Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: everything we know about the Goonies-style Disney Plus show

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Key information

- Scheduled to arrive this year
- Launching exclusively on Disney Plus
- No trailer released yet
- Reportedly comprises eight episodes
- Co-created by Jon Watts, who directed the Tom Holland Spider-Man movie trilogy
- Set in the post-Return of the Jedi timeline alongside The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: Ahsoka
- Stars Jude Law and Kerry Condon alongside a cast of kids
- Character and plot details thin on the ground

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is a galaxy-sized mystery right now. One of four Lucasfilm shows – the others being The Bad Batch season 3, The Acolyte, and Tales from the Empire – that'll debut on Disney Plus this year, there's still very little we know about the Goonies-style series ahead of its likely late 2024 release.

With Star Wars Day 2024 (May 4) almost upon us, however, we live in hope that we'll get a substantial update on Skeleton Crew very, very soon. That's not a given, mind you – we just hope it'll be the case. In the event that Disney and Lucasfilm don't give us any new information to pore over, there's enough in this guide to keep you occupied until the entertainment giants see fit to reveal more. Below, you'll find intel on the show's possible Disney Plus launch date, its confirmed cast, and the odd plot detail that we've gleaned from cast interviews. So, what are you waiting for? Dive in!

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew release date: what we know

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's release date hasn't been announced yet, but we know it's one of two live-action Lucasfilm shows coming to Disney Plus this year. A Walt Disney Company press release confirmed as much in December 2023, with the legendary company confirming Skeleton Crew and Star Wars: The Acolyte will be out in 2024.

We've since learned that The Acolyte will unsheath its lightsaber on June 4. And, with The Bad Batch's final season (out now) and Tales from the Empire (May 4) ending before mid-2024, there's a sizable Star Wars-shapped hole to fill in Disney Plus' calendar later this year. All signs, then, point towards a late 2024 launch for the coming-of-age sci-fi drama.

We could be right on the money, too, if quotes carried by The Direct from Skeleton Crew actor Dane DiLiegro are to be believed. Asked for an update on its release, he said: "I'm hoping by the fall [autumn for those above the equator, spring for Southern hemisphere dwellers]. If I were to guess... That's completely surmising. There's no information behind that. I know that Lucasfilm likes to release things around November-ish, so I'm hoping by then. I've been meaning to reach out to our director, David Lowery. He's a friend of mine. But yeah, I don't know. We’ll see. Maybe November. I know Lucasfilm is due for something pretty cool. And I think Skeleton Crew might be that thing."

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew confirmed cast and crew

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 's main cast has been confirmed, but the identities of their characters are a close guarded secret. Here's who we know is appearing so far:

• Jude Law as TBC

• Ryan Kiera Armstrong as TBC

• Ravi Cabot-Conyers as TBC

• Kyriana Kratter as TBC

• Robert Timothy Smith as TBC

• Tunde Adebimpe as TBC

• Kerry Condon as TBC

• Jaleel White as TBC

• Dane DiLiegro as TBC

Jude Law (a lifelong Star Wars fan) is believed to be the kids' protector-in-chief as the show's main male lead. He's refused to confirm or deny whether he is – as is strongly rumored – playing a Jedi, but the Fantastic Beasts star has teased (via Entertainment Weekly (EW)) a few tidbits about his character.

"He is someone [that] the children meet on their attempt to get home," he said. "He is like a lot of the world that they experience: contradictory, and at times a place of nurture and other times a place of threat.”

Law also told Empire magazine that he’s trying to bring aspects of a certain Corellian smuggler to the role, saying: "What I wanted to imbue was the humor and the sardonic nature of [Han] Solo. 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, Ryan Kiera 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 Black Widow. She’s joined on the outer space adventure by relative newcomers Ravi Cabot-Conyers (the voice of Antonio in Encanto), Kyriana Kratter (Disney’s Bunk’d) and Robert Timothy Smith (Mythic Quest).

Older stars confirmed for the Skeleton Crew cast include actor/TV on the Radio's lead singer Tunde Adebimpe and The Banshees of Inisherin Bafta winner Kerry Condon. Family Matters star Jaleel White revealed to ComicBook.com that he’s playing a space pirate. As mentioned in our release date section, DiLiegro is also involved in some capacity.

Law and Condon aside, the biggest names are arguably behind the camera. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew co-creator/co-showrunner Jon Watts 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 has written six of Skeleton Crew’s eight episodes with fellow creator and showrunner Christopher Ford, whose previous credits include Clown, Cop Car, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. The other two episodes are scripted 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, while Variety reports that shots have also been called by David Lowery (Peter Pan & Wendy), Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank, Beef), and two veterans from The Mandalorian in Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung. Perhaps the most exciting news on the directing front, though, is that Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – the Oscar-winning directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once – have also helmed an episode. Lastly, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni – overseers of this particular corner of that galaxy far, far away – are two of its executive producers.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew plot synopsis and rumors

Here's the show's story synopsis, courtesy of an April 2023 Walt Disney Company press release: "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. 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.

At Star Wars Celebration 2022 in Anaheim when the series was first announced, 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, and that Jude Law's character will help the aforementioned kids on their journey home.

If the plot sounds reminiscent of the 180s movies released by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin production company, that’s entirely intentional. "Jon Watts came to me, very much wanting to do a sort of Goonies in Star Wars," Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm president and Amblin co-founder, 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."

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," co-creator Christopher Ford said in a 2023 EW 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."

If the second half of Ford's answer 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. Jude Law’s in it and I’ve worked with him before. But it’s really adventurous and they got such great directors for each episode... and of course, Jon Watts who created the whole thing."

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."

That element of risk is arguably a given, seeing as Skeleton Crew plot 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.”

It’s already been confirmed that The Mandalorian (one of the best Disney Plus shows), 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."

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer: is there one?

Possible spoilers follow for Skeleton Crew.

There’s no official Star Wars: Skeleton Crew trailer yet. However, with Star Wars Day 2024 fast approaching, could we finally get a teaser for it? We're hoping so.

If we do, it might be the same footage that, Star Wars Celebration 2023 attendees glimpsed last May. Per Variety, that trailer contained "shots of the children on speeders, in school, on spaceships, and a tease of a familiar villain from The Mandalorian". This villain is reportedly Vane, the Nikto pirate who caused Din Djarin, Baby Yoda, and Greef Karga some problems in The Mandalorian season 3. This would tally with the rumor that pirates will be the show's main antagonists. The Celebration teaser also featured a first look at Jude Law’s character.

If you can’t wait for an actual Skeleton Crew trailer, there is an extremely brief shot of Law's antihero (about nine seconds in) in the 2023 Star Wars Day video above.

How will Star Wars: Skeleton Crew tie into other movies and TV shows?

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 or other new Star Wars TV shows and movies 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. Over to you, Disney and Lucasfilm.

For more Star Wars-based coverage, find out how to watch the Star Wars movies in order or read about the best Star Wars games you can play.