star Wars has a long, proud history of introducing characters who would go on to become beloved icons of the fandom. There was a long time when Star Wars failed to give fans characters that could compete with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca – or even those cuddly Ewoks. Then came 2019’s The Mandalorian, which gave Star Wars its biggest character success in decades with Grogu (aka “Baby Yoda”). Now there’s another new Star Wars character that’s quickly gaining fans and making a big splash – and it’s all thanks to the new Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Series on Disney+!

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Skeleton crew Neel is Star Wars’ New MVP

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew tells the story of a group of children from the mysteriously isolated planet At Attin. Through a series of awkward circumstances, the children find an old crashed pirate ship and reactivate it by making an unexpected hyperspace jump to the farthest reaches of the galaxy with no clear path home. One member of this group of youth is a friendly, blue-skinned, elephant-like alien named “Neel,” who quickly became a symbol of a pure return to what he created star Wars A milestone in the lives of so many children.

The great thing about Neel is that he is that character star Wars Missing for a long time: the noble everyman. Star Wars: A New Hope will forever remain the defining film in the franchise, as it follows a seemingly normal child (Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker) and reveals to him that he has a great heroic destiny to fulfill in the galaxy. It’s a typical hero’s journey story, unencumbered (for the most part) by canon or lore concerns. Since, star Wars has had to carry that franchise weight, and almost every new character we meet (including Grogu) is either a product of that lore or indebted to it in some way.

Not Neel though!

Star Wars: Skeleton CrewThe cast of main characters is almost all coded to reflect a different aspect of the franchise: Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) is a wannabe Jedi; Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is a Han Solo wannabe; KB (Kyriana Kratter) is a human-droid hybrid character intended to represent certain non-neurotypical communities. Neel is really the first star Wars Character – possibly since Luke – who is perfect for the audience – with no special powers, intentions or beliefs – just a normal boy lost in a crazy galaxy and trying to get home to his family.

Admittedly, at the time of writing this article Skeleton crewThe episodes in the back half of Neels could focus further on Neels’ character and reveal some sort of thematic echo to characters or storylines we’ve seen before. But after Episode 4, “Can’t Say I Remember No Attin,” many fans are delighted and delighted by the fact that there is a loveable one star Wars You don’t have to watch a handful of movies or watch/read a ton of other content to appreciate her – a character that everyone can love as a “good” person worth rooting for.

Who plays Neel In? Star Wars: Skeleton Crew?

Neel may seem like a simple everyman character – but he’s actually quite a tricky feat to produce!

Actress Kacie Borrowman provides the physical performance art to create Neel. Borrowman uses a combination of on-set appearances in a costume with fully animatronic headgear and facial motion capture to enhance the character’s performance mannerisms and expressiveness. Actor Robert Timothy Smith then records Neel’s vocal performance, giving the character his idiosyncratic, child-like voice.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Streams on Disney+.