Skeleton Crew is one of the most nostalgic projects in one of the most nostalgic franchises ever. Not only does the series harken back to the original trilogy with its “average kid swept into a grand intergalactic conflict” concept, but the tone has been compared to classic Amblin Entertainment films like The Goonies and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
But that nostalgia isn’t limited just to the audience. In the trailer for the series, it was revealed that much of the plot of the series is steeped in the past. However, just how far into the past has been a point of contention — until now. Skeleton Crew showrunner Jon Watts just clarified to Inverse how nostalgic Skeleton Crew really is, and it ties all the way back to when we met Obi-Wan Kenobi for the first time.
In the trailer for Skeleton Crew, young Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) presents a street vendor with a handful of credits, and the vendor seems shocked, saying, “Whoa! Where’d you two find an Old Republic credit?” It’s an interesting wrinkle for the story — where would Wim find a defunct currency in the first place? But even more interesting is the term “Old Republic,” which, in the post-original-trilogy era of the New Republic, could refer to the Republic, the Jedi-led federation that ruled before the Empire took over, or the Old Republic, the ancient (and technically non-canon) era set millennia before the prequel trilogy.
So which Old Republic is it? “Most of the time when we’re saying Old Republic, we’re using it in the same way that Obi-Wan uses it in A New Hope when he talks about the Old Republic,” Skeleton Crew showrunner Jon Watts tells Inverse. “That just meant he was familiar with part of that Republic, and that Republic continued back thousands and thousands and thousands of years.”
While this line may seem ambiguous, it really refers to the Republic that ruled before the Empire. It makes practical sense — the difference between currency from the Republic and the Old Republic is the same as the difference between a Buffalo nickel and a Roman coin — but it also highlights just how far the Star Wars universe has come. Now, the Republic that was mourned in the original trilogy is now ages in the past, and the New Republic has truly taken over.
Skeleton Crew may be a nostalgic show, but it won’t be harkening back to ancient Star Wars history — we’ll have to wait for James Mangold’s movie for that. But we’ll still see ties to Star Wars’ past, especially where it all began: with one kid on Tatooine who ends up on a monumental odyssey.
