A New Planet from Skeleton Crew Episode 4 takes a page from Netflix’s scariest location

It contains the following Spoilers For Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Season 1, Episode 4, “I can’t say I don’t remember in Atlin.”

Episode 4 of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” features Jude Na Nawood (Jude Law), Wim (Raffi Cabot Conyers), Fern (Ryan Keira Armstrong), KB (Kiriana Krater), Neal (voice of Robert Timothy Smith), and SM. -33 (Voiced by Nick Frost) He finally returns to the children’s homeland of Atlin… or so they think. In fact, they landed on Atachrann – a planet identical to Attlin exactly down to the city layout, but destroyed by a long-standing war. In Achrann, there’s an always strange and misty scene, where the young heroes meet the only surviving child, Hayna (Halla Finlay), who suggests she’s trying to avoid the evil Hattans. Later, this prominent child character introduces Strix (Matthew Kassovitz), a warlord figure who trains child soldiers and whom Haina calls “Papa.” Hey, doesn’t this remind you of something?

This situation seems to pay homage to Netflix’s hit sci-fi horror mystery series “Stranger Things,” where people keep finding themselves in the “Upside Down.” This is a desolate, barren and always foggy version of their own world, where the sole surviving child Will (Noah Schnapp) in the first season tries to avoid the monsters. The show also features a prominent child character, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), whose scientist Brenner (Matthew Modine) trains children with superpowers whom Eleven calls “Papa.”

Aside from the concept of a “dangerous, broken version of a familiar world”, the visual design of At Achrann resembles the Upside Down in many parts of the episode. Although the planet remains a similar setting to the Star Wars franchise, there are moments when it’s easy to expect Stranger Things villain Vecna ​​(Jamie Campbell Bower) to pop into the frame and then slowly retreat after realizing he’s from the wrong series.

Early episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” was heavily inspired by Amblin’s film, So it’s not very surprising that the show also pays homage to other methods of entertainment. While “Stranger Things” itself is an Amblin-inspired series, and thus a natural touchpoint for the lore, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schneidert — a.k.a. Daniels of “Swiss Army Man” and “Everything Everywhere at Once” fame. -Also provide Episode 4 with several more surprising tributes.

At times, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attlin'” pays homage to the Fallout series’ post-apocalyptic, faux-1950s vibe. Other times, it borrows a trick from Disney’s “Treasure Planet” (2002) with SM-33’s amnesia story. It even continues Daniels’ well-established tendency to cast familiar faces from yesteryear in the lead roles. This time, prominent 90s and 2000s actor and director Matteo Kasowitz appears as Hayna’s father, General Strix. On the other hand, the director duo are not the first to bless the series with obscure references. After all, David Lowery directed Episode 3 of “Skeleton Crew” has reached deep into the tribute 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 hour that reveals entirely new aspects of the Children’s home planet, as well as SM-33 and Neil. If this trend continues, discovering more loving tributes in the remaining episodes of the series would make for a fun side quest for viewers.

New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will be released every Tuesday at 6pm PT on Disney+.