Filmed before The Acolyte, then lost in space, do we finally have an idea when Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will arrive?

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The Acolyte has arrived, and is already asking big questions about Star Wars lore — but we have a question of our own when it comes to a galaxy far, far away: whatever happened to Star Wars: Skeleton Crew?

Officially announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022, Skeleton Crew is a coming-of-age story about four kids lost on a spaceship in the Star Wars galaxy, and their journey back home — accompanied by a Force user who may or may not be a Jedi, as played by Jude Law. The series is set in the same time period as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka, and the executive producers of those shows (Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy) are on board here, alongside series creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, who’d previously worked together on Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man movies.

And, just as the kids in the show are lost in space, Skeleton Crew is seemingly lost in the Disney+ schedule.

We know that the series wrapped shooting back in January 2023 — no fewer than six months earlier than the Acolyte wrapped — and that the series was initially anticipated to air in late 2023. A full trailer was shared at Star Wars Celebration 2023, but only for the fans in the room; like a lot of the Celebration footage, it was never released publicly.

In late 2023, it became clear that wasn’t going to happen — but the United States Copyright Office officially stated that January 2024 was an “approximate” publication date for the first episode. That, too, obviously didn’t happen… and now, we’re midway through The Acolyte without any clue as to where Skeleton Crew has gone. So… what gives?

It’s possible that Skeleton Crew is one of the “few projects” that Disney CEO Bob Iger said had been cancelled quietly in the past few months. Back in early March, Iger admitted that Disney had “killed a few projects already that we just didn’t feel were strong enough,” adding, “We’ve not been that public about it.” However, a recently as June 2024, Jude Law has been talking about the project as an ongoing project that is very much alive.

(It helps that merchandise from the show is slowly beginning to appear, as well...)

It’s also possible that post-production work on Skeleton Crew has been impacted by 2023’s writers’ and actors’ strikes to the point where it’s been delayed far past earlier expectations, meaning that its release has been taken off the calendar until things are further along — or, for that matter, that as a show tying in with The Mandalorian, Skeleton Crew’s release might be complicated by The Mandalorian being upgraded from a TV show to a movie series, which could prompt the need for reshoots or reworking so as to now spoil any plot developments.

However, all is not lost. For some months, there have been rumors that Skeleton Crew is specifically intended to be a holiday-themed show, and is being held back until December 2024 in order to hit just right… which might seem a little counterintuitive given that our holidays don’t exist in the Star Wars galaxy, but stranger things have happened. In May 2024, series co-creator Jon Watts reportedly said that December 2024 would, in fact, be the release window for the show, although neither Lucasfilm or Disney+ has officially commented on the date just yet. That last part isn’t necessarily a problem, however; the streamer doesn’t tend to officially announce dates until a handful of months in advance.

So, what does this mean? In the short term, it means that we should enjoy what’s left of The Acolyte and not expect any updates about Skeleton Crew anytime soon… but with San Diego Comic-Con, D23 Expo, and New York Comic Con coming up in the next few months, don’t be too surprised to see some announcements, and maybe even a trailer, before too long. After all, space is a nice place to get lost, but there’s something to be said for being found, as well.

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.