Where Does Skeleton Crew Take Place on the Star Wars Timeline?
So, there’s a lot of debate between fans on whetherStar WarsorEmpire Strikes Backis better.
Which film do you rank as the number one?
Image via Jon Watts
CHRISTOPHER FORD: Oh, no, now were gonna get in trouble.
Someone asked me that, and I saidReturn of the Jedi.
Well, that’s not the right answer.
FORD: Thats why I’m in trouble.
JON WATTS:Empirefor me.
I like down endings, so I’ll always like that one the most.
Image via Jon Watts
Irvin Kershners classic Star Wars film might have ended quite differently.
So, when doesSkeleton Crewtake place on the Star Wars timeline?
FORD: PostReturn of the Jedi.
Image via Disney+
Is there a number of years?
Because there’s been a lot of conjecture online.
I mean, we definitely had an idea going into it.
Image via Disney+
WATTS: Yeah, slotting it in exactly.
FORD: That’s the behind-the-scenes answer.
So, it’s a little bit of we’re not exactly revealing that yet.
Image via Disney+
WATTS: There’s no moment where it ties in exactly where we can say.
It’s just afterReturn of the Jedi.
WATTS: That’s the crazy thing is, we felt like we had total freedom.
WATTS: But everything is safe here because it’s going through the Lucasfilm design team.
So, you’re just picking from a list of great options.
[Laughs]
WATTS: There are so many potential repercussions from things that happen in the show.
Image via Sony Pictures/Apple TV+
That one I was pretty insistent on.
FORD: That’s interesting.
That was really interesting to get to make up a new little piece.
Four kids make a mysterious discovery on their home planet that leads them to get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy.
WATTS: Like a piece of history.
I wanted to be able to do that because we could have not done that.
But what I love in Star Wars is theres always a little bit more than you know about.
WATTS: I don’t know that we ever had anything that was dramatically pushed back on.
We were so protected and encouraged.
WATTS: You feel very safe with the team we had.
Who is Jod Na Nawood, really?
Who was the one who said the Teek fromEwoks: The Battle for Endoris now canon?
Who is the one who said we need to make this happen?
FORD: Yeah, the Teeks we know fromBattle for Endoris well taken care of.
Was it one of you that came up with it, like, We need to do this?
I wonder if it was from someone on Doug Chiangs team.
WATTS: It might have been pitched back from Dough Chiang.
FORD: Hes like, Look at this piece of art, and were like, Whoa, yes!
It was like, Here it is moving at the actual speed of the Teeks.
FORD: Yeah, there were a lot of options for how fast it can move.
Because it shouldn’t be like an X-Man speed.
WATTS: It has to just be fast enough that it feels referential.
WATTS: I mean, everyone figured out the Fuzzball from Captain EO in the trailer.
Yeah, there are quite a few things.
Some of the ships are Easter eggs if you look closely in the background.
FORD: Oh my gosh, yes.
There are a lot of parked ships.
So, you gotta look in deep.
What episode should people be looking for this?
WATTS: You see that in the second episode.
FORD: [Episodes] 2 and 3.
Oh, I know what you’re talking about.
Because it’s like iconic Star Wars.
We had a lot of drafts.
FORD: We went through different options.
One of the options was asong.
WATTS: Almost opening with a pirate chanty.
Didn’t do that.
FORD: Thats in there somewhere.
you’re free to hear it in the background.
WATTS: Becauseit’s sort of a combination between the opening ofNew Hopeand then pirate movies from the 30s.
WATTS: [Laughs] We wanted to start off by letting people know that it’s not.
So, there are eight episodes; which is your favorite and why?
WATTS: I’m not going to just saymyepisodes.
Which ones did you direct, actually?
WATTS: First and last.
I did the beginning and end.
Take the plane off and land the plane.
I really like Episode 6, that Bryce directed.
It’s a really emotional story between the kids, and it’s really beautiful.
That’s the one where we have some stop-motion animation.
So, I like that one, too.
How Long Are the ‘Skeleton Crew’ Episodes?
I’m curious about the runtimes.
The first one is, like, 50 minutes.
WATTS: I don’t even know what the runtimes are now.
We’ve been working on it for so long.
FORD: The first one is a little bit longer.
The second one’s, like, 30 minutes, the third one’s like 46 or something.
How does it go with Episodes 4-8?
Is the finale a longer one?
WATTS: Finale’s long.
Working in streaming isgreatbecause it’s just as long or as short as you want it to be.
There were no requirements.
We just made the story.
FORD: Well, there was a requirement, but we didn’t listen to it.
WATTS: Oh, there was a requirement.
Yeah, but we didnt do it.
[Laughs]
FORD: I think it actually ended up being fine.
WATTS: We were fine.
So what about Episodes 4-8?
Are they mostly 30 minutes?
And how long is the finale?
Is it an hour?
WATTS: It’s like 45.
FORD: It’s not an hour.
WATTS: No, it’s not a full hour.
FORD: Episode 2 is the shortest one.
Thats the most breezy.
WATTS: Everything’s, like, 35-40.
The series stars Jude Law.
What do you think fans are going to say after they see the finale?
FORD: What happens next?
I don’t want anything spoiled, but I am curious what people are going to think.
I can’t wait for that.
I can’t wait to see what people think about what we did.
What Can We Expect From ‘Skeleton Crew’ Season 2?
“This isn’t like it would take place the next day.”
So this show definitely has aGooniesvibe.The Gooniesfamously never got a sequel.
WATTS: We 100% have an idea for a second season and know what we would do.
This isn’t like it would take place the next day because the kids are going to be older.
So, we would be writing towards that.
Youll be growing up with the kids.
WATTS: Yeah, it would have to be something like that to make sense.
No, well that would be stupid.
FORD: There are so many repercussions.
It’s like, you kind of want to catch up later.
I think that’s the difference betweenThe Gooniesand this, because the end ofThe Gooniesis they did it.
They saved their town.
They got the treasure.
I guess the fact that there is no sequel meant that their lives were just good, therefore boring.
Every time I see Josh Brolin or whoever I’m always pitchingThe Goonies 2: Goonies Never Die.
I’ve come up with a million ideas.
They just need to do it.
FORD: Maybe wait till they’re all old.
It’s like one of those group of old people movies.
That’s what everyone wants to see.
Did you end up with a lot of deleted scenes?
FORD: Not a lot, but some.
WATTS: There’s some good stuff.
We wanted every episode to be jam-packed.
So, sometimes that meant losing pieces here or there that just made the episodes better.
Everything that’s not in there is not in there because it made the episode better.
With Disney+, I’ve always wondered why they don’t put more extras.
They’ve recently been doing it.
Do you think any of that stuff will end up on Disney+?
FORD: I don’t know, I think it’d be interesting.
It just creates a weird, outside-canon version of things.
That’s what I mean.
WATTS: I don’t know if there’s anything that we cut that would dramatically change the story.
Which shot or sequence of the eight episodes ended up being the toughest one to pull off?
WATTS: Tonally, there’s a couple moments in Episode 7 that Lee Isaac Chung directed.
FORD: But I’m so glad he directed that one because he had the ability to.
WATTS: Yeah, he could really straddle those two worlds.
But yeah,107 it starts to get really intense.
WATTS: [Laughs] I love reading all of it.
It was like, That’d be a good idea for a show.
It just doesn’t happen to be what we made.
If you keep guessing, you’re eventually going to guess.
There are only so many choices.
WATTS: I don’t think we’ve seen anyone that have have guessed it yet.
FORD: No, that’s true, actually.
Because there are a few more components in there.
WATTS: Weve built that planet from the inside out.
FORD: There’s the history of it and everything.
It just matters for the story.
Sure, but it also could matter for future things, too.
And they would say, Well, it exists now.
WATTS: If you believe in the show, it does.
It’s like, Whoa, that’s a lot of responsibility.
That’s a lot of weight to carry.
Jon Watts Gives a Disappointing Update on ‘Wolfs 2’
What’s the status of aWolfssequel?
Its a big hit on Apple.
And do you know what you’re directing next?
FORD: What about aprequel?
WATTS: Who knows?
I haven’t worked anything out yet.
WATTS: There are a lot of fun things at Disney.
That’s a pretty big toy box to be digging around through.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crewis now streaming on Disney+.
