The holographic circus that is entertaining Neel's young siblings is a recreation of the same one Chewbacca's family watches in the infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978).
Creator and director Jon Watts embraced a hybrid approach, combining motion capture technology (The Volume), puppetry, stop-motion animation, and even matte painting to bring the fantastical world to life alongside veterans from Legacy Effects, ILM, and Lucasfilm. Embracing both high and low-tech methods helped retain the familiar authenticity audiences seek. Watts explains, "It almost became a bucket list of every old-school VFX technique. We did a lot of physical models, and the one for the kids' ship had amazing detail with moving engines. John [Knoll] built his own motion control rig from scratch. There were people working in their garages because that's where these things happen now." By leveraging digital and practical tools, the production team achieved a stunning visual aesthetic that pays homage to the classic Star Wars films while embracing the latest technology.
The official trailer that was released in November 2024 features a rendition of the Peter Schilling song "Major Tom (Coming Home)", but translated to Huttese.
Although sharing similar features to the Ortolan species, which counts Max Rebo among its most famous examples, Neel and his family belong to an all-new species.
According to the series director, David Lowery, the pirate droid on the crashed ship is called SM-33, and this is a reference to Captain Hook's sidekick, Mr Smee, as 33 backwards resembles EE, making it SM-EE. David Lowery directed Disney's Peter Pan & Wendy (2023), which also starred Jude Law.