Skeleton Crew: the best thing Star Wars has done in a long time (review)

Fewer lightsabers, more fun! The new spin-off series is a rousing pirate adventure. All that’s missing is Willy the Cyborg!

It all starts with an old-fashioned approach, but with a Star Wars. A space pirate ship attacks a New Republic trade vessel to steal its immense cargo of gold. But their captain is betrayed by a mutiny… Is it Willy the One-Eyed? Probably not, but it is totally in his footsteps that the toddlers of Skeleton Crewthe new series Star Wars which was just released on Disney Plus. A series sold by Disney as a rehash of Goonies in the very distant Galaxy.

And it is clear that there was no deception on the merchandise! Jon Watts And Christopher Ford have clearly drawn on their childhood memories of the Amblin cinema of the 1980s (we’ve all been there) to write this adventure in the stars for children. Four pre-teens find a card a ship buried on their planet and will embark against themselves on a hunt across the Galaxy (left to its own devices after the fall of the Empire) while the New Republic struggles to settle down.

All of this is very calibrated, designed to fit to the millimeter in the mold of the genre Spielbergian original. But the execution is undeniably successful. By abandoning lightsabers and other Sith lords, Watts and Ford offer a whole new approach to Star Warswho doesn’t care much about his mythology which has become horribly heavy to bear. The idea is simply to take us on an adventure, into a world of piracy old school really fun. The two creators were able to integrate the visual delirium of Star Wars this spirit Goonies emblematic, where camaraderie, curiosity and puberty mix.

All of this works, because the casting, initially, was successful. Wim, Fern, KB and Neel form a gang that we want to follow, with a special mention for the last named, an adorable blue space elephant, fearful and faithful, with his very cute little brothers and sisters. At 14, the actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong – the most experienced of the group, since already star of the remake Firestarter at the cinema in 2022 – has the shoulders to carry the troupe and become the star. And around it, real dynamics flourish quite naturally.

After two episodes, the series Skeleton Crew shows great promises, having been able to breathe new energy into Star Wars like rarely before. But will she be able to stay the course until the end of the treasure hunt, knowing that there are still six episodes and a little over 3 hours of adventure? Not sure that The Goonies would have become cult, if the film had lasted 4 hours…

Skeleton Crew, in 8 episodes, to watch on Disney Plus since December 3 in France