When Star Wars: Skeleton Crew co-creators Jon Watts and Chris Ford set out to put together their crew of young stars, they knew each actor would have to bring a unique set of skills to the ensemble.
For Wim, they cast Ravi Cabot-Conyers, who brought energy and heart to Antonio Madrigal in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Academy Award-winning film Encanto. In the Star Wars galaxy, Cabot-Conyers imbues his character with wide-eyed wonder and a love for adventure.
They found their Fern in Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who started acting at the age of six and has been cast in several feature films as well as the first lead young actor in the FX series American Horror Story as Alma Gardner, which earned her an Emmy nomination. As Fern, Armstrong brings a maturity to the group of young adventurers, with a wisdom beyond her years.
For their best friends, Neel and KB, they cast Robert Timothy Smith and Kyriana Kratter, respectively. As Neel, Smith — who also stars alongside fellow Star Wars alum Jack Black in Dear Santa — counterbalances Wim’s enthusiasm with an innocence that makes him long for the simplicity of their regular lives. And as KB, Kratter — who showcases her musical talents with original songs on her YouTube channel between roles on stage and screen — finds the quiet logic to help inform Fern’s outlook.
With the two-episode premiere now available on Disney+, we're so excited to meet Jod and the rest of the crew on an all-new Star Wars adventure. Today, the rest of the main cast tells us as much as they can share about Wim, Fern, KB, and Neel at the start of their journey...
Ravi Cabot-Conyers – Wim
When the four youngest stars were cast, they immediately bonded over the Amblin films of the 1980s that inspired the look and feel of Skeleton Crew, with movie night showings of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Goonies. But the crew knew they were trading bicycles for hoverbikes as they began to embody the core characters at the heart of the series: idealistic Wim, tough-talking Fern, logical KB, and naïve Neel.
When we first meet Wim, he’s a lot like any young Star Wars fan, playing with his action figures and watching Jedi tales on his storypad. “Wim is imaginative and adventurous,” says Ravi Cabot-Conyers, who portrays the young dreamer. “There's a big school test coming up and [that] can be kind of dull for a young kid who's excited about the galaxy.”
In addition to his daydreamer nature, Wim is being raised by a single dad, Wendle, who is often distracted by his job. “His dad works a lot,” Cabot-Conyers says, leaving Wim and his friends to make their own fun, and leading to the adventure of a lifetime when they get lost in the galaxy. “He's hopeful, brave, and relatable,” Cabot-Conyers adds. “And he wants to be a hero in someone's story.”
Ryan Kiera Armstrong – Fern
By comparison, Fern is more self assured, even if she’s still finding her way. In school, she excels in class, but her real passion is racing. “Fern is funny and brave,” says Ryan Kiera Armstrong who plays her, employing meditation before she walked onto set to fully get into character. “She likes to ride speeder bikes and she’s a little bit of a tomboy. She's growing up in a household where there's so many expectations and standards to be met, and she's trying to figure out what her relationship to the world is and who she is.”
On their first day on set as an ensemble of four, the crew filmed a scene deep in the forest uncovering what Wim thought was an ancient Jedi temple. “What’s cool is we kind of grew with each other,” Armstrong says. “We started with a scene where we all didn't really know each other, and where the characters didn't know each other in the story either. And so, we grew together with the story. Now it's this special bond.”
Between questions, all four young actors take turns reciting Hamilton lyrics and joking around, delighted to be reunited as they promote the new Star Wars series.
Kyriana Kratter – KB
For instance, Armstrong and Kratter’s friendship transcends the connection of Fern and KB. Even after production has wrapped, they look to each other for support and can finish each other’s sentences. “KB’s more on the quiet side. She's introverted, but she has a big heart,” Kratter says. “She's kind of a protector to the group and Fern's bestie.”
After Kratter was cast, she got her first look at KB’s ever-present visor — an augmentation that gives her a unique appearance — when she was brought in for a camera test. “She has some special abilities,” Kratter says. “I remember trying on my visor for the first time with the whole outfit on, the hair was done, and they gave me different types of visors. That's like ‘colander vision,’ so one of them would be really small holes, and then one didn't have any holes at all, it was just a screen almost to my eyes. I was so blind that first day! But my eyes got adjusted,” she says with a giggle.
Robert Timothy Smith – Neel
Rounding out the group is Neel, a new elephant-like alien boy with a long nose and two floppy ears. Actor Robert Timothy Smith brings a sweet sense of trepidation to the role, playing Neel like any other kid who finds himself out of his comfort zone. “He's a very scared kid. He does not want to be there, really, but he also doesn't want to disappoint his friend,” Smith says.
“He's the heart of the group, and the most adorable,” Armstrong adds, to which her co-star quickly agrees.
Even though Smith’s features are concealed by the animatronic Neel face on screen, behind-the-scenes he performed with a motion-capture camera recording his movements. To get into character, “I would listen to cutesy songs,” he says with a laugh, like Lesley Gore’s “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.”
All episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are now streaming, only on Disney+.
