[Warning: Article contains minor spoilers for the two-episode premiere of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.]  The newest addition to Star Wars lore kicked off on Disney+ last night with the two-episode premiere of Skeleton Crew, a show already dubbed “Goonies in space.” For a number of reasons, that comparison is not a bad thing by any means. For many SW fans my age, the show immediately throws off mid-80s vibes reminiscent of The Goonies, E.T., and other coming-of-age misadventures with which we Gen-Xers grew up. Thus far, the Jude Law-driven series is off to a good start in that vein, with promising direction.

Skeleton Crew follows four adolescent kids from the (mysterious?) idyllic planet of At Attin. For the first time in Star Wars, we get a glimpse of a galaxy far more familiar. From suburbs to school buses, At Attin could very well be a futuristic version of our own planet. For this writer, that helps ground the story as a true, bored-kids-stumble-into-misfortune adventure. When they launch themselves into hyperspace aboard a derelict pirate ship with its even more derelict droid SM-33 (Nick Frost), the fun really begins.

Skeleton Crew gets off to a promising start

Skeleton Crew

The show doesn’t start on At Attin, however. Instead we’re thrown right into the pirate brutality of a blundered plunder. The vicious crew turns on its captain (an obviously masked Jude Law) before the premiere cuts away to the show’s younger stars… clear foreshadowing that we’ve not yet seen the last of this motley crew. Sure enough, they pop up later as the wayward kids of Skeleton Crew find themselves among a port full of pirates. Attempts to find directions home lead them straight to the aforementioned scoundrels, and a whole heap of trouble… And the beginning of the show’s deeper mystery.

The appropriately named Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Max Rebo-ish Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and KB (Kyria Kratter) round out the skeleton crew of lost children. If we had to guess at this early stage, Armstrong will be the breakout star among the young actors of this series. All in all, though, the four show great chemistry, key to propelling a coming-of-age story such as this forward.

Where does it go from here?

Skeleton Crew; Star Wars
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 02: (L-R) John Knoll, Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm, Jaleel White, Nick Frost, Jon Favreau, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Jon Watts, Jude Law, Bryce Dallas Howard, Kyriana Kratter, Lee Isaac Chung, Christopher Ford, Jake Schreier, Robert Timothy Smith, Chris Buongiorno, Alia Shawkat, David Lowery and Tunde Adebimpe attend the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew launch event at Disneyland on December 02, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Disney)

The first two episode do leave us with a lot of questions. At Attin, to the pirates, is the stuff of tall tales and lore. What mysteries does it truly hold? And we’ve seen at least one of the pirates before, a relic of Gorian Shard’s crew from The Mandalorian. (Cross-over? Cameos??) There is certainly a lot to learn about Jude Law’s force-wielding, pirate captain character, as well. I, for one, enjoyed the two-episode launch, and look forward to seeing where the story takes us.

Skeleton Crew airs Tuesday nights on Disney+. The first two episodes are streaming now.