Star Wars Skelaton Crew
The Adventure Continues
May 11, 2025
by Mish'al K. Samman
I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest. Another spin-off, another corner of the galaxy. Another “new take” on something I grew up loving. But Skeleton Crew surprised me ... not because it reinvented Star Wars, but because it remembered something most shows forget.
It gave me that Goonies in space feeling. Not just because it was a group of kids on a wild, dangerous, sometimes ridiculous adventure ... but because it dared to keep the story simple. Kids get lost. Kids try to get home. And somewhere along the way, they find out who they are. It didn’t try to lecture or overload the lore. It just trusted the journey.
Did it feel like Star Wars?
A bit. Not fully. But enough. It respected the universe without trying to be something it wasn’t. It didn’t lean on Skywalkers or epic battles or legacy weight. It carved out its own little adventure in a big galaxy ... and it stayed in its lane. For once, that felt refreshing.
The tone was definitely aimed at a younger crowd ... and yeah, maybe 5% of me rolled my eyes at the kiddishness of it. But the other 95%? I let go. I enjoyed it. The elephant kid (you’ll know him when you see him) absolutely stole every scene. He wasn’t Chunk or Dustin from Stranger Things, but he had that same lovable, awkward charm that makes you root for someone. Not because they’re cool. But because they feel real.
The Force shows up too ... kind of. Jude Law’s character is… complicated. And not in a layered way. More like in a “wait, what are you supposed to be?” kind of way. He’s not Sith, not Jedi, not clearly anything. And that lack of depth made him feel less like a Force-user and more like a plot device. The Force has always meant something. Here, it just existed. Which was a bit of a letdown.
Still, the visuals? 200 out of 10. No exaggeration. From ships to creatures to mysterious planets ... it felt like flipping through a Star Wars artbook that came to life. There was even a moment (probably lost on most viewers) that gave me huge Captain EO vibes. Not name-dropped, not referenced. Just... spiritually there. That kind of creative boldness? I’ll always appreciate it.
What Skeleton Crew captured best wasn’t mythology or morality. It was curiosity. That Star Wars instinct to dare. To leap into the unknown. And while I might’ve rolled my eyes once or twice at some woke-for-the-sake-of-woke moments ... I appreciated that this wasn’t a vehicle for an agenda. It was, at its core, a kids’ show that knew it was a kids’ show. And it leaned into that with honesty.
Studios so often try to make kids think like adults. Skeleton Crew let them be kids. Messy, scared, brave, annoying, loyal, curious, and beautifully unsure of everything. And in that mess, something kind of wonderful happened.
It reminded me that filmmaking should be bold. It should inspire. But most importantly, it should never forget the soul of what came before.
It’s not about what you dream to be.
It’s about who you rise up to become.
And in that small way, Skeleton Crew understood Star Wars better than most.
Star Wars :: Skeleton Crew (2024) – When a group of kids in the Star Wars galaxy accidentally find themselves lost in deep space
About the Author
Mish’al Samman is a writer, performer, and lifelong fanboy who began his career covering comics, film, and fandom culture for Fanboy Planet in the early 2000s. With a voice rooted in sincerity, humor, and cultural observation, his work blends personal storytelling with pop-culture insight. Whether he’s reflecting on the soul of Star Wars or exploring identity through genre, Mish’al brings a grounded, human perspective to every galaxy he writes about.