Key Takeaways
- Jude Law’s character, Jod Na Nawood, introduces mystery and probable Dark Side connections in the series.
- Skeleton Crew pays homage to A New Hope with young characters on a galactic adventure.
- The show stands out with originality, action-packed scenes, and adorable creatures, appealing to fans of all ages.
This week saw the premiere of the first two episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the latest of Disney+’s Star Wars shows. The lead-up to its release has been full of anticipation, and fans have wasted no time theorizing from the few details they’d been given in trailers and teasers. It seems like one of the more prevalent ones may have some merit to it after all.
At the heart of Skeleton Crew is a group of kids who want something more out of their lives than being stuck at home. Sound familiar? It should. Showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford were clearly very intent on paying homage to the things that made A New Hope such a hit. Ravi Cabot-Conyers’s Wim seems to have his head in the clouds the same way one Luke Skywalker did, and Fern– played by up and comer Ryan Kiera Strong– shares his iconic obsession with power converters. Kyriana Kratter plays tech genius KB who may just go on to become a pilot, also not unlike a certain someone. It’s worth pointing out that the series feels very Spielberg-y in tone, drawing several comparisons to The Goonies and other beloved 80s films. The lack of adults in the main cast is definitely to its benefit, and allows for a lot of fun storytelling opportunities it might lack otherwise.
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The end of the second episode, titled “Way, Way Out Past The Barrier”, sees the merry band of youngsters meeting Jude Law’s character Jod Na Nawood after a series of misadventures at a spaceport frequented by pirates lands them behind bars. It’s the first time Law’s face is shown, having been obscured by a mask in episode 1– which is quite appropriately titled “This Could Be A Real Adventure”. Jod reveals he’s a Force User by floating the key over to them, causing the Jedi-obsessed Wim to automatically assume Jod is one of his heroes. It’s the assumption a lot of audience members would make, and have made already. But there’s just something unsettling about the character, and it could partially be due to him asking the kids to keep his abilities a secret with an odd sort of smile on his face. Skeleton Crew falls near The Mandalorian on the Star Wars timeline, meaning there are few Jedi left. Is he a survivor of Order 66 or a former Jedi that fell to the Dark Side? Or was he never on the side of light?
The first episode opens with a pirate raid on a New Republic ship, led by Captain Silvo. His crew soon mutinies against him. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it seems likely this is Jod Na Nawood given the fact that his former associates are all at the same spaceport where he’s being held prisoner. Which name is his true identity, if either of them even are, remains a mystery. Likelier still is the chance that he’s no Jedi after all, but in fact a Sith. This has already been hinted at, to the point where it almost seems obvious. His intentions beyond escaping may be unknown, but revenge is probably on his mind. As the show goes on, we’ll learn more about his backstory, but for now suspicions are definitely warranted.
Although only two episodes are out so far, the series looks to be a fun jaunt through the Star Wars universe, rife with interesting characters and lore. It’s following The Acolyte‘s lead in terms of originality and avoiding a reliance on huge cameos, while still being very much a part of the story fans have come to love over the course of the last 5 decades. It’s also notable that– despite being marketed towards a slightly younger audience– it certainly doesn’t shy away from action. Most importantly, though, it follows the time-honored tradition of having lots of adorable creatures. Robert Timothy Smith’s character Neel is already a fan favorite and the cutest alien since Baby Yoda.
New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are available to stream on Disney+ every Tuesday at 6PM PST.
