Note: This story contains spoilers from “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” Episode 8.
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” is all wrapped up.
Or is it?
The latest live-action Disney+ series from Lucasfilm ended its initial run earlier this week. And honestly, we were sad to see it go. Creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford crafted a world that felt both reminiscent and completely new, as they tracked the lives of four kids from a hidden planet who discover a spaceship, team up with a pirate (played wonderfully by Jude Law) and travel the galaxy. It expertly channeled the original “Star Wars” trilogy, along with the 1980’s works of Jim Henson and Steven Spielberg and things like Star Tours and the made-for-TV Ewok movies, into an intoxicating, singularly entertaining brew.
TheWrap spoke to Watts and Ford following the “Skeleton Crew” finale. We discussed the possibility of season 2, non-Jedis using the Force and just how committed they are to integrating bits of “Captain EO,” Michael Jackson’s 3D movie that used to play at the Disney Parks, into official “Star Wars” canon. (Fuzzball, from the attraction, showed up early in the show.)
TheWrap: One of the things that was explored in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and then dropped entirely is the idea of non-Jedis using the Force. And Law’s character, we learn in the finale, is just some guy who was taught how to use the Force.
Christopher Ford: As Jude says, the Force flows through us all.
Well, yes, but it oftentimes flows through one family.
Christopher Ford: But you know, he does literally specify that he was trained a little bit. But for me, I honestly was most excited to have him be a lousy Force user, like he can do a Force push here or there. He can’t do much. But also he’s afraid. He grew up in a time when that was a death sentence if it got around that you could do that.
Jon Watts: It was so fun. We’d have such long discussions with Dave Filoni about how it works, how it could work, how he might have learned, what he might have learned, how long it would take. I love getting into that stuff.
Ford: I think through talking directly with George Lucas he has a really clear way that it works. But then you there’s always these fringe areas. We had this thing where he’s Force lifting a key in that one scene. There was a lot of discussion about the key because it has a dangly part. We’re like, “Wait, should the Force be holding it from above, or is it supported? Is it going to wobble?”
Watts: Does the Force surround it and lift it?
Ford: Filoni said, “You have to decide. And that’s what it’ll be.”
Watts: We did like, six versions, and we’re just, like, watching these slightly different versions of the key floating and being like, “Does that feel like the Force?”
There are a few big reveals in the finale, one of them being that the Supervisor of At Attin is a giant droid. Was that an idea you initially had or did you discover it along the way?
Ford: That was always meant to connect with that theme and spirit in the original movie of the system versus the human spirit. And if you’re going to live in this regimented world and you’re blocked in, it just felt right for the heart of it to be just following a program.
Watts: And not in a necessarily such a dark, evil way as portrayed in the original trilogy, but more like this kind of benign dissatisfaction, which is tied really into that youthful angst that the kids are experiencing.
That plays into the bigger themes of that episode – the idea of letting go and growing up and letting the rest of the world in.
Watts: Yeah, that safety that comes with growing up in a place that’s secluded and cut off from the world, like it is safe there, but it’s also stifling.
Ford: And next At Attin will go through its awkward tween years.
Watts: It’s really, really interesting to think about, on a larger scope, what will happen to that planet and that society.
It was interesting too because the Supervisor still has programming that identifies Jedis as the enemy (left over from Order 66 from “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith”).
Ford: I’m not sure how much it comes across, but it’s supposed to be that At Attin is a bit independent. It’s analogous to Kamino, where we provide a service. And the Republic is taking that up. So it’s like, Yeah, we got this message that the Jedi are traitors. What were you talking about? Wait, now you’re not sending any more messages. That is what it’s supposed to feel like.
Not going to lie — wished Fuzzball had gone along on the adventure with them.
Watts: There’s so many things that we set up that we’re like, Should we bring this character back? Should we bring this back like this? Everything is great and interesting in “Star Wars” — every detail, every character, every prop. So when you get to the last episodes, you’re like, Well, man, should we bring this person back?
Who almost made it in?
Watts: Will it make people want a second season more? I think so. I wanted to do a little bit more with Neel and his crush, Roona.
Ford: But there’s this really interesting thing where an episode is like a ride and it’s moving, and if we had stopped to do that, it just didn’t work as much as we loved it. We had to be on the roller coaster.
Do you want to further explore this world in a second season or some other format?
Watts: People considered this like, Oh, is it a kids show? Is it an adult show? And, you know, it’s from the perspective of the kids. But there’s always been this interesting possibility of, what would it look like as they grow up and as coming from a secluded place, like now that their world has been opened up, seeing them grow up and how they would fit into the larger galaxy? I think that would be just a really fascinating thing to explore. I’d love to see what happens to At Attin now that it’s no longer cut off from the rest of the galaxy and the kids are growing up. I’d love to see a young adult’s perspective like, Who would they meet? Where would they end up? It just feels so wide open to us.
It could be the “Before …” trilogy of “Star Wars.”
Watts: Yeah, “Up” series. I just think of “Harry Potter” and how cool it was, you’re the same age as the kids in “Harry Potter,” growing up with them and seeing how it changes. And by the end, you’re watching like such an incredible drama play out in front of you.
Ford: “Star Wars” was already always designed that way, like the way the first movie ends. It’s supposed to be episode four and there’s room before and after it. You could always do more.
What was on your list of things that you wanted to get done on “Skeleton Crew” and how much did you actually accomplish?
Watts: Oh, there’s so many. One thing that we debated when we were writing is, how long should we stay on the planet before the kids blast off? Because I’m really interested in how At Attin actually works. It’s kind of the “Andor” side of it, we always loved the more mundane aspects to this fascinating galaxy. The idea of getting into the parents and their work and how it fits in. And, you know, obviously we turn it into a mystery and then reveal it slowly over the course of the season, but yeah, really understanding how that works, and getting to meet the parents and understand more about their side of it. Wnd doing that with the pirates. We always wanted to do more with the pirates and show how their world actually works. What are the rules? How do things like the pirate code fit in to what they do? There’s so much depth at every side of it. Just the fact that we were able to hint at that depth, is enough for me.
Ford: The fact that we mentally explored it and the depth is there, and then we just show what we can show racing through our story. We personally, the hotel could have been two episodes. We had so many ideas, and w were going to go to the buffet.
Watts: That’s on the bucket list — a “Star Wars” buffet. And food fight. We were talking about like, Wait, is it 24 hours? We got into a bunch of time rules about how all you can eat buffets.
Ford: But once you pull on a string like that, it all falls apart. And you’re like, Wait, they’re speaking English.
Season 2 will be the buffet season.
Jon Watts: Oh yeah.
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” is streaming in full on Disney+ right now.
