Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Cast & Character Guide: Who Plays Who?

With "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew," Lucasfilm is moving George Lucas' universe into the realm of kid-centric adventure stories — a genre marked by classics and modern hits like "The Goonies" and "Stranger Things." Even before the "Skeleton Crew" trailer was released, fans were already drawing comparisons between the official description and Amblin Entertainment features like "E.T." and "Super 8."

The show is now almost upon us, and those comparisons have certainly held true. Of course, you can't have a youthful, ragtag adventure without a proper band of young rascals and plenty of adults both benevolent and mischievous to get in their way. The multigenerational cast of "Skeleton Crew" is a big part of its appeal, with tons of young stars and Hollywood veterans alike making their "Star Wars" debuts. It's a lot of new faces, but don't worry, we've got you covered.

Here's everything you need to know about the cast and characters of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" before you dive in.

The big star on the marquee for "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" is Jude Law, who plays a mysterious and resourceful Force-user named Jod Na Nawood. While this is his first venture into the galaxy far, far away, Law has cut his teeth on franchises like "Fantastic Beasts" and "Sherlock Holmes" and in sci-fi classics like "Gattaca."

The very notion of a middle-aged Force-sensitive character roaming freely in the years following "Return of the Jedi" is intriguing, given that Jod would surely have been of Jedi Temple age before Order 66 and the beginning of the Galactic Empire. Law himself has alluded to that curious past. "Ultimately, [Jod is] a survivor," he said in an interview with StarWars.com, in which he also hinted at some darkness with that label. "Conflicted is certainly a word I'd use to describe Jod."

What exactly this new Force-user's connection to the Jedi is (or isn't) is something fans will have to discover in the show. But while the character has ties to the more mystical aspects of the "Star Wars" universe, it's clear that Law and the show's creative team pulled from the scoundrel side as well to form the character.

"There was a sort of shrug to Han Solo that I always loved, a slight cynicism," Law told StarWars.com when asked about his love for the franchise as a kid. "I always wanted to be Han." While Jod has his own agenda, he also serves as a protector and guide for the show's four young protagonists — something Law says drew him to "Skeleton Crew" in the first place. It's not too late to catch up on some of Jude Law's greatest movies in preparation for his "Star Wars" debut.

At the center of "Skeleton Crew" are four kids who get swept up in a galactic adventure beyond their wildest dreams. The trailer footage for the show explains how these kids all discover a mysterious spaceship on their home world, which whisks them away to parts unknown. Of the four, Wim seems to be the most adventurous and mischievous — the one always getting into trouble for one reason or another and having to finagle his way out of it. In the trailer, we see Wim being reprimanded by his father for acting out and getting caught once again. Clearly, that pattern of behavior isn't about to stop.

Wim is played by young star Ravi Cabot-Conyers, who at just 13 is no stranger to the screen. Cabot-Conyers starting off on TV shows like "The Resident" and "Tell me a Story" before landing meatier parts like Kenya Barris' son Kam on "#BlackAF." He's also already a veteran of the Disney ecosystem, having voiced Antonio Madrigal in 2021's "Encanto."

"I love my character so much," Cabot-Conyers said in an interview with The Direct. "He's so brave and hopeful, and he always tries to put a positive spin on any situation. I feel like that's so admirable."

If Wim is the brash but brave daredevil of the "Skeleton Crew" squad, then Fern, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, is the more worldly and responsible leader. That's not to say that she stays out of trouble, though. In the trailer, the two characters meet after both being caught for independent acts of youthful rebellion.

Armstrong got her start as a recurring cast member of the acclaimed TV series "Anne with an E," playing the character of Minnie May Barry. That performance helped launch her to small roles in movies like "Black Widow" and "The Tomorrow War," as well as another prominent TV performance on the "American Horror Story" season known as "Double Feature."

"Fern is the most ambitious," Armstrong said of her character in a recent interview with TVLine. That ambition is already apparent in the footage that's been shown pre-release, but it should be interesting to see how her relationship to the other characters grows over the course of the show.

Fern's best friend is KB, another part of the adventurous foursome on "Skeleton Crew." Her cybernetic implants may make longtime "Star Wars" fans instantly think of Lobot, a background character and aid to Lando Calrissian in "The Empire Strikes Back" whose story was fleshed out much more in the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe novels, which are now part of the non-canon Legends timeline. There likely isn't any actual connection, but it's certainly fun to get more augmented human characters in the "Star Wars" universe.

KB is played by Kriana Kratter, who's previously appeared on shows like Disney's "Bunk'd" and "United States of Al." Speaking with StarWars.com, series co-creator Christopher Ford explained that Kratter's unique take on the character helped shape her into something different than what the writers had originally envisioned. "I remember when we saw Kyriana's audition for KB and she was just kind of strangely quiet and thoughtful," Ford said. "It was a very specific choice."

If you've heard anything about "Skeleton Crew" online, there's a good chance it had something to do with Neel. The little blue guy who completes the show's young squad has taken the fandom by storm already thanks to a great character design. As Wim's best friend, Neel quickly gets pulled into the action, though he's a good bit more cautious and nervous than his human counterpart.

The actor behind Neel, Robert Timothy Smith, has credits in some other notable shows and movies like "Good Girls," "Mythic Quest," and "Wolfs," but "Skeleton Crew" is definitely his biggest role to date. "I wanted to make Neel very sweet and kind to the people around him," Timothy-Smith said in an interview with The HoloFiles. "So I just wanted to be as kind as possible. As the character, I wanted to bring that all the time. And I hope I did." Though Neel may look strikingly similar to Max Rebo, the beloved keyboardist of Jabba's Palace in "Return of the Jedi," he is in fact a different species.

"We initially thought of Neel as this sweet, shy little blue elephant-like alien," series co-creator Jon Watts told StarWars.com. "But Robert always came at it at this other oblique angle. He's a comedian. He's always telling jokes and doing bits, and it's always really sweet. He's just trying to get a rise out of you or a laugh. And that allowed us to try some different, funnier performance options to let Neel be a little bit more neurotic and unique."

If SM 33, the droid first mate of the "Skeleton Crew" ship, the Onyx Cinder, sounds familiar to you, there's a good reason for that. Famed U.K. comedian Nick Frost, best known for his Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright collaborations like "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead," is the man behind the droid. As you might expect, that casting means another comic relief droid for the "Star Wars" universe, though it seems there's likely more going on with SM 33 than just jokes. "He's like a rusty old, cranky droid that sort of reluctantly helps the kids along the way," Jude Law said in an interview with People.

A lifelong fan of the franchise, Frost told StarWars.com that he was thrilled to be cast on the show. "It's a dream," the actor said. "Once they show you, 'Hey, this is what SM-33 looks like,' and he's a mashed-up robot and he has a rat in his eye? I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm so in!'" SM 33 will also tie heavily into the show's space pirate storyline, which shows through in both his design and personality.

"I love the fact that he looks really scary and fearsome," Frost told StarWars.com, "and despite how he looks, the kids still like him. He looks like a horrible pirate. And I think to make him nice and cheeky and lovable and a character that people will warm to, that was a nice thing for me to try and do."

In addition to the core cast of "Skeleton Crew," there are some other recognizable faces among the supporting players. Tunde Adebimpe, known for roles like Mr. Cobbwell in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and Dexter in "Twisters," plays Wendle, Wim's father. Fern's mother Fara is played by Kerry Condon, known for roles like Molly Sullivan on "Ray Donovan," Stacey Ehrmantraut on "Better Call Saul," and Siobhán Súilleabháin in "The Banshees of Inisherin."

There's also a little bit of family TV royalty on the show, with former "Family matters" star Jaleel White playing a space pirate named Gunter. Like KB, he has his fair share of cybernetic implants, though we've yet to learn fully what his role in the story will be.

With a fresh genre angle and a ton of fun new characters, "Skeleton Crew" looks like it could end up as one of the more refreshingly original "Star Wars" shows on Disney+.

"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" premieres on Disney+ on December 2, 2024.