What a great quote from a fascinating interview with Jon Watts and Chris Ford as they dial up the excitement for 3rd Decembers (4th in the UK and around the world) Skeleton Crew, which is now just a month away. They discuss their leading man Law, the young cast – Neel (Robert Timothy Smith, NOT playing an Oortolan), Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), KB (Kyriana Kratter) and Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong – their many influences from the classic 80’s era of Amblin kids classics as well as bringing in their own flavours, something Dave Filoni explained the importance of to Watts and Ford mixed their melange of styles into the show.
As for the series tone, in addition to the Amblin films of their own formative years, Watts and Ford have imbued their story with the thrills of Predator, and the serious beats of Empire of the Sun and Flight of the Navigator. From the start, the filmmakers were encouraged to find their own unique perspective and story, then use the Star Wars galaxy as the lens to view it through, they say. “It was an instinct we had from the beginning,” Ford says. “And then later talking to [executive producers] Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni about the way to approach trying to write in Star Wars, [they advised we] tap into something that you love. You can’t just do Star Wars, because then you’re kind of aping it. You’re trying to do what George Lucas did and he was trying to make Flash Gordon or a Kurosawa movie.”
“It was fascinating talking to Dave about his conversations with George and his original Star Wars influences,” adds Watts. “That really helped open our minds about the right way to approach the universe and figure out if something feels correct or not.”
To prepare, the creators revisited their favorite adventure stories as well as Lucas’ own influences. “We went back and watched a bunch of pirate serials and classic pirate films from the twenties and thirties,” Watts says, an element in juxtaposition to the serene suburbia seen in the first trailer. “It was important to create that tension, showing that the galaxy is scary and dangerous and that the galaxy is also peaceful and boring,” he adds.
We’re beyond ready to dive headfirst into a new Star Wars adventure, and we’ll be reviewing the episodes each week as they arrive in our episode guides by Star Wars Insider writer Sander De Lange, with the Mark’s on the latest season of Making Tracks Reaction Chat, on Sundays with Brian and Paul on Good Morning Tatooine, and our group episode reviews here on the site over the weekend (with reviews from plenty of familiar faces and some new ones).
If you firmly believe that Star Wars wasn’t made for kids, this could be the project that finally changes your mind.
- Floyd, James (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 112 Pages - 11/19/2024 (Publication Date) - Chronicle Books (Publisher)
