Longtime fans of George Lucas’ Star Wars have mixed opinions about what Disney has done with the franchise since its 2012 takeover. While the Sequel Trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker) faces most of the criticism, spin-off shows like The Mandalorian have proven to add valuable plotlines (and an adorable Baby Yoda) to the vast cinematic universe. It’s not easy to understand Lucas’ fantastical world as it currently exists, but with the recently released Disney+ series, Skeleton Crew expanding things further, there’s no time like the present for a history lesson.

If you want to start at the beginning, The Acolyte (which just arrived earlier this year) is the place to go. The show is set 100 years before the Prequel Trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), while other recent releases like Clone Wars and Bad Batch take place during the same period. After that come projects like Solo, Rogue One and Andor, all of which showcase events that took place before Lucas’ original movies (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). The Mandalorian begins nine years after Luke Skywalker famously fought in the Battle of Yavin, or in 9 ABY, and from what we know so far, Skeleton Crew isn’t far off from that!

What Is ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ About?

The first two episodes of the Jon Watts-created program hit Disney+ on Dec. 2 – season one will have eight total, with a new one releasing every Tuesday until the Jan. 14 finale. Skeleton Crew explores the early days of the New Republic, marking “a transitional period for the Star Wars universe,” as Movie Web puts it, where “galactic residents are adjusting to life without an empire looming over them.” The main antagonists in the series are pirates (one of whom is played by Jaleel White) who shamelessly loot ships without the threat of a solid empire to stop them.

Rounding out the cast are Jude Law, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kerry Condon, Kyriana Kratter, Nick Frost and Ravi Cabot-Conyers. The family-friendly series follows four young friends who stumble upon a space pirate ship that launches them off their home planet and onto an unforgettable (but sometimes dangerous) adventure.

When Does the Disney+ Series Take Place in the Cinematic Universe?

As Comic Book notes, season three of The Mandalorian (which arrived in March 2023) is set in 11 ABY. Details from the first episodes indicate that Skeleton Crew‘s plot takes audiences back in time before that – about a decade before Rey from The Force Awakens is born. “We picked that era because it’s the best time for kids to get lost in the galaxy because it’s also the worst time for kids to get lost in the galaxy,” Watts shared in a TechRadar interview. “There’s not anyone in place who can swoop in and help them… As we look towards the future, we’re still figuring out where it fits on the exact timeline.”

So far, this period has only been explored in comics and novels, leaving Watts and his team plenty of creative freedom to tell their story. In the opening scenes of Skeleton Crew, it’s established that characters are living after the fall of the Empire, though obvious discrepancies suggest the time doesn’t perfectly align with The Mandalorian. At one point in the premiere, a group of pirates are disappointed to learn that a ship they’ve attacked isn’t carrying any credits from the Republic. This suggests they’ve been sending out ships full of money with little to no protection amid their fight to regain control of the galaxy. Canonically, this would put Skeleton Crew‘s story near the end of the war against the Empire. When The Mandalorian starts, the New Republic is under stronger management, allowing them to better protect member worlds and their citizens from pirates and other dangers.