Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Creators Have A Response To The Neel-Max Rebo Controversy

"Star Wars" fans who have yearned for fresh takes on the franchise will no doubt be happy with the "Goonies"-style approach of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew," a show that seems set to provide young fans a new entry point to the property. It looks to dig deep into the child-like wonder of the sci-fi franchise's early days, presenting a galaxy far, far away as a truly strange and even terrifying place once again. To achieve this, the story unfolds from the perspective of a team of kids — Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), KB (Kyriana Kratter), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) — who discover a buried space ship that promptly enters hyperspace and sends them to a distant part of the galaxy.

One of the great things about setting an Amblin-style show in the "Star Wars" universe is that E.T. doesn't need to be a strange visitor from afar — he can simply be the main character's childhood friend. Here, three of the four young main characters are distinctly human, although Wim's best friend Neel looks a lot like an Ortolan. This blue-skinned species with pronounced elephant-like trunks and ears is actually quite well known thanks to Maximilian Rebo,the leader of the Max Rebo Band. 

Tempting as it may be for fans to get excited about a new prominent Ortolan character, however, "Skeleton Crew" co-creators Jon Watts and Chris Ford have confirmed in an interview with TV Line that Neel is no Ortolan despite looking similar to them. Ford even admitted to the decision being controversial:

 Obviously, we drive our car right into that controversy. We just went right in there and did it.

Watts defended the choice to make Neel look like an Ortolan without him being one, noting: 

"It's a big galaxy. There's a lot of blue, trunked, elephant creatures out there."

Ford concurred with this logic, noting that the vast majority of notable characters from different "Star Wars" planets seem human. This, he felt, means that the same logic can apply to Ortolan-looking folks as well: 

"There's a lot of human-looking people that have no trunks that come in different colors and shapes, and we don't blink our eye at that. So, it's very human-centric to have a problem with this, I have to say."

As it stands, then, the Ortolan presence in "Star Wars" continues to rest pretty much solely on Max Rebo's shoulders. The boss and keyboard player of the popular Max Rebo Band makes his debut in 1983's "Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi," where his group entertains Jabba the Hutt and his retinue (with puppeteer Simon Williamson bringing Max to life). He's since had many adventures in the non-canon Star Wars Legends works, and even returned in live-action in 2021's "The Book of Boba Fett" as a resident musician of Sanctuary, Garsa Whip's (Jennifer Beals) cantina in Tatooine's Mos Espa.

While Neel isn't leading the charge for a big Ortolan "Star Wars" comeback, at least "Skeleton Crew" is bringing back the alien race Teeks, who play a part in the 1985 non-canon Ewok film "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor." Who knows what other obscure faces the show intends to roll out?

"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" premieres December 2, 2024, at 6pm PST on Disney+.