Skeleton Crew premiered yesterday, and without a doubt it gives a new look at areas of the Star Wars universe fans have never seen before. We have a very Earth-like planet (I like to refer to it as Counter-Earth, like in Guardians of the Galaxy 3), and a “crew” of kids who accidentally got themselves lost in space. The show is a drastic change from the ‘deep lore’ driven Star Wars shows and localizes its stories to something that can be easily digested by viewers.
One of the reasons for the shows easy accessibility is due to the creative team behind it, which include people like Jon Favreau and Jon Watts who have experience with both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and shows like The Mandalorian. Along with that kind of creative team comes a certain tone and a certain style, one of which that takes inspiration from many unique places and translates them for the universe that their version of the story is set in. In this instance, Skeleton Crew is Goonies meets Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Pirates of the Caribbean references don’t just connect to the movie, but all the way back to the roots with the dark rides in Disneyland and Disney World. The references are not overly overt, and if you have never been on the ride or have only been on it a couple times then they very easily could have gone right over your head, quite literally (that will make sense in a few minutes).
For instance, one of the more obvious references were the skeletons the kids found in the ship. Around the skeletons were items you commonly associate with pirates, but… ‘let’s make it space’. There are a couple of pirate hats, a telescope, and a compass, all of which are space themed yet still pirate at the same time. It’s a very cool idea for a theme. Not anything in this scene is a direct obvious reference to anything in the ride or the movies, but it indirectly points at ride inspiration. On the ride, there is a scene of a skeleton in a pirate hat surrounded by… pirate stuff. The skeletons the kids find also references the Goonies, so I believe this scene was a way to visually describe the overall idea they were going for with the show. When I see that scene, this scene from the ride is all I can think about:
It’s not a remake or anything but the show scene goes for these vibes, and I can’t help but think that was intentional.
The last segment of the second episode took place in a jail cell after the kids were captured at the pirate hangar, and if you have been on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride then this reference actually ends up being comically overt (but in a good way). The cell itself is reminiscent of the prop cell from a scene in the classic dark ride which shows three animatronic pirates trying to signal to a dog outside of the cell to bring them the key. Not only did they style the cell to make it look like the ride, but they even included the scene from the ride but once again… ‘make it space’.
The kids in the cell use a little alien creature to try and retrieve the key to the cell the same way the dog is sent to retrieve the key on the ride. It’s not the same, but really, it is. The kids send the little alien to get the key, the camera follows it until it gets right to the key – the kids looking very much like the pirate animatronics in the background – but instead of getting the key, the little creature just kind of turns around and scurries away. It’s a pretty good scene, very reminiscent of this:
One more cool easter egg I wanted to include is one that I even missed while watching the show and didn’t notice until I was watched the New Rockstars easter egg recap. There is a scene on the ride that has the boat you are in going through a burning pirate village, and at one point you go under a bridge. On that bridge, there is an animatronic pirate that has its legs dangling down in a very distinctly visual way. Well, in the show there is a scene where they are entering Port Borgo (which itself is a deep cut Star Wars reference) where you can see legs dangling down in, and they look distinctly familiar:
This one, at least to me, isn’t meant to be an obvious reference to the ride but more of a call sign to indicate we are now on a pirate voyage. This scene of the show was the entrance to the pirate hangar, which is where the pirate influence really kicks in. As the kids were entering, they go under some pirate legs just like passengers of the original boat ride do to signal that they are now surrounded by pirates. This one I think is the least obvious but when you look at the pictures next to each other you have to admit there was probably some sort of visual inspiration here.
I’ll keep my list to these easter eggs for now, but did you see anything else in Skeleton Crew linking to the original theme park ride? Let us know in the comments!