From Ben Kenobi saying “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for” to Princess Leia’s desperate plea, “You’re my only hope,” Star Wars is stacked with with memorable quotes. And, as much as people like to rep for Empire Strikes Back being the best of the original trilogy, the first film—retroactively titled A New Hope—remains just about perfect. As a brand, Star Wars is very self-aware of the archetypal brilliance of A New Hope. That's why, from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens, and beyond, various scenes from A New Hope pop up in different contexts.
The latest example comes from the third episode of Skeleton Crew, in which the kids are forced to man the main guns of their pirate ship, the Onyx Cinder. This scene is a direct homage to TIE Fighter battle in A New Hope in which Luke and Han Solo have to repel an attack in the exact same way. Interestingly, Skeleton Crew flips the script here because this time, the kids are firing at X-wings. In Star Wars lore, these are generally considered to be the starfighters of the “good guys.”
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Skeleton Crew’s aesthetic leans heavily on the late 1970s/early 1980s vibe of the classic Star Wars movies, but it’s also not just recreating these moments for the sake of it. In the second episode, when the kids find themselves on a pirate base, you might be tempted to compare the various shady aliens with the rough cantina from the first film, or Jabba’s place from Return of the Jedi.
But again, Skeleton Crew remixes these elements in a way that might not be obvious for someone who has never seen Star Wars. After all, the original Star Wars didn't have a quirky owl alien, but Skeleton Crew does. As the kids are escaping and fending off attacking starfighters, they’ve just been given a tip from the diminutive owl named Kh’ymm, voiced by Arrested Development star Alia Shawkat.
It’s all just as goofy as it sounds, but with the classic dogfight in space, and sense of old-school adventure, Star Wars is proving that it still has a few tricks left, even if those tricks are very familiar. Han Solo never said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but in watching Skeleton Crew, you can kind of imagine Jude Law’s character—currently going by the moniker Crimson Jack—saying something close to that.
