This ‘Skeleton Crew’ Theory Is So Wild, It Could Be True

The first trailer for Skeleton Crew is finally here, promising a new kind of adventure for Star Wars. The new series tells a story that’s very reminiscent of Amblin-style classics like The Goonies and E.T. – The Extraterrestrial, but with a twist that only the galaxy far, far away can provide: a Jedi — or at least it seems like there is a Jedi. Jude Law‘s Jod Na Nawood shows up at the end of the trailer using the Force, to Wim’s (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) amazement. Law has been rather cagey about his character in the media recently, which is to be expected, sure, but also raises many questions about who Jod really could be. Now, allow us to speculate that he may not be a Jedi at all, but, instead, connected to the biggest baddie in all of Star Wars: Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) himself.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

Four kids make a mysterious discovery on their home planet that leads them to get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy.

Release Date

2024-00-00

Creator

Christopher Ford, Jon Watts

Cast

Jude Law , Kerry Condon , Ryan Kiera Armstrong , Tunde Adebimpe

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Seasons

1

Franchise

Star Wars

Expand

What Do We Know about Jod Na Nawood in ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’?

The Skeleton Crew trailer doesn’t reveal much beyond what is already known: a group of kids makes a mysterious discovery on their home planet and ends up way over their heads in a dangerous adventure. In the last scene, Jod Na Nawood reveals himself, using the Force to summon a key that will free Wim and his friends from captivity. Wim asks if Jod is a Jedi, and that’s when the trailer ends, leaving the answer up in the air. Jod may indeed turn out to be a Jedi, but it seems that there is much more to him than meets the eye.

Ever since the trailer was revealed, though, new information on Jod has come to light from Jude Law himself. Asked to describe his character, Law said that Jod is “one of his names,” and that you never know whether he can be trusted or not. Jod is trying to help the kids find their way back to their home planet, but, apparently, some of them don’t want him on their crew. This last bit is classic Star Wars, with some characters being morally dubious until they ultimately prove their valor — Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, for example, being the most famous example.

But Jod Na Nawood being only one of this character’s names is what is interesting. Star Wars is also filled with characters who aren’t what they seem, both for better or worse. It may be that Jod is indeed a Jedi who is just trying to remain hidden, but finds the kids and decides to help them. It’s quite a Jedi thing to do. There is also a precedent for people posing as Jedi to try and run schemes on oblivious beings, like Haja Estree (Kumail Nanjiani) in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Or it could be that Jod is actually someone of bigger importance in the galaxy, and there are many signs pointing to that.

Could Jod Na Nawood Be a Clone of Emperor Palpatine?

This theory is so wild, it could actually be true. Skeleton Crew takes place around the same time as the so-called Mando-verse, which consists of series like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. In fact, a character from The Mandalorian Season 3, a Nikto pirate called Vane (Marti Matulis), is even set to show up in Skeleton Crew, meaning that the new series probably takes place a little later. The Mandalorian begins in the year 9 ABY, five years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, but according to continuity, it should now be 11 ABY.

A recurring theme of the Mando-verse, especially The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, is the Imperial Remnant organizing to strike back at the galaxy. Although Emperor Palpatine dies in Return of the Jedi, it seems that it’s still him who is pulling the strings through Project Necromancer, as shown in The Mandalorian. This initiative consists of genetic research trying to create a new Force-sensitive body for the Emperor, one that could serve as a vessel for his immensely powerful essence. While people usually call these bodies “clones,” they aren’t necessarily made from Palpatine’s own genetic matrix, and are actually called “strandcasts” according to lore. Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), for example, is the only strandcast so far that has been able to withstand the Emperor’s power, but it still left him with scars and a decayed body.

Related

‘The Bad Batch’s Final Season Completely Fumbled the Cloning Plotline

So, how did Palpatine return?

So far, Project Necromancer has failed at every known attempt. Snoke won’t show up until around a decade before the events of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, and, at the time of the Mando-verse, the Imperial Remnant are trying to get their hands on Grogu to use his blood to create a new strandcast. Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) conducts Force-based research with the help of the Nightsisters of Dathomir. But Jod Na Nawood could very well be a successful Palpatine strandcast that has managed to escape from Exegol, which would justify both his Force-sensitivity and his secrecy around his own identity. The timeline is perfect for this, and there is even a precedent in canon…

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker is terrible, but the many attempts to course-correct its surrounding lore did end up giving us some great stories. The Mandalorian, for example. And the story of Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) parents, Dathan (Billy Howle) and Miramir (Jodie Comer), is told in the novel Shadow of the Sith. Dathan is born on Exegol in 12 BBY, before the events of A New Hope, created from Palpatine’s genetic matrix, meaning he is a strandcast who shares the same blood with Palpatine, making them genetically like father and son.

Dathan isn’t Force-sensitive, however, causing Palpatine to despise him to the point of never even giving him a name. The Emperor only keeps the boy around because he sees the value in having someone with his blood around. Eventually, a slave named Dathan helps the boy escape Exegol, and the boy adopts the name of his savior. He goes on to marry Miramir, and, together, they have Rey in 15 ABY, but are always on the run from the assassins Palpatine sends after them, until they are killed by Ochi of Bestoon in 21 ABY.

The timeline of events, though, is surprisingly fitting. Dathan is born in 12 BBY, meaning that, by the time the Mando-verse takes place, he is in his early-to-mid 20s. Like Dathan, Jod Na Nawood is also someone who is trying to conceal his identity from everyone while trying to do the right thing. They look a little different, but Jod could be a successful Force-sensitive strandcast of Palpatine who, like Dathan, found his way out of Exegol. They could even be the same character, since adjustments to lore are always being made when stories from the novels come to live-action, but it isn’t likely due to the difference in looks, and Star Wars fans are annoyingly perceptive.

The fact that Jude Law has been cagey about who Jod really is hints that Jod’s identity is indeed a key point for the Skeleton Crew story, so he is certainly bound to be someone of relative importance, at least. Being a Palpatine strandcast may sound like a stretch, but it’s the kind of gap in lore that Star Wars has been making an effort to fill since The Rise of Skywalker. It would probably make a lot of people angry, since the “Rey Palpatine” plotline isn’t really one that the fans like, but it would be a much-needed explanation about Palpatine’s Project Necromancer and the nature of his clones and strandcasts.

Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney+ on December 3.

Watch on Disney+