It won’t be all smooth sailing for the kids in Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew. Entertainment Weekly has released new photos that show the waters will become quite rocky indeed. For some time, the plot details of the show had been kept under wraps. The big selling point was that Jude Law would appear in the leading role in a show about four children who traverse the galaxy while attempting to get home. A new image reveals Law’s character Jod Na Nawood in the foreground with the four children as a blurry backdrop. That isn’t all that the outlet has revealed. Skeleton Crew will also throw some pirates into the mix.
Pictured are five space pirates that will add a new flavor to the Star Wars universe. Skeleton Crew takes place after the fall of the Empire and, as The Mandalorian has demonstrated, this is a time of unrest. Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin makes his way as a bounty hunter when there is still very little government in the galaxy. This atmosphere is also what gives rise to piracy.
“With the era we’re in, we’re kind of getting to play with that lawless thing,” co-creator Christopher Ford explained. “The Empire is gone, and so we’re playing with a part of the galaxy that has a resurgence of piracy.”
The collection of pirates in the photo is an assortment of aliens – and even one sentient wolf-man. There may be one familiar face to fans of ‘90s sitcoms, however. Jaleel White of Family Matters fame is pictured as the cyborg Gunter. The rest of the crew include Vane (Marti Matulis) who appears in The Mandalorian, aptly unnamed wolf Brutus (Frank Tatasciore, performance artist: Stephan Oyoung), Pax (Mike Estes), and Chaelt (Dale Soules). The creator confirmed that these characters will be an interesting new layer to the Star Wars canon.
Scum and Villainy Return To ‘Star Wars’
The criminal element has always been part of the Star Wars universe, though some with more representation than others. Smuggling, drug production, and bounty hunting have been with the franchise since A New Hope. But while piracy has been alluded to, it isn’t often portrayed in live action, as Ford noted.
“People would call Han Solo a pirate and he’d be like, ‘How dare you?’ And we’ve seen some awesome pirates in the animated shows. So this was something where both [executive producers] Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau were really excited to do more pirate stuff.”
While somewhat unfamiliar territory, this time period may be a comfort to long-time watchers. Viewers have seen what happens when Star Wars creatives try to do something new and interesting. The Acolyte was swiftly canceled when Leslye Headland wanted to show an original villain origin story with complex characters. Leaning into the roots of Star Wars is sure to be a crowd-pleaser when Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney+ on December 3.
WATCH ON DISNEY+