Christopher Ford and Jude Law Emphasize “Real Stakes” in ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’
Interviews continue to trickle in from Empire Magazine following their Secret Invasion issue, which features a slew of Lucasfilm interviews, in addition to the Marvel focus. This most recent report includes comments from Skeleton Crew co-creator, Christopher Ford and star, Jude Law regarding their upcoming show. Little is known about the series other than that the show follows a group of kids who end up on a dangerous space adventure with terms like “Amblin-esque” being used often to describe the tone.
Lucasfilm unveiled the cast at Star Wars Celebration 2023, which includes Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong. They also unveiled a small clip of the show to Celebration attendees. Empire, who reported live from Celebration, described the clip as:
A group of galactic kids escape the school and suburbia of their quiet planet, and head off into the stars – where pirates, a Jedi, and danger awaits.
Not much to go on there! We do know that the pirate in question, is in fact, Vane from season 3 of The Mandalorian (who was working under Gorian Shard but escaped last minute). His penchant for disruption and obvious lack of concern for children is sure to generate obstacles for this budding space crew.
Regarding these potential dangers, Ford remarked,
“The way Kathy [Kennedy] explained Amblin to us was that they never thought of those as kids’ movies. They just happened to have kids. All the stakes are as real as possible: the kids think they’re in Andor.”
I’m pretty sure that Ford’s quip about Andor here is intended as a joke, but it piqued my interest nonetheless. How dangerous are we talking?
Law elaborates on this rocky landscape,
“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 and Chris’ work, you’ll know that the kids aren’t always safe.
Seeing this galaxy, this world that we’ve all grown up loving, and the jeopardy, the divides, the heroes, the villains, through the eyes of children, is brilliant.”
I can’t help but think of the end of Phantom Menace where Anakin and R2-D2 accidentally find themselves in the center of a raging space battle between the Nubian fighters and the Trade Federation blockade. Despite the risk, I never felt that Anakin was in very much danger here. That said, I absolutely enjoy the premise and Jake Lloyd’s charming “fly by the seat of his pants” mentality. If you dial up the danger, as it seems they have done in Skeleton Crew, this premise is sure to be an even more gripping adventure.
Jude Law’s character is a confirmed Force user. Perhaps Jedi, but we don’t know that for sure. Law hasn’t shied away from hinting at his character’s morally dubious nature, which opens up a lot of possibilities. We’ll have to wait and see.
Skeleton Crew is currently in post-production and is scheduled to debut in late 2023 (we’ll see if that turns into early 2024 at some point). It was co-created by Christopher Ford and Jon Watts. It will take place during the New Republic timeline, with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni executive producing.
When she isn't watching her friends and family's eyes glaze over at the mention of The Clone Wars, she's at the park with her dog, Melvin, or on the couch with a book in one hand and a drink in the other. Physically, she lives in Ohio; spiritually, she lives in Naboo.
