Series Review: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Creators: Jon Watts, Christopher Ford
Lucasfilm
Streaming on Disney+: 12.02

It really shouldn’t be a hot take to say that Star Wars has always been a space adventure for kids, yet ever since the The Phantom Menace turns 25-years-old, I’ve been listening to whining from fans who want to be able to be pulled into this universe with the same level of intensity and suspension of disbelief that they had when they were tots. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew succeeds as well as anything ever has—or ever could—at this goal, and it does so not by trying to make it more adult, but by making you feel like a kid again.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew follows four children from the world of At Attin, which is just an ordinary planet where nothing interesting ever happens. Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Encanto, Grassland) is a young boy living in a quiet suburban neighborhood that looks an awful lot like a futuristic version of the Southern California suburb where E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) took place. He plays with action figures and dreams of becoming a Jedi, having play lightsaber duels with his best friend, the blue, elephant-like Neel (Robert Timothy Smith, Dear Santa). One day, as the boys head to school, they notice a pair of girls racing by on a hoverbike. Fern (Ryan Kierra Armstrong, Firestarter, The Old Way) and KB (Kyrianna Kratter, Bunk’d, The Healing Garden) are irrepressible troublemakers who try to hide their street racing antics from Fern’s mother, Undersecretary Fara (Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin), though Fern and Wim’s paths cross when they both get into some trouble at school. It’s not school that interests either of them, however: it’s a mysterious doorway that Wim discovers buried at the bottom of a ravine. Wim believes it leads to a Jedi temple and the four children can’t resist the urge to explore, finding something unexpected that leads them on a galactic adventure through the cosmos, encountering pirates, strange creatures, tales of hidden treasure and a mysterious stranger called Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Sherlock Holmes), who, like the doorway itself, may be much more—or much less—than he seems.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew may be the most unabashedly and joyously fun incarnation of the venerable franchise we’ve seen in the Disney era, and it’s a bold, creative adventure that knows just when to cling to the established properties and when to subvert our expectations. Its creators, screenwriter Christopher Ford (Robot & Frank, Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Jon Watts (writer and director of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy and Wolfs) mix the galaxy far, far away with heavy doses of Treasure Island, Peter Pan and The Goonies, evoking our sense of nostalgia without pandering, and they bring so much new life and energy to the clever proceedings that it has a wholly original feel. The first episode, directed by Watts, is a knockout, but the two that follow it, which are helmed by David Lowery (The Old Man & The Gun, The Green Knight) are even better.  Disney and Lucasfilm have only screened these three action packed adventures to critics, and I’ve been burned reviewing shows that start off strong and fizzle out later on before, but with upcoming episodes directed not only by Watts, but by Daniel Kwan and the Everything Everywhere All At Once team, as well as Minari and Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung and always-reliable Star Wars standby Bryce Dallas Howard, the prospects are looking really strong. Skeleton Crew plays out as a self-contained story that doesn’t have to worry about constantly looking over its shoulder to make sure it doesn’t clash with big picture of the franchise, and the result is a story that has more freedom and is content to be judged on its own merits. There’s a lot I can’t delve into without risking the wrath of Lucasfilm or of fans by heading into spoiler territory, but thrilling twists and clever references abound.

If you associate Star Wars with childhood and have been longing for a good family-friendly pirate adventure, Skeleton Crew is just the treasure you’ve been dying to get your hands on. It’s the kind of inspired and spirited entertainment that makes those of us who find ourselves saying “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” happily eat our words. The force is strong with this one. –Patrick Gibbs

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