Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Utilizing Classic Lucasfilm Techniques Including Stop-Motion, Matte Paintings

Jon Watts teases new behind-the-scenes details of his Star Wars series.

By Jenna Anderson

The Star Wars universe is expected to grow even further later this year, with the launch of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The live-action Disney+ series has been described as a distinct coming-of-age story set in the galaxy far, far away, and now we know some of the work that is going into it. While speaking to Collider, Skeleton Crew co-creator Jon Watts highlighted that the show will be using some old-school artistry, including stop-motion animation from legendary animator Phil Tippett.

"I got to use all the cool stuff on my most recent Star Wars show," Watts revealed. "We had pre-viz, MOCAP, we shot on The Volume, we did everything. But the most fun part was we also used all the old school techniques as well. We got Phil Tippett to do stop-motion. We did matte paintings, like real old-fashioned matte paintings. We got an ILM painter out of retirement to come out and do that. So to me, all that stuff is fun, but it's just another tool, and it depends on how you use it." For Watts, it's all about using the right tool for the right job.

What Is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew About?

Skeleton Crew follows four children who end up on an adventure to make their way home after being lost in the galaxy following a discovery they make on their home planet. It will star Jude Law, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Robert Timothy Smith, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, Tunde Adebimpe, Kerry Condon, and Jaleel White.

"Jon Watts came to me, very much wanting to do a sort of Goonies in Star Wars," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy exclusively told ComicBook.com at Star Wars Celebration last year. "Needless to say, I'm going to say yes. And so it's just evolved out of that kind of enthusiasm in wanting to tell stories in this space." 

Will Skeleton Crew Characters Appear on The Mandalorian?

Despite fan theories suggesting that it has already happened, reports from earlier this year indicate that the characters from Skeleton Crew did not appear in the third season of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Still, these shows — as well as Star Wars: Ahsoka — could ultimately have a domino effect leading towards some sort of crossover event.

"To have this young, Amblin-feeling movie with young people, who grew up in the Star Wars world and are exposed to adventure," Favreau shared of Skeleton Crew during a previous conversation for Entertainment Weekly. "The puppets, the costumes, the visuals, the world that's being expanded upon. And now I get to write the next season of Mandalorian with all these new characters and new locations and new creatures ... There's this cohesive group of stories that are being told thanks to all these filmmakers that are contributing."  

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is expected to premiere on Disney+ later this year. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

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