Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew episodes 1 & 2Star Wars has just premiered its new show Skeleton Crew with the first two episodes. Starring Jude Law as Jod Na Nawood and a collection of kids who find themselves lost in space, the new series is full of exciting Easter eggs and Star Wars references. However, there are also some very fun references to real-life Star Wars fandom, as well as some cool nods to some classic Disney pirates.
As seen in Skeleton Crew episodes 1 and 2, young Whim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) find themselves swept from their quiet and uneventful lives on At Attin and into an exciting and dangerous adventure in the greater Star Wars galaxy, one filled with pirates and a long-lost treasure that somehow connects to their world they call home. To that end, here are 23 of the biggest Easter eggs and references to be found in Skeleton Crew episodes 1 and 2.
23 Opening Text Resembles Ahsoka
A New Tradition For New Republic Shows?
Skeleton Crew episode 1 opens with some key blue text in front of open text, confirming the show’s setting during the New Republic Era. It also confirms that piracy continues to plague the main hyperspace routes. To that end, this is very similar to Ahsoka, the last New Republic-set show that also featured this blue text opening to set the scene, rather than the typical yellow text scroll seen in the main Star Wars movies.
22 “If This is a Bulk Freighter…”
A Great New Hope Reference
Attacking a cruiser in the opening scene of Skeleton Crew’s first episode, one of the crew members tries explaining to the band of raiding pirates that they have no credits, claiming that they’re only a bulk freighter. This prompts Captain Silvo to question, “If this is a bulk freighter, why is your vault magnetically sealed?” Combined with the pirates’ infiltration and skirmish with the crew members who’d been waiting for them, it’s easy to see the mirroring to the opening scene of A New Hope when the Empire attacks Princess Leia’s ship which had claimed to be a consular ship: “If this is a consular ship, where is the ambassador?“
21 Brutus Betrays Captain Silvio
“Et Tu Brute?”
After the vault is revealed to only hold a single credit, Brutus turns on Captain Silvo and stages a mutiny. Not only is Brutus a wolf-life Shistavanen whose species first appeared in the Mos Eisley Cantina during A New Hope, but his name and betrayal of the captain also bring to mind the Latin final words of Julias Ceaser in Shakespeare’s classic tragedy: “Et tu, Brute?”
20 Whim’s Action Figures
Jedi and Sith
Whim is shown playing with two figurines wielding red and green lightsabers in Skeleton Crew episode 1. Thanks to the subtitles, it’s confirmed that Whim’s figures are a Jedi and a Sith Lord. As such, it’s quite unique to see a young child playing with the same kind of toys in-universe that kids in real life might play with as well.
19 Whim and Neel’s Toy Lightsaber Fight
Just Like Real-Life Kids
In the same vein, Whim and Neel are shown having a pretend lightsaber fight, complete with arms being “cut” off and the fake spillage of guts. It’s a very comical scene, one that certainly helps convey the idea that these kids are just like kids in real life who love Star Wars and wish they could be the idealized Jedi heroes of their own stories.
18 RX-Series Bus Driver Droid
Just Like Star Tours
Whim and Neel are driven to school by none other than an RX-series pilot droid. Fans who have visited Disneyland will recognize the RX-model as the same kind of droid who once piloted the shuttles in Star Tours before Threepio took over, as well as the retired RX droid who became the DJ in Oga’s Cantina at Galaxy’s Edge.
17 “Great Work Of The Republic”
A High Republic Reference?
During class, Neel, Whim, and their fellow students are told that they will be taking their Career Assessment Tests the following day, which will help them know how to best serve the planet’s Great Work of the Republic. This feels very similar to the “Great Works of the High Republic” that was started by Chancellor Lina Soh during the High Republic Era. This included Starlight Beacon, a shining Jedi orbital outpost that was built in the Outer Rim to aid colonization efforts.
16 Power Converters
Toshi Station Anyone?
In Skeleton Crew episode 1, it’s revealed that Fern and KB are in desperate need of a power converter for their hoverbike ahead of an upcoming race with some older kids. In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker similarly wanted to go get some power converters at Toshi Station.
15 Storypad
Featuring Stories of Jedi Heroes
Shown throughout Skeleton Crew episode 1, Whim is shown flipping through his storypad which features multiple stories about a Jedi hero. Written in the Galactic Basic language known as Aurebesh, some of the pages can be translated. For instance, one page details the story of a hero named Druin who starts his journey through a forest, while another speaks of a hero igniting his lightsaber and preparing to defeat a lunging beast.
14 “Wizard”
So Wizard Ani
After Whim fails to appear for his assessment, the young boy meets Fern who is similarly sent to the Proctor’s office due to her bike racing. Whim confirms that he’s seen her on her hoverbike, which he notes is “p retty wizard“. A piece of Star Wars slang meaning “cool” or “epic”, the term was first said by Anakin Skywalker and his friends in The Phantom Menace. However, “wizard” was first confirmed to still be an active term in the New Republic Era by Din Djarin in The Book of Boba Fett.
13 Holiday Special Holograms
A Reference To Wookiee Life Day
When Whim and Neel return home, Neel’s siblings are shown watching a very bizarre hologram show that looks to be an odd kind of circus performance with clowns and juggling. Sure enough, this is of course one of the same hologram scenes shown in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special watched by Chewbacca’s son Lumpy during Wookiee Life Day.
12 Buried Jedi Temples
A Reference To Star Wars Rebels
While exploring The Onyx Cinder in Skeleton Crew, the kids initially think the buried ship is an ancient Jedi temple. To that end, Whim shares that some Jedi Temples could bury themselves as a defense from intruders. This is a reference to the Jedi temple on the planet Lothal which could indeed bury itself befoe it was brought back up using the force by Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan, Ezra Bridger.
11 Nick Frost’s SM-33
A Reference To Captain Hook’s First Mate
Nick Frost plays the droid SM-33, the first mate of The Onyx Cinder who helps the kids navigate and fly the old ship in Skeleton Crew episode 2. Humorously, SM-33 is a play on “Smee”, the name of Captain Hook’s first mate in Peter Pan.
10 Atollon, Aldhani, Al Alcor
Key Star Wars Planets (And A Subtle Reference?)
Having never heard of the kids’ home planet of At Attin, SM-33 mentions other planets that sound similar. This includes Atollon, which was the site of the Rebellion’s “Chopper Base” as seen in Star Wars Rebels. Aldhani is also mentioned, the planet first featured in Andor during the heist to steal the entire quarterly payroll for an entire Imperial sector. While Al Alcor isn’t a previously known planet in the Star Wars galaxy, it may or may not be a reference to Allan Alcorn who is best known for creating Pong.
9 Port Borgo
A Deep Star Wars Legends Cut
Skelton Crew’s Port Borgo is a deep Star Wars Legends cut. Having first been canonized in 2018’s A Smuggler’s Guide as a major pirate shadowport near the Hydian Way, Borgo was originally connected to the Rakatan Empire in Legends as one of their colonies. Likewise, it’s also worth noting that Port Borgo’s position near the Hydian Way means it’s relatively close to planets like Mandalore and Nevarro.
8 A Teek Ferryman
Hailing From Endor
Leaving their ship outside in space, the kids are taken to Port Borgo by a Teek ferryman. The Teek are a species native to the forest moon of Endor, just like the Ewoks seen in Return of the Jedi. Teeks made their original debut in the live-action Ewok made-for-television movies.
7 Fuzzball!
From Michael Jackson’s Captain EO
Remarkably, Fuzzball from Michael Jackson’s Captain EO can be seen in one of the cages in Skeleton Crew episode 2. Captain EO was a 3D short firm attracting at Disney parks beginning in 1986, starring Jackon as the captain of a ragtag group of space aliens, one of which was his sidekick Fuzzball who is now Star Wars canon. George Lucas served as an executive producer on Captain EO, so it’s a very fun Easter egg in this new Star Wars show.
6 Old Republic Credits
Thousands of Years Before Skywalker Saga
When Whim and Neel use their lunch money to pay for their food, the surrounding primates are shocked to see that their payment is Old Republic credits. To that end, it looks as though their money is thousands of years old before the events of the Skywalker Saga. Combined with the reveal that their homeworld is somehow connected to a “legendary eternal treasure”, it seems as though there’s more to At Attin than meets the eye.
5 Vane, Gorian Shard’s Second-In-Command
From Mandalorian Season 3
One of the pirates who tries to take Whim and Neel is Vane, the former second-in-command to Gorian Shard who first appeared in The Mandalorian season 3. That said, Vane gets beaten down by SM-33 who quickly arrives to save his new captain (Fern) and the rest of the crew.
4 Hutt Clan Sigil
Shown As A Pirate Tatoo
One of the pirates in Port Borgo is shown getting a tattoo. The tattoo in question is the sigil of the Hutt Clans, supporting the idea that they’re currently still active during the New Republic Era despite the recent death of Jabba the Hutt as seen in Return of the Jedi.
