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The following contains spoilers for “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” season 1, episode 4, “I can’t say I remember not in Attlin.”
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” Episode 4 brings Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), Neel (voiced by Robert Timothy Smith) and SM. -33 (voiced by Nick Frost) finally returns to the children’s native Attlin… or so they think. In reality, they land on At Acrann, a planet identical to Attlin down to the city’s layout, but which has been devastated by a long-running war. In Acrann there is indeed a strange and perpetually foggy landscape where the young protagonists encounter the lone surviving girl Hayna (Hala Finley), who indicates that she is trying to avoid the evil Hattans. This prominent child character later introduces Strix (Mathieu Kassovitz), a warlord who trains child soldiers and whom Hayna calls “Daddy.” Hey, doesn’t that remind you of something?
It seems like the situation pays homage to Netflix’s hit sci-fi horror mystery series “Stranger Things,” where people keep finding themselves upside down. This is a desolate, barren, perpetually foggy version of its own world where, in season 1, lone surviving boy Will (Noah Schnapp) tries to avoid monsters. The show also features a prominent child character, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), whose scientist father figure, Brenner (Matthew Modine), trains superpowered children and whom Eleven calls “Dad.”
Aside from the “dangerous, shattered version of a familiar world” concept, At Acrann’s visual design resembles the Upside Down in many parts of the episode. While the planet is still a very “Star Wars” place, there are moments when it’s easy to expect “Stranger Things” villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) to enter the frame and slowly back away after realize you are in the wrong franchise.
Skeleton Crew continues its strong homage game in episode 4
The early episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” were heavily inspired by Amblin, so it’s not too surprising that the show also pays homage to other avenues of entertainment. While “Stranger Things” itself is an Amblin-inspired series and therefore a natural port of call for nods, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schneidert, aka Daniels of “Swiss Army Man” fame, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” also infuse episode 4 with several even more surprising tributes.
At times, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attlin'” pays loving homage to the post-apocalyptic, faux-’50s atmosphere of the “Fallout” franchise. In others, he borrows a trick from Disney’s “Treasure Planet” (2002) with SM-33’s memory loss story. It even continues the Daniels’ established penchant for casting familiar faces from yesteryear in important roles; This time, prominent actor and filmmaker of the 1990s and 2000s, Mathieu Kassowitz, appears as Hayna’s father, General Strix. Then again, the directing duo isn’t the first to bless the show with dark references. After all, Episode 3 of the David Lowery-directed “Skeleton Crew” hit deep into the homage bag by referencing Disney’s “Sword in the Stone,” of all things.
Fortunately, none of these homages detract from the episode itself, which is a reliably entertaining watch that reveals entirely new aspects of the children’s home planet, as well as SM-33 and Neel. If this trend continues, spotting more love homages in the series’ remaining episodes should be a fun side quest for viewers.
New episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” drop Tuesdays at 6 pm PST on Disney+.
