Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is shaping up to be a truly unique adventure in a galaxy far, far away. The Disney Plus show is the brainchild of Spider-Man director Jon Watts, taking inspiration from classic 1980s movies like The Goonies to focus on a younger group of characters, led by an enigmatic figure played by Jude Law.
These kids will discover something mysterious on their home planet, and somehow end up lost in the galaxy desperate to get home, with Law’s character apparently a long-lost Jedi aiding them in their quest.
A trailer screened at the recent Star Wars Celebration in London, though it sadly wasn’t officially released online. We saw it on release, and it appeared to show some kind of Star Wars school coupled with the usual bombastic sci-fi fantasy adventure.
Further adding hype to the fire is that Skeleton Crew has also assembled a sterling team of directors. Watts created the show and will direct at least one episode, with the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert on board, along with The Green Knight‘s David Lowery, Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier, and The Mandalorian mainstay Bryce Dallas Howard.
How many episodes will there be?
A listing on the WGA website indicates there’ll be eight episodes in total, bringing it into line with multiple other Disney Plus Star Wars shows like The Mandalorian, and the upcoming Ahsoka and The Acolyte. Eight seems to be the sweet spot for Lucasfilm, with Obi-Wan Kenobi criticized for its relatively miserly six-episode run, though the excellent Andor got a 12-episode season and didn’t let up the pace for a moment.
Another obvious factor is episode length. Both Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Mandalorian have faced justified criticism for short running times. If you leave aside the “Previously On” introductory sequences and credits, the actual episodes themselves can come in at around half an hour of new material. We agree that stories shouldn’t be artificially stretched out to fit an arbitrary length, but we want to get to know these characters’ intricacies, so fingers crossed Skeleton Crew episodes end up somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour long.
We don’t have an official release date for Skeleton Crew yet, although star Jaleel White has said it’s expected to land in November or December. Here’s hoping that trailer gets an official release soon, as we’re eager to see how this Spielberg-influenced Star Wars adventure pans out.
