By George & Josh Bate
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – Episode 3
The newest Star Wars series is garnering universal praise from critics and fans alike. The Amblin-esque tale of children lost in a galaxy far, far away has compelled with intriguing mysteries and wholesome characters, but it is also getting attention for its host of hidden details, easter eggs, and references. This latest episode features a deep-cut reference to an early Star Wars comic, in addition to all sorts of other noteworthy details.
Here is a breakdown of the hidden details, easter eggs, and references in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – Episode 3….
Episode 3 is also directed by David Lowery, who is known for directing the acclaimed The Green Knight.
The mural at the beginning of the episode appears to be of similar design as the painting of the Mortis Gods on Lothal.
Nawood uses the Force to distract pirates, just like how Ben Kenobi does to distract stormtroopers on the Death Star in A New Hope.
Wim refers to Jedi as “defenders of justice and keepers of peace in the galaxy.” In Attack of the Clones, Mace Windu refers to Jedi as “keepers of the peace.” There is also an episode of The Clone Wars titled “Defenders of Peace.”
One of the ships seen on Port Borgo is The Katooni, which is the ship of the infamous pirate Hondo Ohnaka. Hondo is arguably the most well-known pirate among Star Wars fans, debuted in The Clone Wars, and also plays a key role in the Millennium Falcon ride at Galaxy’s Edge. The Katooni is named after the Jedi padawan Katooni, who Hondo met during the Clone Wars.
Another ship on Port Borgo appears to be the Star Tours speeder the StarSpeeder 1000.
Jawas are seen on Port Borgo. These little creatures first appeared in A New Hope.
When Nawood returns to Port Borgo to rescue SM-33, a pirate can be heard in the background saying, “Silvo has escaped from the brig!” This confirms that Captain Silvo, the masked pirate at the beginning of episode 1, was indeed Law’s character. Why he introduces himself to the kids as Nawood, but is known by Silvo to the pirates, remains a mystery.
There’s several notable droids present as Nawood rescues SM-33. One of the droids is a CZ-series droid, a type of droid that first appeared in A New Hope.
Another droid here is a battle droid! When Nawood turns it on, the battle droid asks, “Did we win?” This is likely a reference to the battle droid questioning whether the Separatists won the Clone Wars.
Nawood’s attempt at rescuing SM-33 is interrupted by an old friend named Benjar Pranic. The credits reveal that Benjar Pranic is voiced by Alfred Molina, who is known for playing Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Molina also becomes the latest actor to have roles in both Star Wars and Indiana Jones (Molina played Satipo at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Some of the musical cues that play as Nawood tries to fly the Onyx Cinder away are borrowed from the Coruscant speeder chase in Attack of the Clones.
KB tells Nawood that the odds suggest he is not a Jedi. This is similar to how C-3PO calculates odds throughout the saga.
As Nawood and the team arrive on the moon to visit his old colleague Kh’ymm, theremins can be heard playing as part of Mick Giacchino’s score for Skeleton Crew. A theremin is an electronic musical instrument that was frequently used in retro sci-fi projects.
Nawood is greeted by TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droids at his old colleague’s home. These are the same kind of gatekeeper droids that guard Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi. They also appear in The Mandalorian Season 1 as droids outside of The Client’s base on Nevarro.
Nawood’s friend Kh’ymm refers to Law’s character as Crimson Jack, which is arguably the episode’s coolest hidden detail. Crimson Jack was a pirate who first appeared in the original Marvel Star Wars comic series all the way back in 1977. In those comics, Crimson Jack was a rival of Han Solo’s, even robbing him of his reward from the Rebel Alliance that Han was going to use to pay off Jabba the Hutt . Crimson Jack made his canon debut in the comic book miniseries Halcyon Legacy. The character brandishes a distinct beard and ginger mullet in the comics, quite different from how Law presents in Skeleton Crew. Nonetheless, Law being referred to as Crimson Jack can’t be a coincidence. Is it possible that the creators of Skeleton Crew have purposefully ignored how Crimson Jack has appeared in canon so far in order to make Law play this character? Or is Law’s character merely using Crimson Jack as a pseudonym?
Kh’ymm is voiced by Alia Shawkat, who is known for playing Maeby in Arrested Development and Dory in Search Party. She most recently starred in the psychological thriller Blink Twice.
Kh’ymm shares a number of attributes with Aughra from The Dark Crystal.
Fern questions Kh’ymm’s statement that she has trinkets from 1,000 worlds. Fern’s confusion at this statement continues to emphasize just how sheltered they were on At Attin. This is also emphasized later when Neel asks, “What war?” as Kh’ymm mentions the Galactic Civil War.
Kh’ymm shows a scroll of “Jewels of the Old Republic,” which are “planets of wonders kept hidden for their protection.” The subtitles capitalize ‘Old,’ suggesting Kh’ymm is not just referencing the Galactic Republic seen in the prequels, but the older institution featured heavily in Legends.
Based on what we’ve learned about At Attin so far, we have a theory of what could be going on with this planet. It seems as if At Attin was a prized world hidden by the Old Republic back in the day. During the time of the Old Republic, the Sith existed in prominence and were at war with the Jedi. At Attin seems to possess some immense wealth, as evidenced by Wim casually carrying out valuable Old Republic credits. And At Attin is seemingly up to something with the Great Work, the Barrier, and all other cult-ish hints. As Skeleton Crew takes place between Episodes 6 and 7, we know that this is also the time period during which the First Order comes to be. While novels like Bloodline and Aftermath and comics like The Battle of Jakku have explored the origins of the First Order, this story has not been told in its totality and there are still plenty of question marks surrounding how the First Order came to be. With At Attin possessing such wealth and being seemingly isolated from the rest of the galaxy, we think that this world has something to do with the origins of the First Order. Perhaps the ambiguous analysts and other professions that are assigned with the Career Assessment test that Wim and Neel took are actually positions within a burgeoning First Order. This theory isn’t fully formed yet, but, given what is happening with the Shadow Council in The Mandalorian and Thrawn in Ahsoka, we think Skeleton Crew may add an additional piece to the puzzle that is the origins of the First Order.
KB says that in school they learned about Coruscant and Alderaan. Coruscant was once the galactic capital and the home of the Jedi Order, featuring prominently in the prequel trilogy. Alderaan, meanwhile, was Leia’s homeworld, which was destroyed by the Death Star in A New Hope.
Kh’ymm chuckles when saying, “Alderaan? Missed the war, did you?” This is a reference to Alderaan’s destruction during the Galactic Civil War.
The New Republic X-Wings that come to arrest Jod (aka Crimson Jack) are classic T-65 X-Wings, the same used in the original trilogy.
