Jude Law's Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is coming this Christmas 2024 from Lucasfilm, here's the plot, cast, trailer notes, release date speculation, and more

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There's a new Star Wars show currently ongoing called The Acolyte, but to borrow a line from Yoda "there is another." And Lucasfilm actually finished filming before The Acolyte even started.

Skeleton Crew is the highly-anticipated next live-action Star Wars series on its way to Disney+. Set after the events of Return of the Jedi, the series is described as a Goonies-esque story of four kids being lost. Somehow, a Force user that looks just like Jude Law gets involved.

As interest in Star Wars spikes with the Acolyte, we wanted to give you everything known about Skeleton Crew, along with a little bit of speculation.

As Ahsoka demonstrated, there’s a lot of potential in a good Lost in Space style story — even if the characters don’t necessarily have to get lost in an entirely different galaxy for things to work. No wonder, then, that Star Wars is already going back to that well immediately after Ahsoka, with the upcoming new series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Here’s what we know about Skeleton Crew so far.

Who is in the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew cast?

The crew of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been knonw for some time, but the one thing absent is their character names or anything about their characters. So far we have this:

• Jude Law
• Ryan Kiera Armstrong
• Robert Timothy Smith
• Ravi Cabot-Conyers
• Kyriana Kratter
• Tunde Adebimpe
• Kerry Condon
• Jaleel White

Hold up, Yon-Rogg is in the house?

To be clear, this is not some sort of Disney/MCU/Star Wars multi-movie-dimensional caper. But yep, Jude Law, aka Albus Dumbledore, aka Gigolo Joe, aka Graham from The Holiday is in this series.

But we have no idea what role he’s playing. In the trailer shown during Star Wars Celebration Europe, he's shown holding a lightsaber... so, presumably he's a a Jedi. But he has a knack for surprises in movies, so let's not get too far ahead.

What is the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew plot?

Set in the same period as the majority of the Disney+ Star Wars shows to date, Skeleton Crew is understood to be a ‘80s Amblin Entertainment-style story about “four kids who find themselves lost in in the vastness of the galaxy trying to find their way home...”

Co-creator Jon Watts originally pitched the miniseries to Jon Favreau on the set of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Favreau had been wondering if Watts might consider directing something in the Star Wars universe. Watts replied that he had a pitch for a whole series, which apparently has a Goonies-meets-Star Wars vibe that sold everyone at Lucasfilm.

"Skeleton Crew's tone is an adventure," series co-creator Christopher Ford told Entertainment Weekly. "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."

Interestingly enough, fans foundLucasfilm's copyright filing for the first episode of the show online, and that filing contains a slightly more detailed synopsis: "In the first episode of the Skeleton Crew we are introduced to four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet and get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home, meeting unlikely allies and enemies, will be a great adventure than they ever imagined."

Who’s on the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew creative team?

The series is created by director Jon Watts and his frequent writing collaborator Christopher Ford. Watts is also onboard to direct at least one episode, with Everything Everywhere All At Once filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, aka “the Daniels,” also slated to direct at least one episode. At Star Wars Celebration Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni revealed that the rest of the directors on the series would be David Lowery, Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung.

The series is executive produced by Mandalorian helmers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

How many Star Wars: Skeleton Crew episodes will there be?

Skeleton Crew is currently listed as a mini-series of eight episodes.

When is Skeleton Crew's release date?

That's the big question.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was rumored as far back as 2022, and we later learned it finished filming in January 2023. According to Collider, Jon Watts has said Star Wars: Celebration will debut in the winter 2024 season - around Christmas, as it were.

Is there a Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer?

A first look at the Skeleton Crew trailer was shown at Star Wars Celebration Europe, but the trailer has not been revealed to the public yet. However, if you're not afraid of spoilers... the trailer does reveal that Jude Law will be presumably be playing a Jedi in the show. Or, at least, someone who knows his way around a lightsaber.

Where does Skeleton Crew fit in the Star Wars timeline?

Rumored since early 2022, Skeleton Crew is set in the post-Return of the Jedi era - the same exact year that the Mandalorian season 1 was set in. Shooting began in summer 2022, and wrapped in January 2023, meaning that it’s possible that the show’s going to arrive sooner than you might think.

Here's a handy summary from Austin Gorton about the overall Star Wars timeline.

So will the Star Wars shows intersect in some way?

While Skeleton Crew and Ahsoka are both considered completely their own thing, Favreau has hinted that there may be crossovers between characters from the two. He has also expressed interest in seeing Skeleton Crew characters in The Mandalorian Season 4. Interestingly enough, some people think that Ahsoka has already laid groundwork for Skeleton Crew in a very subtle, quiet way that will only become obvious later...

Where can I watch Star Wars: Skeleton Crew?

Disney+ is the one and only place you'll be able to find this cool new Star Wars series. But you'll also be able to find lots of great content about it right here on Popverse.

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Not done with Star Wars yet? Dive into the films and TV shows with our Star Wars watch order, or debate on which was the best with our ranked list of the best (and worst) Star Wars movies. And since it's now upon us, follow along with Popverse's coverage of The Acolyte.