Star Wars: Skeleton Crew creator Jon Watts reveals the perfect advice The Goonies director Richard Donner gave him about casting child actors: "You cast kids because of who they are"

News
By published

Exclusive: Skeleton Crew co-creator Jon Watts talks casting child actors in a galaxy far, far away

Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Fern and Kyriana Kratter as KB in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

Casting kids in any project, big or small, comes with its own risks. Mercifully, Jon Watts – the co-creator of upcoming Star Wars series Skeleton Crew – had some pitch-perfect words of wisdom to fall back on when it came to populating his cast with Gen Alpha actors.

"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," Watts tells GamesRadar+. "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."

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.

As per the synopsis, Skeleton Crew 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. Finding their way home – and meeting unlikely allies and enemies – will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined."

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.