What Is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew About?

The new Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer emphasizes the Disney+ series’ Amblin vibes but isn’t big on plot specifics. So, what is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew about?

Related: When Does Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Come Out?

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Plot, Explained

The official Disney+ plot synopsis for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew reads as follows: “Skeleton Crew tells the story of four kids searching for their home planet after getting lost in the Star Wars galaxy, and the strange aliens and dangerous places they encounter on their adventure.” That’s a start; however, it still leaves plenty of blanks for fans to fill in.

Fortunately, the Skeleton Crew trailer and other pre-release media offer additional intel. We know the four kids are called Fern, Wim, KB, and Neel. We also know they’re lost because they jetted off in a buried starship, the Onyx Cinder. Oh, and we know they’ll team up with the Onyx Cinder’s half-busted droid first mate, SM 33, and Jod Na Nawood: an enigmatic Force user played by Jude Law.

Related: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew D23 Trailer Breakdown

When Does Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Take Place?

So, when does all this Spielberg-tinged traipsing around the Star Wars universe take place? 9 ABY, or five years after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Episode VI). That’s the same post-Empire, pre-Sequel Trilogy setting as most of Lucasfilm’s other live-action, small-screen Star Wars output. The online rumor mill even contends that characters from those shows—specifically, The Mandalorian Season 3’s space pirates—will crop up in Skeleton Crew.

Lucasfilm has yet to comment on this, although Law recently confirmed Skeleton Crew will include nods to the likes of The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

Is Skeleton Crew Connected to Dave Filoni’s Crossover Star Wars Movie?

Yes, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s story will feed into Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni’s in-development crossover movie. This as-yet-untitled project is set to bring together characters from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew, tying up any loose ends from their respective narratives along the way. That said, Filoni’s film will boast a more epic feel than Skeleton Crew, taking its cues more from the original Star Wars trilogy than The Goonies.

Related: All Major Actors & Cast List for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

“The way I look at it, there are [small] stories, and then there’s the big story of the day, too,” Filoni explained in a 2023 Empire interview. “A New Hope, Empire, and Return Of The Jedi tell the important parts of the tale that really define the history of the period. There are all kinds of sub-stories underneath that. We’ve been building all these small stories [with the Disney+ shows]. To me, a theatrical experience has to have a big idea – a monumental moment in the time period that changes what’s happening.”

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew debuts on Disney+ on Dec. 3, 2024.