you could read the full transcript of our conversation below.
BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Oh, that’s wonderful!
I love hearing that.
Image by Nimesh Perera
At first, they sold it as aGooniesthing, andGoonieswas never a thing for me.
I wasn’t aGooniesgirl.
HOWARD: You’re totally right.
Image via Disney+
It really, really, really is.
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear that because you never know.
So, the fact that that’s translating is the best.
I see love for it every week.
Did you get to pick the episode?
How did Episode 6 land in your lap?
Image via Disney+
HOWARD: I never get to pick an episode.
It’s always, Do you want to direct in Star Wars?
Here’s the script.
Four kids make a mysterious discovery on their home planet that leads them to get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy.
It’s that, and it’s a little bit like Christmas.
Its really wonderful and exciting, like opening up a present.
I had heard about it a lot from The Third Floor teamthat’s the previs team; they animate.
I really trust that team so much.
I’m also very hesitant to even ask because I dont want to put them in that position.
One day, I was just like, How is it?
They were like, It is amazing.
It is so fun.
So I definitely was sort of drooling over it.
But the way I got asked was very fast.
It’s always very fast.
It’s always like, Would you be interested in this?
Could you come in, in the next three days to start?
HOWARD: Yeah, yeah, very, very, very fast!
[Laughs] Im like, But I want to be available just in case.
Am I getting invited to the party this year?
So, yeah, it was a very quick thing and glorious.
It’s just wonderful to get to join the project.
Do you find that to be true, as well, on the set when things are happening?
Something about this show feels so much deeper.
There’s so much more depth.
HOWARD: Oh, that’s wonderful.
I would just say that Im in awe.
That goes for everyone at ILM and everyone at Legacy Effects.
It’s, frankly, every single department.
They’re constantly upping their game, constantly.
It’s about bringing minds together.
Having that real-world experience of being like, It brokeagain!
I watch so many cooking videos.
So many cooking videos, I can’t even tell you.
Its not even funny.
I’m obsessed with it.
I do not know how to cook.
The pirate lore is strong in this one.
That’s the thing I love about Star Wars.
I love that the studio was involved with making Mama Crab.
I was so delighted to discover that.
What was it like getting to incorporate that into your episode?
I love stop-motion animation so much.
HOWARD: Same, same.
So it was like, More hey.
That’s what’s exciting, also, to your point, about Star Wars.
What’s exciting about Star Wars, so much of it, is the technology.
Then John Knoll was there because he was our VFX supervisortotal legend, created Adobe, no big deal.
[Laughs] Invented it!
So John Knoll is an incredible visionary and talent, on a number of levels.
He’s the definition of a multi-hyphenate.
So I was like, This is so cool, and how can we make this cooler?
How do we make this cooler?
Maybe a bunch of slime comes out.
And I was like, Oh my god, this is absolutely fantastic!
Obviously, we couldn’t do the slime.
We had to abide by continuity and everything.
Let’s make this more of a moment.
And beyond that, I should say, this is really also Watts and Ford.
I’ve known those guys since college and respected them so much since college.
I could see it immediately with them.
Then [Dave] Filoni and Fav were there, as well.
I mean, come on.
How ‘Skeleton Crew’s Young Cast Embraces the Sense of Play
Truly a dream team.
HOWARD: Oh, that’s a good question.
That’s a really good question.
None of them were brats at all.
Their prefrontal cortex is… Is it still forming?
Has it just closed?
I never had to be like, By the way, just remember…
It was really, really wonderful to see.
If there was anything, it’s that I really wanted them to trust their own instincts.
[Laughs] Im like, No!
Hes making a joke.
But he’s also not wrong.
HOWARD: Hes also not wrong.
You have to hit your mark.
You have to do the thing at the time; otherwise, you’re not doing the thing.
I had just worked with Sam Rockwell inArgylle… HOWARD: Oh, you’re so wonderful, Maggie!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I mean, it’s wild.
I would sometimes be like, Oh my god.
With Sam, its almost like he’s got the freedom of a child actor.
Like the lack of…
It’s not vanity.
No one, actually, at all.
But just hyper-awareness in everything that’s happening.
It was just like, Oh, just let him do his thing!
I’m like, We’ll just roll the camera!
Do you, man.
It’s so thrilling.
And it paid off!
I mean, the scene with Kyriana [Kratter] is so fantastic.
Now they’re getting it, and they’re resonating with it.
There are so many beautiful moral lessons going on in the series.
HOWARD: Thank you.
It was all about having a light touch and having rehearsal with the kids in advance.
[Laughs] You’re there to support them.
You trust them to do their thing.
I was like, I need to see inside!
No, lower the camera.
I need to see inside.
And the details of, Okay, what is Wim doing, and how is he creating this?
And is this feasible for a child to do?
Does this make sense?
This is essentially brain surgery on a beach.
[Laughs] Is this plausible?
And ultimately, I really think it is.
The way in which those beats were broken down and whatnotand that was all in the scriptyou followed it.
I often find that sometimes folks don’t actually read the script.
Theyll read it in the beginning, and then it’s sort of like, Oh, right.
I have a sense of this, and I’m working off of other things.
I’ll be like, And that’s there, and that’s there.
I’m not acting anything, I’m just saying it, matter of fact.
So, it’s really fun.
And if they say no, then I’ll just be like, Oh, yeah, no problem.
Could you actually just step a little bit over there because we’re missing you in the light?
Just check this out, and they’ll be like, Ah.
Yeah, I see.
Okay, and then theyll just pop back.
There’s so much stuff going on.
It almost feels like a dance, almost like it’s got choreography to it.
I just loved that moment.
It’s very Dickensian, too, the script and talking about it.
I want to know about crafting that scene and blocking that scene because it’s just so good.
Its just got everything!
HOWARD: Thank you!
So Jude Law came up with the shanty.
It was just supposed to be lines.
HOWARD: Tak Rennod soared, away, away…
If it was a shanty?
Because that’s kind of what pirates do, and that’s how the lore carries on.
We were like, Yes, kindly.
We would like that very much, Jude Law.
Jude Law: world-class actor.
One of the greats.
Just an astonishingly lovely individual.
What is he like?
And I said, Well, get ready.
You’re about to die and go to director heaven.
It’s absolutely true.
He, as an actor, has a lot of energy and is very engaged.
He’s very encouraging.
He has a very encouraging, rolling-up-his-sleeves, very intelligent yes, and… kind of energy to him.
Also, its a scene where there’s a speech.
The history is immense.
And like you were saying, the circumstances, as well; everyone is coming from different situations.
Different kinds of life paths have led them here now.
I get what the scene is.
I get the vibe.
I understand the stakes.
I don’t need to have watched one bit of Star Wars to make it understand it.
What is her story?!
You’re able to enjoy it that much more.
Their soul, their spirit, their story.
You want to feel their stories.
They’re ready to kill him.
It’s going to be a miracle if he turns this around.
There’s real fury and rage here.
Then, to tap into the love and the shared mission of it all,andthey’re pirates!
I love the hourglass thing.
I love the hourglass so much.
It’s not just a last-ditch effort to win them over.
And honestly, I have to say, that was on the page.
Because also, come onJude Law doing the speech?
I want to know her story.
HOWARD: I know, I know!
Wheres her spin-off novel?
And Im like, But what’s her story?
What’s her story?
What’s his story?
That’s what I’m always asking.
What’s their story like?
That makes me think of Omera [inThe Mandalorian].
Because I’m still obsessed with that character.
HOWARD: Oh, I know!
Im like, Where’s her book?!
I need a spin-off book for her.
HOWARD: Oh my god, hey, hey, hey.
[Laughs] Who would write that?
Is it Claudia Gray?
Oh, I would love that.
HOWARD: We could go to Claudia Gray and be like, yo?
And so isSkeleton Crew!
HOWARD: Maggie, I’m so glad you like the show.
Im really, really glad because I’m so proud of the guys.
I’m so proud of them.
And Dave Filoni is one of my favorite people.
I just feel very, very grateful that I got to do that.
The first six episodes ofStar Wars: Skeleton Creware streaming on Disney+ now.
