After four of the eight episodes have been released, reviews for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are pouring in, shockingly and refreshingly good.
Skeleton Crew follows a group of four school kids (played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Ravi-Cabot Conyers and Robert Timothy Smith) as they accidentally activate an old buried Starship that whisks them away beyond their homeworld. The story starts by placing the kids in a familiar scene of mundane classes and exam pressure, each facing their own troubles at home. The adventure begins when the quartet (initially two pairs of friends who want nothing to do with each other) finds an old Ship and presses one-too-many buttons, resulting in an unplanned trip into Hyperspace.
The kids are thrown into the unknown world of galactic pirates as they try to find their way home. While attempting to escape, they encounter mysterious force-user Jod Na Nawood (played by Jude Law), who drags them further into the politics of pirates. Soon, the kids are trying to decide how— or even if— they could possibly get home.
Skeleton Crew comes at a time when Star Wars projects have been struggling to appease audiences. The Star Wars Franchise has a uniquely diverse fan base with many different opinions and perspectives. Many fans grew up with the original Trilogy, while others grew up with the Prequels and some only joined recently. This creates an audience with very different ideas of how Star Wars should look; writing, themes, quality and target age.
In efforts to appeal to these many groups and continue to draw new fans, many believe that, as of late, Star Wars projects have skewed away from pleasing any of its audiences. Much of this is due to the pickiness of fans and some bigotry, as projects aim to include more diversity. (For example, the recent Star Wars series The Acolyte received much backlash for its apparent “wokeness”) However, Star Wars projects often stretch themselves too thin trying to appease its fanbase with familiar characters and plot points without alienating new watchers, resulting in final products that are not true to the initial writing.
But as reviews came in for Skeleton crew after its first episodes, Star Wars Executives breathed a sigh of relief: Reports were resoundingly good. “Refreshing,” “family-friendly,” “likable” and “energetic” were all words used repeatedly by highly praised entertainment sources, like Hollywood Reporter, Rotten Tomatoes and Imagine Game Network (IGN).
While many critics admit that Skeleton Crew might not be as profound or thrilling as other Star Wars projects, many agree that this new show may well find its place among Star Wars staples.
Skeleton Crew has managed to make itself approachable to many audiences. For older watchers, the Show is a call back to movies like The Goonies (1985), with a familiar “pirates versus kids” adventure. For younger fans, they can liken the show to the more recent hit show Stranger Things (2016 – Present) and for even younger audiences, the show remains family-friendly. Brand new fans require no prior knowledge of Star Wars and escape alienation with a familiar theme, but Star Wars super Fans are still brought in by plenty of easter eggs, grounding it within the Star Wars universe.
While Skeleton Crew still has a lot left to show (and a lot left to prove), it may be a sign that Star Wars projects are returning to their former glory. Even for those entirely uninvested in Star Wars, many will enjoy Skeleton Crew, if even just for a pure dose of adventure.
