Star Wars Skeleton Crew is the second live-action to premiere in 2024 after the divisive Star Wars The Acolyte. However, the premise of the series has sparked relatively mild excitement from Star Wars fans, considering its Goonies-like vibe with children as the main characters. Is Star Wars Skeleton Crew worth watching or is it another flop from Lucasfilm? Read to find out.

The Goonies In Space

Star Wars Skeleton Crew begins on a thrilling and dark note, sort of like Pirates Of The Caribbean in space. Within the first few minutes, we already get to see pirates boarding a ship in an epic and cool sequence. After that’s over though, the series transitions to the depiction of normal New Republic citizen life in the Star Wars universe, including families, kids going to school, rebellious teens and more. Hear me out, while it may look weird at first that life on this planet looks like suburban American life and that may seem out of place in the Star Wars universe, the series knows this and there’s actually a central mystery or conspiracy that’s hiding beneath the surface of Star Wars Skeleton Crew that makes the series an intriguing watch. There’s a reason everything is the way it is (though we don’t know it yet), so it’s not fair to say that Star Wars Skeleton Crew doesn’t look or feel like Star Wars. After watching three episodes, I can definitely say that if anything, it does look and feel like Star Wars.

The series oozes with the spirit of adventure and child-like whimsical wonder. The visuals and VFX are beautiful. It’s clear a lot of the budget and money went into making this look good with high production value. There’s a strong kids’ adventure vibe like Steven Spielberg’s The Goonies or many of the movies during the 80s and 90s that younger viewers likely won’t be familiar with. That’s what makes Star Wars Skeleton Crew feel a bit refreshing, special and unique. It’s not about the Jedi or the Sith. It’s not about a galactic conflict or war. It’s from the perspective of normal people just living in the Star Wars universe, who are suddenly thrust into an unexpected adventure. That being said, the first three episodes (with the exception of the central mystery) are pretty straightforward in nature and some viewers might accuse them of being too simplistic or dumbed down for kids, but it’s really not.

(L-R) Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) and Hayna (Hala Finley) in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

The lead child characters are more diverse and varied than simply being one-dimensional kids. The two lead boys are the conventionally naive and innocent kids while the two lead girls are more mature and sceptical (though they’re still kids). This provides a certain dynamic and banter fodder, especially when Jude Law’s mysterious character comes into the picture. As always, there’s also a new droid introduced in Star Wars Skeleton Crew and he’s a fun one that’s voiced by the always-funny Nick Frost (best known for Shaun Of The Dead). It’s too early to say but Star Wars Skeleton Crew is the best avenue for certain Star Wars characters to finally make their live-action debut (cough Doctor Aphra cough) but that remains to be seen (this is not a spoiler, mind you).

The Galaxy Is A Big Place

SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost) in Lucasfilm’s STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Ultimately, Star Wars Skeleton Crew probably isn’t for everyone, especially rigid ‘fans’ who can’t accept anything new or different or doesn’t suit their understanding of what a Star Wars series should be. Andor was the same at first and it eventually became perhaps the best Star Wars series ever made. What I’m saying is that we should give Star Wars Skeleton Crew the benefit of the doubt and it might just stick the landing.

This series might not have the usual Star Wars stuff that you might look for in your Star Wars content but that’s fine. Star Wars Skeleton Crew is its own thing and the galaxy is certainly big enough for it.

Final Score: 80/100

We received early screeners of Star Wars The Acolyte courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. The first two episodes of Star Wars Sekelton Crew are now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia, with new subsequent episodes releasing every Wednesday.