After nearly 50 years, the Star Wars saga finally has the kind of story it’s long been missing: a pirate adventure. The franchise is amenable to all kinds of vibes and themes, from Westerns to wuxia, and Skeleton Crew pushes the saga forward in a brilliant way, taking the loose premise of a classic like Treasure Island and giving it the mystery box treatment. That Lucasfilm leaned away from its pirate show status during the promo period is surprising, as it should be a huge draw. But Skeleton Crew wasn’t really hiding its true nature; we just didn’t see the signs until recently.
Skeleton Crew may be the first Star Wars project to focus on pirates, but it’s not the first to explore space piracy in the galaxy at large. The new series owes something to the third season of The Mandalorian, which introduced a crew of pirates skulking around the reformed planet of Nevarro. Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) make quick work of running them off, but Skeleton Crew makes the clever choice to feature the gang in earnest, using them to inform an unexplored corner of the galaxy. Their return also brings The Mandalorian’s silliest villain back into the mix, establishing a subtle connection between the two shows.
The first half of Skeleton Crew’s two-episode premiere focuses on its unlikely young heroes — Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) — and their humdrum life on the planet At Attin. Once they discover a buried spaceship in the woods and accidentally use it to jet off to regions unknown, their new droid guardian, SM-33 (Nick Frost), brings them to a spaceport teeming with colorful characters.
One such troublemaker is Vane (Marti Matulis), the former first mate of Pirate King Gorian Shard. Since his embarrassing defeat on Nevarro, he’s joined up with another crew led by Brutus (Fred Tatasciore). Despite his new role, he hasn’t gained much influence since we last saw him: upon crossing paths with Wim and Neel and attempting to steal their lunch money, he promptly loses a fight with SM-33. Our heroes manage to escape the spaceport with help from Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), but this probably won’t be the last we see of Vane or his pirate squad. Their looming presence gives Skeleton Crew a real sense of urgency, and it could very well establish a concrete connection between this show and the Mandoverse.
According to showrunner Jon Watts, Skeleton Crew is “just one episode in a larger story.” Watts told Inverse that he worked closely with Dave Filoni, the shepherd of the Mandoverse, to build out this corner of the franchise. “We were constantly calling Dave and asking him very, very hyperspecific Star Wars questions,” Watts said.
There’s a chance their conversations also focused on the saga’s continuity, and the role the series could play in future projects. Skeleton Crew may feel self-contained now, but it could easily go on to inform more stories set in this era. By that logic, nothing explored in the series is insignificant, and that includes henchmen like Vane. He’s not a very effective villain right now, but that may not be the case for much longer.
