Star Wars: Skeleton Crew co-creator says the show is inspired by a classic Pirates of the Caribbean-like LucasArts game

Jude Law in new Star Wars show Skeleton Crew
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

It looks like the creators of the latest upcoming spin-off show Star Wars: Skeleton Crew were not only inspired by the legendary Star Wars franchise in making the series, but also by a highly popular '90s video game released by LucasArts.

"I'm also a big fan of Monkey Island. That's also classic Lucas," said Skeleton Crew co-creator Jon Watts when discussing his biggest inspirations for the show in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "So somewhere between Star Wars pirates and Monkey Island pirates. I think we found our sweet spot."

Monkey Island is a series of adventure games produced the Star Wars creator George Lucas’ company LucasArts, formerly known as Lucasfilm Games. The games follow a pirate named Guybrush Threepwood searching the Caribbean for treasure and trying to defeat an evil undead pirate named LeChuck in the process. 

To us, that kind of sounds like Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean, which is unsurprising as the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World was actually a big inspiration for the game. We hope that doesn't mean the upcoming show will feature any creepy pirate animatronics like the Disney ride. 

But there could well be, as the most exciting part about the upcoming show is that virtually anything could happen as the creators have created an entirely new world within an already pre-existing Star Wars timeline. "What's great about working at Lucasfilm is that they'll let you know if you've gone outside of the boundaries," said Watts. 

One thing that is certain is that Skeleton Crew will take place during the same time frame as other Disney Plus Star Wars shows The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka, as confirmed in Entertainment Weekly's exclusive. That is in the New Republic era, after the fall of the second Death Star and before the rise of the First Order.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew follows a group of kids who get stranded in the Star Wars galaxy as they desperately try and find their way home, and avoid some fearsome space pirates in the process. The show stars Jude Law, Nick Frost, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kerry Condon, Tunde Adebimpe, Robert Timothy Smith, and Kyriana Kratter.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney Plus on December 3. While you wait, check out our guide to upcoming Star Wars shows and movies as well as how to watch the Star Wars movies in order.

Editorial Associate, 12DOVE

I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.  

Read more
Neel in Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew is everything I never knew we needed from Star Wars
Jude Law in Skeleton Crew
How many episodes is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew on Disney Plus?
Neel in Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew ending explained: the truth about the Supervisor, Jod's Jedi abilities, and more
Jod Na Nawood holding a lightsaber
A Jedi was cut from the Star Wars Skeleton Crew finale – was she Jod’s former master?
Jude Law in Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew episode 7 ends with a sinister Star Wars callback to Revenge of the Sith
Jude Law in Skeleton Crew
Jude Law's Skeleton Crew character alias features an Easter egg that goes all the way back to a forgotten 1977 Star Wars comic
Latest in Star Wars TV Shows
Diego Luna in Andor
It looks like a key Star Wars event mentioned in Rebels will be shown in Andor season 2
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2
Star Wars fans are convinced a Rebels planet shows up in the Andor season 2 trailer
Andor season 2
Andor season 2's trailer has reminded Star Wars fans exactly where the show is heading: "We're going to be losing a lot of people this season"
Andor season 2
First Andor season 2 trailer reveals major Star Wars Rogue One returns and announces a strange release schedule
The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Win The Mandalorian on 4K
Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano.
Win Star Wars: Ahsoka on 4K
Latest in News
Balatro
Balatro creator started "properly playing the game myself about a week before launch" and had "a pretty emotional moment" where he realized it's "actually fun"
Death Stranding 2 Collector's Edition
Hideo Kojima reveals Death Stranding 2: On the Beach release date, and the Collector's Edition includes exactly what I predicted it would
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
The Witcher 3 lead says "not many games" were trying to match the RPG back in 2015, and that meant "there was a risk" to making it in the first place
The Blood of Dawnwalker
The Witcher 3 dev says his new vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker wants to challenge genre conventions, but only if "we're changing them to actually achieve some goal"
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip