One of the most satisfying things to theorize about in Skeleton Crew was the background of Jude Law's character, Jod Na Nawood. It seemed he had a different name in every episode and a different personality to go with them. Best of all, his implied Jedi abilities had an intriguing payoff in the end. In a recent panel at MEGACon in Orlando, Florida via Collider, Law talked about his experience with the show and the character's training and what he shared is somewhat surprising.
Did Jod Na Nawood know how to use a Jedi lightsaber?
Jude Law was asked about Jod's training for the role and he confessed that "we kind of liked the idea that he had no lightsaber training." His character's brief apprenticeship to a Jedi in the aftermath of Order 66 credibly could have had little to no time for the discipline of lightsaber arts. So, this is a great detail to consider. Law wasn't a novice to stage comat, since he's "done stuff in the past with swords, knives, cutlasses, and all that, fending, so I've used similar before."
Collider writer Adam Blevins comments that "The idea that Law did not undergo lightsaber training to make it more authentic that his character was not familiar with using a lightsaber is a brilliant creative decision," considering that making Jod another saber-waving Jedi would lump him "into the category of a righteous Jedi Knight obsessed with helping the galaxy, or a former Jedi turned to the dark side." Jod Na Nawood was a person caught between good instincts and self-serving purposes throughout the series, so he "represents the middle ground."
There is a wonderful tension as the series goes on from Jod's first appearance as to whether he has legitimate powers. He can make objects float as his go-to trick, but there's a line in episode 5, "You Have A Lot To Learn About Pirates," where Jod gives a hint to his relationship with the lightsaber. As Jod holds Fern hostage and Wim brandishes a lgihtsaber hilt, he cautions the young hero, "Careful, Wim. It's not one of your stories."
We saw Wim pretending to be a Jedi knight errant in episode 1, "This Could be a Real Adventure," and in a perfect world, he would be able to turn that into a practical use of the saber. Six seconds later, we hear the snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited and Wim yelps in terror as he nearly takes his own foot off.
We can't say that Jod ever had a similar accident, but he definitely knows that there's more to fighting evil than knowing the theory. As Blevins says, "Jod is nothing more than a space pirate who happens to be in tune with the Force, but over the course of Season 1, he proves to be exactly the villain that Skeleton Crew needs."
The full season of Skeleton Crew can be found streaming on Disney+,