Star Wars’ next upcoming TV show, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, will have to face one major problem before it even premieres. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been billed as something new for the Star Wars universe, different from what’s been produced for Disney+ so far. Though it is set during the New Republic era, and one familiar face from The Mandalorian season 3 has already been confirmed to appear, Skeleton Crew isn’t centered around the conflict between the New Republic, the Imperials, the Mandalorians, or the Jedi. Instead, it’s a coming-of-age tale, inspired by films like The Goonies, E.T., and more.

As such, Skeleton Crew is an exciting prospect for the Star Wars franchise. New characters, new conflicts, and new swathes of the Star Wars galaxy are all there for the taking. As Star Wars’ official synopsis has revealed, Skeleton Crew will see four determined young kids try to make their way home in a dangerous galaxy, led by Jude Law’s mysterious Jedi character. There seems to be plenty of room for creative freedom within Skeleton Crew’s storytelling, but the show’s future will, however, be restricted by one key factor.

It’s Simply Taken Lucasfilm Too Long To Release Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew was initially announced by Lucasfilm in May 2022. Though very few details were released at the time, it was confirmed that filming on this new Star Wars project had wrapped on January 22, 2023. A teaser trailer was shown at Star Wars Celebration that same year, and understandably, audiences – and Lucasfilm themselves – believed that Skeleton Crew would be released in 2023 as well, though in the end, it was pushed back by Ahsoka and The Acolyte. Now, it’s been rumored that Skeleton Crew will be released in the last few months of 2024, sometime in November or December.

If that’s true, it means Skeleton Crew will be released nearly two years after production was finished. This wouldn’t be a massive issue, as such, if it weren’t for one stumbling block: the cast. The four child actors involved in the show will have grown a great deal since production was completed. Shows like Stranger Things and Percy Jackson and the Olympians have had to deal with this logistical issue, too. At this point, Lucasfilm has waited too long to release Skeleton Crew, and getting a second season – at least one with the same cast – seems incredibly unlikely, if not impossible.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Is Surely Just A One-And-Done

As it stands, it seems increasingly likely that Skeleton Crew is meant to be a one-off Star Wars TV miniseries rather than a recurring show. If Skeleton Crew does, hypothetically, get a second season, and Lucasfilm is intent on keeping the same cast, that would necessitate a rather massive time jump, one which would affect the so-called Mandoverse’s timeline to a great extent, just so that the kids could remain involved in the larger goings-on. Why risk making everything even more complicated, though, for this one particular show?

It’s been confirmed that Skeleton Crew will, however faintly, be connected to the other New Republic shows. The Mandoverse’s timeline is tight and strictly interconnected. The Mandalorian seasons 1-3, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka are all intertwined with one another. Skeleton Crew will have to fit in somewhere, but it can never become more important than The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, or The Mandalorian & Grogu. As such, it looks like Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is destined to be a fun, pleasing, one-off adventure, but it’s hard not to wonder what could have been had the show been released sooner.