Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot synopsis, and more news and rumors on the Disney Plus show

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is gearing up to return us to Lucasfilm’s legendary galaxy far, far away. The sci-fi franchise’s next Disney Plus series is less than one month away from being released, so there’s no time like the present to read up on everything about it.

In this guide, you’ll find the latest intel on Skeleton Crew, including its official release date, trailers, confirmed cast list, plot specifics, and more. Potential spoilers are on the way for the last of 2024’s new Star Wars movies and TV shows, so proceed with caution if you’re actively avoiding them pre-release.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is set to be released on Disney Plus on Tuesday, December 3 (US) and Wednesday, December 4 (UK and Australia).

Two of its eight episodes will arrive on launch day, which tracks with the release schedules of other recent live-action Star Wars shows, such as Star Wars: Ahsoka and Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Released on November 1, a new Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer confirmed it’ll be the perfect palette cleanser to Squid Game season 2 on Netflix. Indeed, with its more family friendly vibes, Lucasfilm’s next TV show won’t be as brutal or unforgiving as Netflix’s flagship drama is. If you’re planning to stream the pair over the festive season, then, they’ll make for a fascinatingly contrasting TV combo.

Missed Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s first teaser, which was revealed as part of nine big Disney Plus show announcements at D23 Expo 2024? Watch it below and see if you agree with our theory that Jude Law’s Jod Na Nawood is a secret Jedi/Force wielder.

Based on the series’ first trailer, we’ve got two theories about Nawood: the first is that he isn’t a Jedi but, as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Ahsoka proposed, any living being in that galaxy far, far away has the potential to tap into the Force – which it seems Nawood can do. The other theory we have is that he can’t utilize the Force, and that the off-camera individual who moves the jail key towards the trailer’s end is someone else entirely. Hey, purposefully edited trailers have lied to us before! Anyway, you can also catch some new snippets of footage in this ‘Coming to Disney Plus’ YouTube teaser, too.

Possible spoilers follow for Skeleton Crew‘s cast.

Here’s the official Star Wars: Skeleton Crew cast list so far, including any character names we know about:

• Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood
• Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Wim
• Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Fern
• Kyriana Kratter as KB
• Robert Timothy Smith as Neel
• Nick Frost as SM 33
• Tunde Adebimpe as Wendle
• Kerry Condon as Fara
• Marti Matulis as Vane
• Jaleel White as Gunter
• Fred Tatasciore/Stephen Oyoung as Brutus
• Mike Estes as Pax
• Dale Soules as Chaelt

Jude Law (a lifelong Star Wars fan) is playing the enigmatic Nawood, who becomes the kids’ protector-in-chief. Speaking to People magazine, Law described his character as “someone who uses quick thinking, charm and conversation to get out of all sorts of scenarios”. So, what sounds like a modern version of the roguish smuggler Han Solo, which is exactly what Law teased about Nawood in conversation with Empire magazine. “What I wanted to imbue was the humor and the sardonic nature of [Han] Solo,” he said previously. “The slight tone of, ‘Aw, this is all rubbish. What am I doing here?’ I think that’s a very Star Wars thing, the lovely irony that someone in it is a little throwaway about the whole thing.”

Of Law’s quartet of young co-stars, Armstrong has the most impressive resumé, having appeared – among many other roles – in hit Prime Video movie The Tomorrow War and as a young Antonia (Taskmaster) in Marvel’s Black Widow movie. She’ll play the Sherpa jacker-wearing Fern, who seems to be the oldest member of the kid crew.

Joining Jod and Fern on the outer space adventure are relative newcomers Cabot-Conyers (the voice of Antonio in Encanto), Kratter (Disney’s Bunk’d) and Smith (Mythic Quest). They’ll portray the shaggy-haird Wim, visor-wearing KB, and an adorable Ortolan named Neel.

Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Truth Seekers) will voice the latest addition to Star Wars’ droid roster: SM 33, who’s described (via People magazine) as a “rusty old, cranky droid that sort of reluctantly helps the kids along the way”. Other older stars confirmed for Skeleton Crew include actor/TV on the Radio’s lead singer Tunde Adebimpe and Bafta winner Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin). As confirmed by StarWars.com, they’ll portray Wendle and Fara, the father of Wim and mother of Fara respectively.

As for Skeleton Crew‘s antagonists, co-creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford revealed (via Entertainment Weekly (EW)) that a gang of space pirates will hunt Nawood and his young companions throughout the show. Fans will recognize one of those villainous individuals in the form of Vane, a space pirate who had a small but important role in season 3 of The Mandalorian.

Behind the camera, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was co-created by Watts, who directed all three of the Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The third – Spider-Man: No Way Home – is Marvel’s highest-grossing non-Avengers movie, so it seems this show is in good hands.

Per the Writers Guild of America website, Watts wrote six episodes with Ford (Spider-Man: Homecoming). The other two episodes were penned by Myung Joh Wesner, who’s also credited on Hulu‘s Career Opportunities in Murder and Mayhem.

Unsurprisingly, Watts has directed at least one episode. Other filmmakers who helmed episodes are David Lowery (Peter Pan & Wendy), Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank, Beef), two veterans from The Mandalorian in Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung, and Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – the Oscar-winning directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni – overseers of this particular corner of that galaxy far, far away – are two of its executive producers.

Here’s the show’s story synopsis: “Skeleton Crew follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy [while] crossing paths with the likes of Jod Na Nawood. Finding their way home – and meeting unlikely allies and enemies – will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.”

Other plot details are scarce, but there are some things we know about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, based on what its talent have teased. For starters, at Star Wars Celebration 2022, we learned it’ll be set at a similar point in the Star Wars timeline to The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka.

“[Our characters are] all in constant state of confusion and jeopardy and challenge,” Law, who also labeled the show as being “joyful”, told People. “It’s very much a piece about working together and overcoming fears and overcoming…perhaps [one’s] opinion of oneself or one’s own weaknesses in order to succeed.”

Elaborating on his character’s “complicated” relationship with the show’s young individuals (per Empire magazine), and what lies in store for them all, Law added: “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 [Watts] and Chris [Ford]’s work, you’ll know that the kids aren’t always safe.”

If the plot sounds reminiscent of the 1980s movies released by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin production company, that’s intentional. “Jon Watts came to me, very much wanting to do a sort of The Goonies in Star Wars,” Lucasfilm president and Amblin co-founder Kathleen Kennedy told ComicBook.com in May 2022. “Needless to say, I’m going to say yes. It’s just evolved out of that kind of enthusiasm in wanting to tell stories in this space.”

Elaborating further on what inspired the show and its villains, Watts told EW: “I’m a big fan of [LucasArts videogame] Monkey Island. That’s also classic Lucas, so [they’re] somewhere between Star Wars pirates and Monkey Island pirates. I think we found our sweet spot”. Other influences, as mentioned in the show’s previously linked-to StarWars.com article, include numerous Amblin movies like Indiana Jones and E.T, plus more unusual inspirations, such as Predator and Empire of the Sun.

Although the main characters in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are pre-teens, the brains behind the series are aiming for multi-generational appeal.

“Hopefully it can be for all ages,” Ford told EW in a separate interview. “When we told Kathy that we wanted to go for that Amblin tone, which she perfected over the years, what she would say is that they never thought of those as movies for kids. They just happen to be about kids, a story of a kid going on an adventure. So it could be for anyone.

“Skeleton Crew’s tone is an adventure. We wanted it to be a lot of fun. But of course, along with adventure comes the downside of it, which is danger. And when the kids are in danger, it’s extra fraught. So we played with that, but overall we wanted it to be just a fun adventure.”

Of equal intrigue is the fact that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is set in the post-Return of the Jedi era, during which the nascent New Republic is doing its best to keep bounty hunters, pirates, and Imperial remnants in check.

“For us, it was a great era,” Ford told EW. “Because as much as the New Republic is trying to bring things back, it’s a kind of lawless, wild time. So there’s a kind of a lot of danger. If we had set it earlier, the kids would have, you know, maybe just met the Empire and just got… just [got] shut down. So, this is more of a galaxy to get lost in.”

If all of that has you worried that Skeleton Crew won’t be suitable for kids, don’t fret. Speaking to Variety, Condon praised the show’s all-family appeal, saying: “I loved being on it. There was something about it that was so innocent and playful and lovely. People say don’t work with kids or animals, but I don’t know about that. And also when children are good actors, they’re kind of out-of-this-world good. So watching some of the kids’ scenes, it was amazing.”

It’s already been confirmed that The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka – all of whom are set during this time period – are building up to a climactic crossover film that’ll be released in theaters and is directed by Ahsoka showrunner (and Lucasfilm’s newly appointed chief creative officer) Dave Filoni. Even if Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s storylines do – as we expect – overlap with these other projects, plus The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, though, that shouldn’t prove a barrier to younglings and Star Wars newbies.

“We’re seeing the opportunity for fans to find where their entry point is in Star Wars,” Kennedy told IGN in 2023. “There’s a lot of things going back almost 50 years, so you don’t want people to feel like they have to see everything in order to step into Star Wars. Something like Skeleton Crew, we’re really excited about because it’s aimed at younger kids but will still bring in the fans, still bring in adults. I think that’s the beauty of the storytelling that’s going on now, that everyone can find where their entry point is.”

If Star Wars: Skeleton Crew isn’t your first rodeo in Lucasfilm’s legendary sci-fi franchise, there’ll be plenty of call backs and references to other stories set in its galaxy far, far away, too. Speaking to People, Law teased: “If you look carefully, [we] got some Star Wars tech that dates right back, I believe, to the original film. They do [Easter eggs] so well. That’s one of the joys I think of this universe for those who know there are these little details always hidden away or Easter eggs that people can find and link up.”

One of those secrets has been revealed pre-release, too. In conversation with Empire magazine, David Lowery confirmed Skeleton Crew will see the return of the Teek, a deep-cut character from Lucasfilm’s The Battle for Endor movie. We wonder what other surprises lie in store…

Full spoilers follow for The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Ahsoka.

We’re unsure how important Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will be to the post-Return of the Jedi timeline. Sure, it’s set in the same time period as other TV series, but there’s no telling how its events will tie into The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, Ahsoka season 2, The Mandalorian season 4, or other new projects to come. Skeleton Crew may end up being a standalone adventure that exists alongside, but doesn’t get caught up in, the exploits of Mando, Ahsoka, and company.

Still, given Lucasfilm is building towards a climactic event centered around those aforementioned shows and characters, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew could be an important cog in said film’s overarching plot. If Law’s character is confirmed to be another Jedi in exile, for example, he might team up with Mando, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka to stop the newly returned Grand Admiral Thrawn, as well as try and thwart the Empire’s embryonic plan to form the First Order, aka the Star Wars sequel movie trilogy’s villains-in-chief.

As for whether there’ll be a second season, that’s also unknown. However, The Hollywood Reporter claims that a sophomore season could be made if Skeleton Crew proves popular enough among Star Wars’ global fanbase. Over to you, Disney and Lucasfilm.

For more Star Wars-based coverage, find out how to watch the Star Wars movies in order or see which Star Wars TV series made it onto our best Disney Plus shows list.