Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Christopher Ford (Spider-Man: Homecoming) present The Goonies in space—specifically a Star Wars space. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew unfolds during the same era as The Mandalorian and other spin-offs, such as The Book of Boba Fett, set in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. This Star Wars series is a coming-of-age story about four children who meet each other discovering a buried starship called the Onyx Cinder on their home planet At Attin. Then, they get lost in the galaxy, and go on an adventure to get back home.
The overarching narrative felt like a captivating blend of the Star Wars universe, The Goonies and several adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Many pirate stories tend to pay homage to Treasure Island. Although not the first sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island—Disney’s Treasure Planet holds that honour—this version includes many nostalgic elements and references.
The four main kids in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew were charming enough in their own ways—each containing their own quirks. This was similar to the Goonies, who each brought something different to the group. The dialogue and small details made me feel like a kid watching their daily lives on At Attin, living in a space suburban community that resembled the suburbs in the late 1980s or 90s.
“The four main kids in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew were charming enough in their own ways—each containing their own quirks.”
Nostalgia washed over me, from kicking rocks to being sent to the principal’s office. The kids introduced kid versions of speeders, which was intriguing to see them look more like bicycles. Star Wars fans will recognize speeders from other movies or shows, used mostly by Stormtroopers but Luke and Leia made it look really cool to ride on, on Endor!
Wim is portrayed as a younger, more energetic blend of Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels and Luffy from One Piece. The name perfectly suits him, as he is expected to play a similar role of Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island. He is a human who is as goofy as he is charming to watch him stumble into trouble, as he hopes to be a Jedi when he grows up. Meanwhile, his best friend Neel is more pragmatic and wants to be an analyst—an alien of an unnamed species but resembles an Ortolan like Maximillian Rebo of the Max Rebo Band. He role-plays as a Jedi with Wim, and comes off shy yet funny.
Fern feels like a mix of Leia and Mouth from The Goonies—a strong leader on her own and a great storyteller. Her best friend is KB, who is distinguishable by her cybernetic implant that allows her to see things others cannot, as well as process and store information differently. Her retractable visor looks like Geordi La Forge’s from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but she doesn’t use it to see. She was supposedly designed after Lobot, who worked as Baron Administrator for Lando Calrissian, seen in The Empire Strikes Back.
The only thing I was upset about from episode one was that some kids mentioned a race to Fern and KB, and I thought I was going to see some podracing. The young girls mentioned they needed a power converter, which was something Luke was supposed to get in A New Hope but got sidetracked by joining the Rebel Alliance. If there is no racing in this series, I will be very disappointed—especially since the Star Wars TV opening showed a young podracing Anakin Skywalker as one of the metallic busts.
From the supporting cast, the decrepit first mate droid of the Onyx Cinder, named SM 33 (voiced by Nick Frost), has been my favourite. Frost’s voice acting is so good as a swashbuckling droid, I almost could not tell it was him. The design for SM 33 is just as interesting as the actor, sporting a missing eye where a space rat creature lives—probably a play on pirates with an eye patch or glass eye.
As for Jude Law playing a mysterious, Force user named Jod Na Nawood, I do not know how to feel about him yet. Without going into spoiler territory, I can guess where his character development is going, but I am hoping Watts and Ford subvert expectations with his character. For now, he seems cool enough to be similar to Han Solo, or Captain Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
“The strengths of this series lie in allowing the kids to be kids, like calling ‘claimsies’ on an excavation site.”
So far, the pacing seems to be the main issue I had with the first three episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. In a similar opening to The Goonies, the series begins with some kind of heist, but it feels less interconnected with the kids introduced in the follow-up scenes. What made The Goonies‘ opening great was how fast-paced everything was—a Steven Spielberg classic. The strengths of this series lie in allowing the kids to be kids, like calling “claimsies” on an excavation site.
The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew music theme was the best thing I appreciated about the series so far, next to the use of puppets, practical effects and VFX. But more on the latter later. The score was produced by Michael Giacchino (Werewolf By Night) but fully composed by Mick Giacchino who is coming hot off the HBO Max series The Penguin. The use of harps and synths to create a whimsical, curious feeling was perfect for a show like this. It added a lightness to the mystery of where these four kids will go on this sci-fi adventure series.
The puppets of various alien species, the practical effects of the sets and VFX looked as polished as other Lucasfilm and ILM projects. When the VFX lights in the cockpit of the Onyx Cinder first boot up, there is a sick 360-degree shot—kudos to the cinematography here too. More noticeably, when the Onyx Cinder emerges underground and fires up, the graphics of the ship breaking through the earth were realistic, with dirt and rocks falling off the hull. Kudos to the person who added a nice flame simulation when some of the engines touched the ground, and the ship took off.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew sounds, smells and most times looks like it fits within the Star Wars world. By the way, be prepared to hear the “At Attin” a hundred times, very important. But there are a lot more positivities and hopes for this series. I love a good pirate story growing up with Pirates of the Caribbean being one of my favourite franchises, and living out my pirate adventures in Sea of Thieves. For now, this all seems like a major setup for a new Disney attraction at Disney World.
