After years out of the spotlight, Disney+ Star Wars series Skeleton Crew finally dropped its first trailer at the 2024 D23 convention. There’s a lot crammed into these one-and-bit minutes, so here’s a full breakdown of the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew D23 trailer’s biggest reveals!
Related: When Does Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Come Out?
The Spielberg/Amblin Influence Is Strong With This One
Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy and executive producer Jon Favreau both previously talked up Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s Amblin vibes, and they weren’t overselling things. The trailer makes it abundantly clear just how heavily Skeleton Crew is influenced by the 1980s coming-of-age movies put out by Steven Spielberg’s production company. There are green-lawned suburban streets, school buses and classrooms, and plucky sprogs longing for adventure – all hallmarks of classic Amblin fare. Heck, if it wasn’t for the more Star Wars-y elements later on, you’d think this was a Goonies TV show trailer, instead!
The Goonies Space Kids Find Star Wars-style Treasure
Speaking of The Goonies, that film’s influence on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew extends to its story. Just like in Richard Donner’s 1985 adventure-comedy romp, a treasure hunt kicks Skeleton Crew‘s narrative into motion. Only what Fern, KB, Wim, and Neel find isn’t pirate loot – it’s a starship! This ship, the Onyx Cinder, still works despite being abandoned underground. It even comes with a (mostly) operational droid first mate, SM 33! On the downside, the Onyx Cinder also houses at least one skeleton. But hey: it’s still a parental supervision-free ship.
Related: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Is a Disney+ Series About Kids on an Adventure… and Jude Law
Lots of New Characters and Worlds; Also: Jawas
Once Fern, KB, and the gang make the jump to hyperspace, the Skeleton Crew D23 trailer likewise shifts gears. From here on out, we’re on more conventional Star Wars terrain, complete with asteroid space stations, exotic – and often menacing! – creatures and robots, and all the other trappings you expect from a galaxy far, far away. We even see at least one familiar alien race; a couple of offworld Jawa scavengers feature prominently in a market scene. That said, there’s still an Amblin undercurrent to proceedings. Notably, Wim ends up at the controls of the Onyx Cinder’s laser cannons (it doesn’t get more “wish fulfillment” than that).
Jude Law Is a Jedi Knight (Probably)
The final – and arguably biggest – reveal in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s D23 trailer involves the show’s only A-lister, Jude Law. Lucasfilm and Disney+ save Law’s Jod Na Nawood for the trailer’s closing seconds, which sees him levitate a prison key across a room. “You’re a Jedi!” Wim exclaims, as Nawood yanks down his hood. Interestingly, we don’t hear Nawood’s response, so it’s still unclear whether he really is a Jedi Knight. He could be aligned with the Dark Side of the Force, for all we know! Time (and Skeleton Crew‘s debut) will tell.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney+ on Dec. 3, 2024.
Published: Aug 12, 2024 07:28 am