Jon Watts Got Great Advice From GOONIES Director Richard Donner When Casting Kids in STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW — GeekTyrant

The upcoming series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is described as a Goonies-inspired Amblin-style Star Wars series that follows the journey of four kids “who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy, crossing paths with the likes of Jod Na Nawood, the mysterious character played by Jude Law.

Any project compared to The Goonies, which has been a fan-favorite for generations, has a lot to live up to. We know this series will focus on the friendships and adventure shared between four kids, so you know the show’s creators searched extensively to find just the right young actors for each part.

Luckily, Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Home trilogy, Wolfs), the co-creator of the Skeleton Crew, had some great words of wisdom given to him by an industry legend when it came to casting the show.

Watts explained to GamesRadar+:

“I got this advice from [The Goonies and Superman director] Richard Donner, who I was lucky enough to hang out with shortly before he died.

He was talking about casting The Goonies and he said that you don’t cast kids to play a role, you cast kids because of who they are.”

Watts continued:

“So that was always in the back of our mind when we were casting. It stops being a highwire act when you are patient enough to wait for the actual kids that embody our character perfectly to walk into the room.

Because you see a lot of great actors, but what you’re really looking for is a kid who is the character.”

This is some good advice. Just get to know the kids you’re casting, and let their own special talents and personalities shine through.

Skeleton Crew sees a quartet of child actors – Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Wim, Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Fern, Kyriana Kratter as KB, Robert Timothy Smith as Neel – lead the way in a galaxy far, far away alongside Jude Law’s Jod.

The series is now set to premiere on Monday, December 2nd, which is a whole day earlier than it was originally supposed to drop. The rest of the episodes will still be released on Tuesdays every week.