Skeleton Crew review: "Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"

GamesRadar+ VerdictSkeleton Crew is a fun adventure story with lots of promise for Star Wars TVPros+The pirates are swashbuckling fun+Neel is adorable+The mystery of At Attin is very intriguingCons-Needs more Jude Law (so far)

GamesRadar+ Verdict

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Skeleton Crew is a fun adventure story with lots of promise for Star Wars TV

Skeleton Crew is a fun adventure story with lots of promise for Star Wars TV

Pros+The pirates are swashbuckling fun+Neel is adorable+The mystery of At Attin is very intriguing

The pirates are swashbuckling fun

Neel is adorable

The mystery of At Attin is very intriguing

Cons-Needs more Jude Law (so far)

Needs more Jude Law (so far)

Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a starry-eyed youngster trapped on a boring planet where big dreams go to die secretly yearns for adventure, while the authority figures in their life tell them to get back to work. No, I’m not talking about Luke, Anakin, or Rey Skywalker – I’m talking about Wim, a kid living in the stifling suburbia of his planet At Attin. Here, one test will dictate the course of his entire life, and none of the career paths open to him lead to adventure.

Everything changes for the Jedi-obsessed youngling when he stumbles upon a strange object buried in the woods. He’s convinced it’s a Jedi Temple, but it turns out to be an abandoned starship. Together with his best pal Neel and neighborhood kids Fern and KB, Wim ends up accidentally blasting off into hyperspace with only the malfunctioning, cantankerous droid SM-33 for company. Lost alone in space, they’ll have to find their way home – only, their droid has no record of At Attin in his memory bank, and everyone else seems convinced it’s actually the fabled home of eternal treasure.

Skeleton Crew, then, perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars – even the opening scene is a homage to Darth Vader’s iconic entrance in A New Hope, while Wim racing to catch up to a missed school bus echoes the speeder bike chase in Return of the Jedi – but with a swashbuckling twist. Yep, Skeleton Crew is all about pirates, and, in the three episodes made available to critics, it’s a good old-fashioned, fun adventure story.

Sailing the galaxy’s seas

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

Jude Law as Jod in Skeleton Crew

Fast facts(Image credit: Disney)Release date:December 2 (US), December 3 (UK)Available on:Disney PlusShowrunner:Jon Watts and Christopher FordEpisodes seen:3 out of 8

Fast facts

(Image credit: Disney)Release date:December 2 (US), December 3 (UK)Available on:Disney PlusShowrunner:Jon Watts and Christopher FordEpisodes seen:3 out of 8

(Image credit: Disney)

Jude Law and the young cast of Skeleton Crew

Release date:December 2 (US), December 3 (UK)

Available on:Disney Plus

Showrunner:Jon Watts and Christopher Ford

Episodes seen:3 out of 8

It’s a good old fashioned, fun adventure story

It’s a good old fashioned, fun adventure story

With the stunning VFX we’ve come to expect from Star Wars on the small screen, a rock solid cast of characters, and some adorable creatures to boot, Skeleton Crew is poised to be a stellar addition to Star Wars TV, as long as it keeps up this momentum across the rest of its eight episode run. Adventure awaits…

Skeleton Crew arrives onDisney Plusthis December 2 in the US and December 3 in the UK. You can use ourSkeleton Crew release scheduleto keep up to date.

In the meantime, check out our guide to all theupcoming Star Wars movies and showsfor everything else that’s in store, or see our roundup of thebest shows on Disney Plusto fill out your watchlist.

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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

1

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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

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Squid Game season 2

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4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5

Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

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