What Species Is Neel From 'Skeleton Crew'?

Star Wars

Nov 7

Many who have been keeping up with Star Wars: Skeleton Crew have taken a special interest in the blue alien in the group of the show’s child leads. Named Neel and played by Robert Timothy Smith, this adorable alien generated a lot of interest when he was first revealed at Star Wars Celebration Europe in 2023. The question on everyone’s minds ever since has been…just what alien species is he?

At the time of the exclusive footage preview to attendees of Lucasfilm’s Studio Showcase at Star Wars Celebration Europe, many guessed Neel was an Ortolan, the same species as Max Rebo. While not quite the same proportions and with far more expressive eyes, the blue skin, big floppy ears, and small snout seemed to indicate otherwise. The biggest point of contention, though, was that Neel had arms.

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Seasoned Star Wars fans may know of the recent arguments or confusion of the past few years where Ortolans, classically depicted in Legends as in possession of both arms and legs, have been more inconsistently rendered in Star Wars canon as possessing either just legs or both arms and legs. The trait of just legs is meant to better represent the puppet of Max Rebo created for Return of the Jedi, but this has created conflicts with images and content that draw from past Ortolan depictions.

However, the mystery of Neel’s species was solved just a few months ago. Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee posted on his Instagram a chart of several elephantine alien species from Star Wars. In it, Neel was depicted as a member of his own species, separate from the fandom’s favorite alien keyboardist.

This fact was confirmed in the interview with Jon Watts and Chris Ford posted on StarWars.com on November 1st in conjunction with the release of the second Skeleton Crew trailer: Neel is not an Ortolan. But…if he’s not an Ortolan, what is he?

Sadly, we don't know that information yet. The Instagram chart merely identified Neel’s species as, well, “Neel’s species.” In line with other Star Wars alien species from recent projects, it may take several years for us to find out. We will have to wait and see, but we are ready to be surprised with a more immediate identification!

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