Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is the latest Disney Plus series set in a galaxy far, far away starring a ragtag group of kids and one Jude Law. Though his chiseled features do not quite make an appearance in the show’s pilot episode “This Could Be a Real Adventure,” he does step on the scene during the final moments of the series’ two-episode premiere, seemingly wielding the Force to help the rest of the Skeleton Crew out of a pirate brig.
If there is one thing the show has accomplished thus far, it’s been to establish the presence of space piracy as a major problem during the New Republic era following Return of the Jedi. Of course, when pirates first arrive in The Mandalorian under Captain Gorian Shard and First Mate Vane, they certainly seem like a force to be reckoned with, yet there is ferocity with this latest batch of swashbucklers seen attacking a larger ship in the opening scene of the first episode.
This opening sequence has classic pirates in space vibes, as a battle ensues aboard the victim ship. In classic pirate fashion (something pulled straight out of films like Pirates of the Caribbean), the current helmeted Captain commands the loyalty of his crew under the promise of payment from their plunder. This Captain, suspiciously sporting a British accent lightly muddled by the helmet, discovers that the vault they are after is empty all except for one measly credit (as pointed out by First Mate Brutus) which of course sparks a mutiny that lands him in hot water with his crew.
Fast forward to the second episode “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier,” where the children find themselves lost in space and have acquired the ship’s First Mate in the form of an old droid SM-33 (which cleverly reads as ‘Smee’ from Peter Pan). As their home world of At Attin is not located on any star map, SM-33 flies them to a nearby outpost which is currently occupied by Brutus and the rest of the pirates from the series’ opening scene. When it’s clear that there is more than meets the eye with these kids, who are flashing old Republic credits when paying for food and asking about the mythical "treasure planet" of At Attin, the pirates overpower SM-33 and lock the young crew away in the brig.
Enter Law (also locked in the brig), who attempts to barter with the children by offering the use of his Force abilities to help facilitate their escape so long as he might accompany the Skeleton Crew aboard their ship. At this point, the mysterious figure’s motives remain unclear, and it’s hard not to draw a comparison to Aladdin (1992) where Jafar disguises himself as a feeble old man who cuts a rotten deal in order to help him escape from his cell. Curiously, we don’t know what landed this man in the brig in the first place. Could Law's character be the very pirate Captain Silvo seen as the subject of a mutiny in the opening scene of the series?
The show’s marketing would place Law’s character as Jod Na Nawood, though both things could certainly be true. Na Nawood is an interesting name as well, which begs the question as to whether the characters have a shared history with At Attin. While the kids in their siloed living such as Wim, Neel, Fern, and KB might be so inclined to trust Jod given that he exudes characteristics of what they could presume to be of a Jedi, his true motivations have yet to be revealed.
Perhaps Jod Na Nawood knows of At Attin and used his life as the dread pirate Captain Silvo to rise through the ranks and pursue the ultimate booty that may lie within the so-called "treasure planet." Either way, it’s a pirate’s life for me as we all await to see what becomes of this Long John Silver-type character portrayed by Jude Law in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.