Skeleton Crew creators share why different "tones" are good for Star Wars

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is right around the corner. With the updated release date on December 2, it's literally days away. The different look and tone of the series with its Amblin inspiration and Guardians of the Galaxy-esque trailer has upped the hype. And that's very much the point, according to the show's creators.

Sitting down with Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Line, Skeleton Crew's showrunners Jon Watts and Chris Ford were asked about the drastically different tone of the series. Mitovich noted how some YouTube comments stated that it didn't feel like Star Wars. "I think that Star Wars probably has a broader tone than people realize," Ford began. "If you think about just certain key moments or you know, a lightsaber fight, it could be very narrow, but you have to remember that when they walk into the cantina, that’s some people’s favorite moment. There’s an insane jazz combo playing this crazy song, and I think a big part of Star Wars is embracing all of that. It’s a big galaxy to bring them all in."

Watts then continued, adding, "What I like about Star Wars — and Andor did so much with this, which I really loved — is you can take any moment or any character in Star Wars, and because it feels like such a dense, complex, real galaxy, you can follow them home. Like, I’m so curious to know the life of everyone in the cantina band. Where did they come from? How did they meet? Do they play any other gigs? Are they there all the time?"

"Are they touring?" Ford joked.

And they're right! One of the best parts of Star Wars, something I have discussed in the past that I wish the franchise would embrace even more, is that it's so big that tonally different shows can exist. For Star Wars to survive, it cannot always be the same. The Mandalorian should be wildly different from Andor as they are tackling different kinds of stories. And it's neat they both exist in the same universe as Young Jedi Adventures and Galaxy of Creatures.

The books and comics have always been really great about playing in the realms of different genres, even during the days of Star Wars Legends. They have a lot more freedom and wiggle room versus what is on screen as the more smaller, niche parts of the fandom read them. If a novel wants to be a romance like Lost Stars by Claudia Gray or a horror story like Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber, they can do that.

We are seeing Star Wars TV and movies starting to catch up more by playing with different kinds of tones and genres. The Acolyte was a murder mystery that dipped its toes into the realms of the Dark Romance genre. But we still have a ways to go. The Marvel Cinematic Universe very much has this formula figured out, and Star Wars is starting to get it, especially with wildly out-there projects like Star Wars: Visions.

Until then, I'll still wait here patiently for my $20 million Rom-Com set in a galaxy far, far away and enjoy Skeleton Crew in the process.