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I'm no insider at Lucasfilm, but I have to imagine that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was partially made as an answer to one of the biggest questions facing the franchise. That is, how does Star Wars continue to ride the nostalgia that brings fans back, while also trying something new? Though Skeleton Crew undeniably had its fans, it was certainly not the critical success that Disney+ might have hoped - but if you'll permit me a moment, I think there's another answer to that question. 

And if you've read anything I've written fro this site before, its shouldn't surprise you that that answer is a spooky one.

Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear was a series of young adult novels published between 1997 and 1998, and written by John Witman. The entire collection consisted of 12 novels, all focused on the young sibling duo of Tash and Zak, plus their uncle Mammon, droid DV-9, and a rotating cast of Star Wars regulars. Darth Vader made a couple of appearances, for example, along with (at the time) lesser known players such as Grand Admiral Thrawn. 

It's not only for the latter's appearance in the YA books, however, that I'd argue Galaxy of Fear is about due for a reboot. No, that's because there is a steadily growing appetite for Star Wars in the horror world, and I have the numbers to prove it. But before we get there, let's posit the question...

What is Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear?

Even if you have never heard of the stories until just now, it doesn't take a genius to realize that, at their core, the Galaxy of Fear novels were Star Wars's response to megahit YA horror series Goosebumps, by R.L. Stine. Daniel Wallace, author of a host of Star Wars novel and one of the primary contributors to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, described the series to TheForce.net as follows:

"Galaxy of Fear was a series of young adult books by John Whitman that tied into the teen-horror genre popularized by such authors as R.L. Stine. And for something that seems like a product of its time I thought they were a lot of fun. But I'd be nervous if I were given the opportunity to write the sequel, since every single chapter of those books had to end with a cliffhanger. It was the law. A chapter would finish with 'Tash stepped off the spaceship and heard a blood-curdling scream!' Then you'd read the next chapter and it would say 'But apparently it was just a bird.'"

Agreed, Daniel, that sounds like a pretty obnoxious way to keep those Phantoms Menacing, but I imagine that a new crop of Star Wars creators could find a host of better ways to put Fear back into the Galaxy. And as I mentioned a moment ago, now is the perfect time to do so, as the fanbase of the Galaxy Far, Far Away seems to want to go from Boba Fett to Boba Frett.

(From Palpatine to Palpatations? I don't know, I'm trying here. Point is, folks want their Star Wars spooky.)

There's more Star Wars horror now than there ever has been

Should the Galaxy of Fear series get a relaunch (or adaptation, video game, whatever), it would be a bold new step in putting the organs back into the Organas (I'm trying to stop, I promise). However, it would hardly be the first, and recently, a cavalcade of creepy content has been making its way into the franchise.

Take, for example, the 2024 fan-created Death Troopers game. Based on a duology of novels by Joel Schreiber, the game has players facing off against an undead plague infecting Storm Troopers aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer, tapping not only into the zombie subgenre of horror but the "alone in space variety" from media such as Alien or Dead Space.

Then you've got Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle, an IDW comic that told Star Wars horror stories in the same vein as classic creepshows printed by EC Comics. Tales from Vaders Castle not only got a sequel series (Return to Vader's Castle), but a reprinting alongside its successor in a hardbound comic collection called Star Wars Adventures: Beware Vader's Castle.

And finally, I don't need to tell Disney+ subscribers about LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, the LEGO Star Wars special released as part of Disney+'s 2021 Halloween programming. Keeping in mind that this is LEGO Star Wars, after all, which doesn't get a ton of reviews, the Rotten Tomatoes score for the spooky special is currently sitting at 100%, and with more LEGO Star Wars coming down the pipeline, it wouldn't surprise us if, like any good horror franchise, this nerf herder got a sequel. 

I'll end this by admitting that I know I'm coming into this argument with a ton of bias. Not only am I a fan of all things macabre, but Galaxy of Fear was actually my introduction to Star Wars - as a first grader, I spotted a cover in my school library and thought "hey, this looks like Goosebumps." So believe me when I say I know I'm bringing some personal preferences into this suggestion.

But I'd like to point out that, right now, smash hit shows like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Hazbin Hotel are raising new generations of young creeps just like I was, and a reboot of these novels could get them into Star Wars just like, long ago, it did me. And hey, if there's one new thing that Star Wars could always use, it's fans from different places.

Even if that place is the Galaxy of Fear.

Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.