There is no disputing the Star Wars franchise's ability to draw audiences. The legendary Skywalker film series broke boundaries in its early days, introduced itself to a whole new audience in the 2000s, and then starting pulling in $1 billion per movie for its three-film conclusion. That's talent!
That being said, there have been some stumbles along the way. Solo: A Star Wars Story infamously underperformed at the box office in 2018, while some of the more recent Disney Plus outings have either disappointed commercially or critically. This even led to the high-profile cancellation of The Acolyte, which opened with some of Disney Plus' best numbers last year.
Now, it seems that the franchise's small screen struggles may be about to continue, as it's looking likely that a more recent, beloved, series won't return for a second season.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew probably won't be back for a second season
It's been almost six months since Star Wars: Skeleton Crew wrapped its eight-episode run and there have been little to no updates about whether Disney Plus plans on renewing it or not. The only remote updates that have surfaced in the months since haven't been all that positive, which has led to fans pretty much feeling that it's fate has been confirmed at this point. Not by an announcement, but by Disney and Lucasfilm's silence.
Although Skeleton Crew received positive reviews from fans and critics - a necessary win for the Star Wars franchise after the divisive response to The Acolyte - it was the worst performing show in the franchise by quite a margin. This genuinely left fans upset because, although there has been some frustration with Star Wars' lack of overall direction after the Skywalker Saga concluded, the show itself has turned out to be a fan-favorite, with audiences responding extremely well to its earnest, heartfelt, and enjoyable central storyline.
Described as The Goonies but in the Star Wars universe, Skeleton Crew centers on a group of four young would-be heroes who find themselves on an adventure through that galaxy so far, far away when an old ship they enter blasts off and leaves the At Attin atmosphere. Stranded and without a way back to their secret off-grid home, they team up with a disgraced former space pirate Jod Na Nawood (portrayed by Jude Law) in a bid to get back to their beloved home. The adventures that ensue are genuinely some of the most refreshing that we've seen from the franchise in some time.
The most hopeful update over the past few months is that Skeleton Crew was significantly "cheaper" to produce than The Acolyte, so expectations may not have been as high. If Disney likes the show and its viewership held steady or grew over time, there is a chance for renewal. However, the general lack of updates about its future have been disconcerting for those hoping to see the characters again.
Perhaps the most indicative sign of the show's future is that Ryan Keira Armstrong, who plays Fern, the young captain of the crew, has landed the lead role in Hulu's upcoming Buffy The Vampire Slayer revival series. The show, which will bring back Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role too, has a lot of buzz surrounding its pilot, so there is a high chance that it will get ordered to series, making a potential Star Wars: Skeleton Crew season 2 difficult to produce for the foreseeable.
Fans can of course take solace in the fact that the first season's finale ended on a very satisfying note, wrapping up the season's story but leaving the overarching story of Jod Na Nawood open-ended, setting the stage for a potential return down the line. As for where that could happen, Dave Filoni is working on a Star Wars movie that would bring all of the Mandoverse storylines to a close - and that would entail featuring characters from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and indeed Skeleton Crew. Thus, if the show doesn't get a second season, its storylines can continue on into the upcoming film.
It does seem like the future of Star Wars' Disney Plus slate is up in the air. After the failure of The Acolyte, which reportedly ballooned way past its intended budget and made a renewal impossible regardless of its success, it's clear that Lucasfilm is keen to bring Star Wars back to the big screen. More expensive projects can only be justified if they are on a platform that sets it in good stead to make that money back and, just as it has been for years beforehand, cinema is the way to do that.
This is why the planned fourth season of The Mandalorian has since evolved into the 2026 movie The Mandalorian and Grogu. It's also why the focus on the Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth-led Star Wars: Starfighter has ramped up in recent months and, with that movie set for release in 2027, it's clear that cinema's favorite galaxy is headed back to the silver screen. The rumored sequels for The Mandalorian and Grogu, as well as the wrap-up Dave Filoni movie, also make it clear that even the stories that started on the small screen now belong to the movies too.
So, as audiences await the official confirmation for the fate of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, it looks like Ahsoka could very well be the last live-action Star Wars show of its kind... for now at least.