As eagle-eyed (and eared) fans have already noticed, the new Lucasfilm live-action Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is chock full of references to the beloved Disney Parks attraction Star Tours, plus a very fun Easter Egg for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean. And today, the official Star Wars social media accounts released video interviews with series sound designer David W. Collins acknowledging two audio homages among them.
What’s happening:
- A new Instagram video starring Star Wars: Skeleton Crew sound designer David W. Collins (who has also worked on The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Willow, and more for Lucasfilm) acknowledges a fan-discovered audio nod to the Star Tours attraction at Disney theme parks around the world.
- Other Star Tours references and Easter Eggs on the show have included an RX-series pilot droid serving as a school bus driver on the planet At Attin (see the image above) and a Starspeeder ship among the vessels docked at Port Borgo (see the Instagram post from our friends at “Blast Points” embedded further below).
- Additionally, a second video was released with David W. Collins talking about the audio homage to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney Parks in Skeleton Crew.
What they’re saying:
- David W. Collins: “You caught me. When I was asked by Jon Watts and Chris Ford to make a chime as the students are exiting the bus on their way to school, I loaded up my synthesizer with a very chimy-sounding patch, and I started playing things. [I] eventually found myself going, Dee-da-da-da-dum,’ and I thought, ‘Well, that’s just me riding Star Tours a million times as a kid. Very good ear. That is absolutely an homage to Star Tours.”
- “That is a really great catch. Yes, absolutely I am guilty of whistling on microphone. We were all looking at that scene together, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we just did an homage to Pirates of the Caribbean? Port Borgo really reminded me of Tortuga from Pirates of the Caribbean, which is a movie that I just really loved. So sure enough, in front of the mic I went [whistles]. Jon Watts and Chris Ford loved it, and I was just so happy that we got to put that in the mix. So that’s a nice homage and [I’m] glad you liked it.”
The first three episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are currently available to stream via Disney+, with more coming each Tuesday evening over the next five weeks.
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