Star Wars: Skeleton Crew turned to one of the VFX artists who helped bring some of the original trilogy's most memorable special effects to life.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is currently set to be the franchise's next Disney Plus series after Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres in June. Created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew stars Jude Law as an unnamed Force user. It follows four children who try to find their way home after discovering a mysterious secret on their planet and getting lost in the galaxy. While the series is set during the same post-Return of the Jedi period as The Mandalorian, the creators employed techniques from the original trilogy with the help of visual effects wizard Phil Tippett.

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During an interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub at CCXP Mexico City, Watts explained how Star Wars: Skeleton Crew used a combination of new and traditional special effects techniques. "I got to use all the cool stuff on my most recent Star Wars show. We had pre-viz, MOCAP, we shot on the volume, we did everything. But the most fun part was we also used all the old school techniques as well," he said. "We got Phil Tippett to do stop-motion. We did matte paintings, like real old-fashioned matte paintings. We got an ILM painter out of retirement to come out and do that. So to me, all that stuff is fun, but it's just another tool, and it depends on how you use it."

Because the Disney Plus Star Wars shows have been connected by shared characters and storylines, which will culminate in a New Republic Star Wars movie by Dave Filoni that serves as a climax to The Mandalorian and its spinoffs, some people are concerned that Skeleton Crew might require some catching up to understand. Fortunately, Watts assured people that Skeleton Crew can be watched without seeing past Star Wars projects. "Yeah. You don’t need to have really any prior Star Wars knowledge to enjoy it. But if you do, you can enjoy it on many levels," he explained.

Of course, the hardcore Star Wars fans are likely familiar with Tippett's contributions to the franchise. After being tasked with creating the stop-motion chess game on the Millenium Falcon for the original Star Wars film, Tippett co-developed the stop-motion animation technique used to animate the AT-ATs and the Tauntauns in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. However, his work at Lucasfilm's creature shop for Return of the Jedi earned Tippett a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects.

While fans are still debating the best balance of CGI and practical effects in sci-fi films, most are likely thrilled to hear Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is using everything in the special effects toolbox. George Lucas' is often criticized for overusing CGI in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, so fans are usually happy anytime the franchise returns to basics. Tippett is a pioneer in the special effects department, and it will be exciting to see what new magic he has in store for the modern Star Wars era.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is expected to be released on Disney Plus in 2024.

Star Wars

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, TV shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.

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Source: Collider