Lucasfilm has been drawing comparisons between Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and classic Amblin films since the Disney+ series was first announced. But just how literally they meant it wasn’t truly apparent until the first Skeleton Crew trailer dropped at D23 Expo 2024.
Skeleton Crew‘s “young kids on an adventure” doesn’t simply borrow the basic set-up of an ’80s family-friendly flick put out by Steven Spielberg’s production company. It is one of those movies transplanted into the Star Wars universe. The production design, the cinematography, and most importantly, the tone, are exactly the same, only with a suitable sci-fi bent.
A lot of fans will reflexively hate this approach. I’m not one of them, though. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not sold on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. But my issue isn’t with the show going “full Amblin” so much as how it’s being done. Indeed, from where I’m standing, Skeleton Crew is Disney and Lucasfilm doing the right thing the wrong way.
Star Wars Has Always Been About External Influences
The key thing to bear in mind is that Star Wars is rooted in external influences. When George Lucas launched the franchise with 1977’s A New Hope, obviously, there were no other Star Wars movies to refer to. Instead, he mashed together everything he loved—Saturday matinee serials, Kurosawa movies, Arthurian legends, real-life history, and more—and fashioned something new. And when Lucas was overseeing A New Hope‘s sequels (and later, prequels), he still didn’t rely solely on the Star Wars template. He cribbed from sources outside a galaxy far, far away.
Related: What Is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew About?
This kept Star Wars feeling fresh, even when the prequel trilogy intentionally mirrored its predecessor. Novel ideas continually bled into every aspect of the franchise, from its story and characters to its design and visual language. But then Lucas sold Lucasfilm (and with it, Star Wars) to Disney in 2012, and other filmmakers took over stewardship of the franchise. Some of these folks followed Lucas’ lead with projects that looked beyond Star Wars itself for inspiration (Andor Season 1 is a prime example). However, just as many didn’t—or if they did, they got the balance wrong.
Inspiration (Like the Force) Requires Balance
“Balance” really is the operative word. After all, even Lucas sometimes overplayed his hand when incorporating external elements into his Star Wars outings. And when that happens—when whatever we’re seeing or hearing is too overtly out of step with the franchise’s intangible “Star Wars-y” vibe—we’re immediately pulled out of the story. Dexter Jettser’s ’50s diner in Attack of the Clones is one such instance; The Book of Boba Fett‘s much maligned speeder bike street punks are another. In theory, both reflect Star Wars‘ established milieu. Yet in practice, they feel… off.
Related: When Does Skeleton Crew Take Place on the Star Wars Timeline?
But these examples (and others littered throughout the franchise’s history) pale in comparison to Skeleton Crew‘s full-bore “Star-Wars-But-It’s-The-Goonies” presentation. Sure, it’s unfair to judge a show before it’s even out; however, Skeleton Crew‘s trailer strongly suggests at least some of this series straight up won’t feel like Star Wars. If Lucas cuts it fine with droid waitresses, Skeleton Crew crashes out with suburban lawns and school buses in space. It’s not that the concept is bad; an Amblin-style Star Wars series is a solid concept. It’s that the Amblin influence is so damn obvious.
Skeleton Crew Proves Execution Is Everything
That’s what it boils down to, really: execution. For Star Wars to thrive, it can’t be self-referential. It needs to absorb culture and history outside itself. At the same time, these “third-party” pieces must be perfectly calibrated, or the main appeal of the franchise—that it’s Star Wars, not some other thing—is lost. This is a real challenge, akin to completing the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (see: I can call back to canon, too). Get it right, you reinvigorate the franchise. Get it wrong, though, and you wind up with Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney+ on Dec. 3, 2024.
Published: Aug 16, 2024 01:25 pm