“Credits will do fine” is one of the strangest lines in Star Wars, but it hints at the galaxy’s mundane realities. Qui-Gon says it in The Phantom Menace after he and Obi-Wan Kenobi are stranded on Tatooine, as he tries to get Watto to accept Republic Credits to fix his ship. His Jedi mind trick doesn’t work, but it all turns out okay after a high-stakes pod race.
Currency talk may not be at the forefront of your mind when you think of Star Wars, but a new series is highlighting that forgotten element and taking it into uncharted territory. In the new trailer for Skeleton Crew, the family-focused Star Wars adventure series that hits Disney+ on December 3, some of the show’s lead children try to pay for some street food, only for the vendor to say, “Woah! Where'd you two find an Old Republic credit?”
Like in the Phantom Menace, Republic credits aren’t accepted, albeit for different reasons. Tattooine wasn’t part of the Republic, so Watto wanted money that could be used locally. But the street vendor’s shock seems to come specifically from the fact that these are Old Republic credits.
The capital O makes a difference. Skeleton Crew, like everything else in the “Mando-verse,” is set in the New Republic era, between the fall of the Empire and the rise of the First Order. So, “old Republic” could just refer to the Republic that came before the Empire; in A New Hope, for example, Obi-Wan says, “the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic.” But this could also refer to the Old Republic, the ancient era set thousands of years before the prequels.
Either “old” republic could be the one referenced here, but there are hints that suggest these credits are ancient artifacts. There doesn’t appear to be a universal currency standard here: the vendor only has an issue with one of these credits, but is otherwise happy to take the kids’ mishmash of money. Trying to purchase something with Old Republic credits at that point on the timeline would be like trying to buy something in the United States today with Confederate currency. Not only would it be very out of date, but the connotations would be strange.
There’s already been evidence that the Old Republic could factor into Skeleton Crew’s story; in a promotional image, Jude Law’s Jod Na Nawood is seen studying ancient Sith runes. It’s possible the kids stumbled upon those credits at what’s essentially an archeological site, prompting Nawood to get involved.
Everyone, even Star Wars characters, needs money, but this could be more than another little hint at how the New Republic’s economy functions. We don’t know a lot about the Old Republic era, as most of its appearances have come in games and books now no longer considered canon. It was a time of rapid expansion that saw the birth of the Jedi Order, but as always, the Sith had their own designs. Now, it looks like those designs may very well echo through to the present, and finally reveal something about one of the franchise’s most mysterious eras... or maybe those kids are just going to start a cool coin collection.
