Key Takeaways
- ‘Skeleton Crew’ brings a new Star Wars show aimed at a younger audience, unlike previous adult-oriented projects.
- A retro Star Wars critter, the Teek, from ’80s’ Endor adventures, makes its first ever canon appearance.
- One show director is excited about using practical effects like hand puppets, wanting to evoke nostalgia.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is the franchise’s next entry with broad appeal and the show’s director reveals another potential point of appeal to older fans of the franchise: the return of one of the more easily forgotten critters from older Star Wars media.
While Star Wars has always appealed massively to kids, the franchise has seen a fairly transparent attempt to make more mature live-action projects since the Disney+ era of Star Wars content began. While young boys and girls can certainly enjoy shows like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, or (without permission) The Acolyte, none of the new projects from the franchise seemed tailored to any audience younger than the adults that enjoyed the animated shows leading up to Star Wars: Rebels. This would change with the announcement of Skeleton Crew, a decidedly lower-aimed show with Jude Law starring in a singular adult lead role amidst multiple child actors. From the very beginning of its marketing, it was clear that Skeleton Crew might be the most visually distinctive Star Wars show and would skew younger as well.
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In addition to its unique visuals, Skeleton Crew also continues a solid Star Wars tradition of taking things from the past to inspire new projects, and one of those callbacks is one that older fans might have never expected to see again. In a recent interview with Empire, series director David Lowery confirmed that the Teek, the silly, lightning fast rat-like creatures from Endor, would be making a return to the franchise in Skeleton Crew. Furthermore, Lowery clarified that the critters would be done up with practical effects, a development that he seemed quite pleased with and implies will extend to more than just the Teek in his directoruial work on the show. “I was most excited about having hand puppets on set,” Lowery admits during the event. “It’s the most ancient technology being used with the most cutting-edge technology, simultaneously. That combination was absolutely magical. There’s a character in my episode that’s […] the Teek, from Battle For Endor. And it’s just a little hand puppet! It’s just (wiggles hand). I was like, ‘Is he gonna get digitally touched up, or replaced?’ No, in the final episode it’s just a hand puppet in the middle of this crazy Volume set. The cognitive dissonance of seeing those two things together, live in front of you, is absolutely incredible.”
Notably, this addition to the series will mark the first appearance of the creatures in decades and the very first canon appearance ever, potentially bringing them into mainstream Star Wars for all time. The Teek were introduced and seen in two Star Wars films, 1984’s Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and 1985’s Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, neither of which has ever been considered canon by the community. With the creation of Star Wars’ Legends continuity, any potential case to be made for the creatures existing in canon fell by the wayside until now. Unlike some of the more popular creatures within the franchise, there’s little appeal to the Teek beyond looking a bit strange. Taking on this sort of silly bit of fracnchise history is a prime example of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew taking a very different approach from the successful Andor, a choice that the production has been very clear on in the leadup to its release.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew could be the andor for a younger audience, despite the perplexing decision to stray from that show’s formula. While the idea of piling on the homages to old Star Wars in a show clearly meant for a younger audience seems counterintuitive, the reality is many a show for younger audiences is enjoyed just as much by older viewers if it’s good enough. Similar to adult humor in kid’s cartoons, Skeleton Crew seems hopeful that some older eyes will find fun in the upcoming series when it drops on Disney+ and that optimism shouldn’t be discounted.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is set to premiere on Disney+ on December 3, 2024.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
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Source: Empire