snowy world. Two of the images are set here, one with Wim and KB sitting in the terrain, while the other sees Jod before a wall inscribed with the ancient Sith language Ur-Kittât, while a robed Neel stands just to the side. This last image is most intriguing, as Jod’s possible interest in the writing could support his possible connection with the Force or suggest that the treasure being hunted is maybe quite ancient.
Directors
Image Source: StarWars.com
Skeleton Crew, like many Star Wars series, has a big pool of directors helping create the show. Let’s meet them all!
Jon Watts: Co-creator of Skeleton Crew alongside Christopher Ford, Jon Watts is well known for their recent work on the Spider-Man trilogy for the MCU. Watts will be helming two episodes, most likely the two-episode premiere.
David Lowery: Lowery had recently finished the film Peter Pan & Wendy for Disney when he was approached to direct for Skeleton Crew. Given the immediate connections between the pirate-rich product he’d just finished delivering and Skeleton Crew, plus with his Captain Hook (Jude Law) set to play a major role in the series, he signed right up. Lowery has also revealed his episode will have a lot of puppetry, including an appearance by Teek, of Ewoks: Battle for Endor fame.
Bryce Dallas Howard: Bryce Dallas Howard hardly needs an introduction to Star Wars fans or film enjoyers. The daughter of filmmaker Ron Howard with many acting credits, she has taken a behind-the-camera role in recent years by directing episodes of The Mandalorian and other Star Wars shows. She also excellently voiced Yaddle in Tales of the Jedi.
Jake Schreier: College roommates with Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, Schreier recently joined his friend Watts in the MCU by directing Thunderbolts (set for release next year). Skeleton Crew will, therefore, not be his first experience in a big-budget franchise.
Lee Isaac Chung: Another familiar face to Star Wars fans, Lee Isaac Chung directed The Mandalorian Season 3’s third episode, “The Convert.” While this episode saw mixed reactions from some fans, Chung’s directorial style cannot be dismissed, especially with 2024’s action-packed Twisters and the heartfelt Minari under his belt.
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert: The Daniels, as they are also known, have had recent and enormous success with the multiverse-focused action-drama film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Fans have been very eager to see their directorial style in Skeleton Crew.
Lingering Questions
Image Source: StarWars.com
For all of the answers offered by coverage of Skeleton Crew, there are multiple mysteries or hints at larger plot points that we have little resolution for yet. We at CultureSlate have already speculated about some of this, but we will retread old ground only briefly. For starters, what will the role of the New Republic be in this show? Is there something happening or at play on the kid’s home planet that would explain their inability to get back home or their parents failing to find them easily? Where are Neel and KB’s parents? Why has the Onyx Cinder been discussed so little in coverage of the show, despite the release of its LEGO set a few months ago? And finally, just what treasure are the kids possibly tracking down, and who did it once belong to? Hopefully, some of these will be answered in the next few weeks before the show premiere. But, if not, we will have plenty to consider when we sit down to watch this pirate-themed romp across the Star Wars galaxy!
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Source(s): StarWars.com, LEGO, Wookieepedia, Reddit, X.com, Empire, IMDb, RE
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