Summary
- Star Wars: Skeleton Crew introduces Neel, an Ortolan, continuing the tradition of cute aliens in the franchise.
- Grogu, the beloved Baby Yoda, set the trend for cute Star Wars characters that captured fans’ hearts.
- The series, premiering on Disney+ in December 2024, follows children lost in the galaxy, sharing a timeline with The Mandalorian.
The latest Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew, is set to arrive on Disney+ in time for the holiday season, and it appears to be continuing a recent Star Wars tradition. Skeleton Crew is created by Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts and Dave Filoni and is the latest installment in the collection of interconnected Star Wars stories being told across The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. Jude Law is headlining Skeleton Crew as Force user Jod Na Nawood and the series sees him teaming up with four children who are lost in the galaxy looking for their way home.
People Magazine had the exclusive first look at Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and audiences were given sight of the new cast of child heroes, one of whom seems to fit with a recent Star Wars tradition. Among the cast of characters is Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), an Ortolan, a species that resembles a blue elephant. The most famous Ortolan in Star Wars is the character Max Rebo, who appeared in both Return of the Jedi and The Mandalorian. Neel looks to follow in the tradition of Grogu, the character that became better known as Baby Yoda. Check out the images below.
After the torrid time The Acolyte had with Rotten Tomatoes review-bombing, the question of whether Skeleton Crew will suffer a similar fate is one that we are edging closer to answering.
Star Wars Loves a Cute Alien
When The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ on November 12, 2019, audiences immediately took a liking to the cute alien that would late be called Grogu. Due to resembling a baby version of franchise icon Yoda, he picked up the colloquial name Baby Yoda and instantly became a fan-favorite. Due to the character being such a big secret before the series premiered, there was no merchandise featuring the character for the 2019 holiday season, but that changed dramatically by the following year. In 2020, Grogu became one of the most in-demand items for the holiday season, whether in the form of plush toys, high-end collectibles, or branded apparel. Grogu has become one of the most well-known Star Wars characters, so much so that he claimed a place in the title of The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will see Star Wars return to cinemas in May 2026.
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Cute aliens being used to sell merchandise is certainly nothing new for Star Wars. Fans were very critical of George Lucas when he introduced the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi, as they saw them as teddy bears that served no purpose but to appeal to children who wanted to own their own minature version. Since then, there have been several similar characters gracing the franchise, such as BB-8, Grogu, and one of the more recent cute cuddly aliens, Nub, from the Disney Junior series Young Jedi Adventures. While not much is known about Neel, being the child-like version of a popular Star Wars alien species will likely earn him a big following.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
debuts on Disney+ on December 3, 2024.