Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Disney Plus release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot synopsis, and more
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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Key information
- Arrives on Disney Plus in December
- Reportedly comprises eight episodes
- Trailer released in mid-August
- Stars Jude Law and Kerry Condon alongside a cast of kids
- Law and the child actors' character identities revealed
- Co-created by Jon Watts, who directed the Tom Holland Spider-Man movie trilogy
- Official story synopsis revealed
- Unclear how it'll tie into other post-Return of the Jedi TV projects
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew updates are, as the British saying goes, like London buses: you wait ages for one and then two arrive in quick succession.
That's right, less than two weeks (at the time of writing) after its release date and first-look images were unveiled, Skeleton Crew has received another big update. This time, the forthcoming Disney Plus show's first trailer, plus some new cast and plot details, emerged at D23 Expo 2024, and we'd be surprised if you didn't want to know about them.
To that end, we've gathered the latest intel on the last of 2024's new Star Wars movies and TV shows, including all of the aforementioned news (and the odd rumor) ahead of its December arrival. Potential spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's story and cast are discussed from this point on.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew release date
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is set to be released on Disney Plus on Tuesday, December 3 (US) and Wednesday, December 4 (UK and Australia). That announcement was made on July 31 alongside its first-look images.
Two of Skeleton Crew's reported eight episodes will arrive on launch day, which tracks with the release schedules of other recent live-action Star Wars shows, including Star Wars: Ahsoka and Star Wars: The Acolyte, who received a two-episode premiere on release day.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's first teaser was revealed as part of nine big Disney Plus show announcements at D23 Expo 2024. It didn't elaborate on what we already know about its plot (more on this later), but it playfully teased the prospect of Jude Law's Jod Na Nawood being a Jedi/Force wielder, which was a long-standing rumor before the trailer's debut.
Based on the footage, we've got two theories about that that: one, Nawood isn't a Jedi but, as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Ahsoka proposed, any living being in that galaxy far, far away has the potential to tap into the Force – which it seems Nawood can do. The other theory we have is that he can't utilize the Force, and that the off-camera individual who moves the jail key towards the trailer's end is someone else entirely. Hey, purposefully edited trailers have lied to us before!
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew confirmed cast and crew
Here's the official Star Wars: Skeleton Crew cast list so far, including any character names we know about:
Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood
Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Wim
Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Fern
Kyriana Kratter as KB
Robert Timothy Smith as Neel
Nick Frost as SM 33
Tunde Adebimpe as TBC
Kerry Condon as TBC
Jude Law (a lifelong Star Wars fan) is playing the enigmatic Nawood, who becomes the kids' protector-in-chief. Speaking to People magazine, Law described his character as "someone who uses quick thinking, charm and conversation to get out of all sorts of scenarios". So, what sounds like a modern version of the roguish smuggler Han Solo, which is exactly what Law teased about Nawood in conversation with Empire magazine. "What I wanted to imbue was the humor and the sardonic nature of [Han] Solo," he said previously. "The slight tone of, 'Aw, this is all rubbish. What am I doing here?' I think that’s a very Star Wars thing, the lovely irony that someone in it is a little throwaway about the whole thing."
Of Law’s quartet of young co-stars, Armstrong has the most impressive resumé, having appeared – among many other roles – in hit Prime Video movie The Tomorrow War and as a young Antonia (Taskmaster) in Marvel's Black Widow movie. She'll play the Sherpa jacker-wearing Fern, who seems to be the oldest member of the kid crew.
Joining Jod and Fern on the outer space adventure are relative newcomers Ravi Cabot-Conyers (the voice of Antonio in Encanto), Kyriana Kratter (Disney’s Bunk’d) and Robert Timothy Smith (Mythic Quest). They'll portray the shaggy-haird Wim, visor-wearing KB, and an adorable Ortolan named Neel.
Lastly on the confirmed cast front, Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Truth Seekers) will voice the latest addition to Star Wars' droid roster: SM 33, who's described (via People magazine) as a "rusty old, cranky droid that sort of reluctantly helps the kids along the way". Other older stars confirmed for Skeleton Crew include actor/TV on the Radio's lead singer Tunde Adebimpe and Bafta winner Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), though their character identities are yet to be revealed.
Meanwhile, Family Matters star Jaleel White revealed (per ComicBook.com) he’s playing a space pirate, while Dane DiLiegro (Prey) is also thought to be involved (via The Direct). Finally, snapped shot from Skeleton Crew's D23 Expo display (per X/Twitter user Drew Smith) confirm a minor villain from The Mandalorian season 3 – the space pirate known as Vane – will appear. It's unclear if Marti Matsulis will play Vane in this series.
Behind the camera, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was co-created by Jon Watts, who directed all three of the Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The third – Spider-Man: No Way Home – is Marvel’s highest-grossing non-Avengers movie, so it seems this show is in good hands.
Per the Writers Guild of America website, Watts has written six of Skeleton Crew’s eight episodes with fellow creator and showrunner Christopher Ford (Spider-Man: Homecoming). The other two episodes are scripted by Myung Joh Wesner, who’s also credited on Hulu's Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem.
Unsurprisingly, Watts has directed at least one episode. Per a Disney press blast, other filmmakers who helmed episodes are David Lowery (Peter Pan & Wendy), Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank, Beef), two veterans from The Mandalorian in Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung, and Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – the Oscar-winning directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni – overseers of this particular corner of that galaxy far, far away – are two of its executive producers.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew plot synopsis and rumors
Here's the show's story synopsis: "Skeleton Crew follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy [while] crossing paths with the likes of Jod Na Nawood. Finding their way home – and meeting unlikely allies and enemies – will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined."
Other plot details are scarce, but there are some things we know about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, based on what its talent have teased. For starters, at Star Wars Celebration 2022, we learned it'll be set at a similar point in the Star Wars timeline to The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka.
"[Our characters are] all in constant state of confusion and jeopardy and challenge," Law, who also labeled the show as being "joyful", told People. "It's very much a piece about working together and overcoming fears and overcoming...perhaps [one's] opinion of oneself or one's own weaknesses in order to succeed."
Elaborating on his character's "complicated" relationship with the show's young individuals (per Empire magazine), and what lies in store for them all, Law added: "They need guidance, but they’re vulnerable. And so throughout, the people they meet, you question all of them. Is my character nice? Is he not? You just want them to be alright and get back home. But if you know Jon [Watts] and Chris [Ford]’s work, you’ll know that the kids aren’t always safe."
If the plot sounds reminiscent of the 1980s movies released by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin production company, that’s intentional. "Jon Watts came to me, very much wanting to do a sort of The Goonies in Star Wars," Lucasfilm president and Amblin co-founder Kathleen Kennedy told ComicBook.com in May 2022. "Needless to say, I'm going to say yes. It’s just evolved out of that kind of enthusiasm in wanting to tell stories in this space."
Although the main characters in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are pre-teens, the brains behind the series are aiming for multi-generational appeal.
"Hopefully it can be for all ages," Ford told EW. "When we told Kathy that we wanted to go for that Amblin tone, which she perfected over the years, what she would say is that they never thought of those as movies for kids. They just happen to be about kids, a story of a kid going on an adventure. So it could be for anyone.
"Skeleton Crew’s tone is an adventure. We wanted it to be a lot of fun. But of course, along with adventure comes the downside of it, which is danger. And when the kids are in danger, it’s extra fraught. So we played with that, but overall we wanted it to be just a fun adventure."
Of equal intrigue is the fact that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is set in the post-Return of the Jedi era, during which the nascent New Republic is doing its best to keep bounty hunters, pirates, and Imperial remnants in check.
"For us, it was a great era," Ford told EW. "Because as much as the New Republic is trying to bring things back, it’s a kind of lawless, wild time. So there’s a kind of a lot of danger. If we had set it earlier, the kids would have, you know, maybe just met the Empire and just got… just [got] shut down. So, this is more of a galaxy to get lost in."
If all of that has you worried that Skeleton Crew won't be suitable for kids, don't fret. Speaking to Variety, Condon praised the show's all-family appeal, saying: "I loved being on it. There was something about it that was so innocent and playful and lovely. People say don’t work with kids or animals, but I don’t know about that. And also when children are good actors, they’re kind of out-of-this-world good. So watching some of the kids’ scenes, it was amazing."
It’s already been confirmed that The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka – all of whom are set during this time period – are building up to a climactic crossover film that'll be released in theaters and is directed by Ahsoka showrunner (and Lucasfilm's newly appointed chief creative officer) Dave Filoni. Even if Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's storylines do – as we expect – overlap with these other projects, plus The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, though, that shouldn’t prove a barrier to younglings and Star Wars newbies.
"We’re seeing the opportunity for fans to find where their entry point is in Star Wars," Kennedy told IGN in 2023. "There’s a lot of things going back almost 50 years, so you don’t want people to feel like they have to see everything in order to step into Star Wars. Something like Skeleton Crew, we’re really excited about because it’s aimed at younger kids but will still bring in the fans, still bring in adults. I think that’s the beauty of the storytelling that’s going on now, that everyone can find where their entry point is."
If Star Wars: Skeleton Crew isn't your first rodeo in Lucasfilm's legendary sci-fi franchise, there'll be plenty of call backs and references to other stories set in its galaxy far, far away, too. Speaking to People, Law teased: "If you look carefully, [we] got some Star Wars tech that dates right back, I believe, to the original film. They do [Easter eggs] so well. That's one of the joys I think of this universe for those who know there are these little details always hidden away or Easter eggs that people can find and link up."
How will Star Wars: Skeleton Crew affect other upcoming projects?
Full spoilers follow for The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Ahsoka.
We're unsure how important Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will be to the post-Return of the Jedi timeline. Sure, it's set in the same time period as other TV series, but there's no telling how its events will tie into The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, Ahsoka season 2, The Mandalorian season 4, or other new projects to come. Skeleton Crew may end up being a standalone adventure that exists alongside, but doesn't get caught up in, the exploits of Mando, Ahsoka, and company.
Still, given Lucasfilm is building towards a climactic event centered around those aforementioned shows and characters, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew could be an important cog in said film's overarching plot. If Law's character is confirmed to be another Jedi in exile, for example, he might team up with Mando, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka to stop the newly returned Grand Admiral Thrawn, as well as try and thwart the Empire's embryonic plan to form the First Order, aka the Star Wars sequel movie trilogy's villains-in-chief. Over to you, Disney and Lucasfilm.
For more Star Wars-based coverage, find out how to watch the Star Wars movies in order or see which Star Wars TV series made it onto our best Disney Plus shows list.
