The D23 Expo has given us a lot of reveals for highly anticipated movies and shows, including reveals for Captain America: Brave New World, TRON: Ares, and more.
Star Wars is one of Disney's flagship brands, and after the end of the first season of The Acolyte, they’re now gearing up for the first season of a more kid-focused series called Skeleton Crew. Though a new trailer has been released, there was an extra treat for anyone present at the D23 Expo last weekend.
Skeleton Crew Floor Display Reveals Alien Pirates
As shared by The Hollywood Reporter, the floor display for Skeleton Crew revealed some costumes for alien pirates appearing in the series. Fans know that the kids’ main challenge is being whisked away from home on an empty ship run by Jude Law, but here we have confirmation that the series villains will not be Imperials but pirate bandits.
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Here are some stills that give a better look at the characters:
Are These the Same Guys from The Mandalorian?
Since Star Wars is about connectivity, some fans speculate that the pirates in Skeleton Crew could be working for Gorian Shard. This pirate lord was introduced in The Mandalorian.
Gorian’s goons are known to be of the Nikto species, and it’s possible that the Nikto in the display is one that fans have already met before. As for the rest of the aliens in the display, one of them is a Shistavanen (who are called ‘wolfmen’ by the fans); and the other one is known as a gran; all these species pop-up randomly all over the Star Wars universe, so it’s not surprising they would be in a show like Skeleton Crew.
It’s also worth noting that the pirates look to be standing over a chest full of treasure. It’s unclear if this will actually be a plot point in the series, but it’s likely they added this in the display just for the overall vibe. What’s a pirate without a treasure chest to hunt down?
What about the Droid?
Besides the aliens, the display also contains one droid that fans speculate is Nick Frost’s character in the show, SM-33. SM-33 is described by series creator Jon Watts as “a rusty old, cranky droid that sort of reluctantly helps the kids along the way… The other thing about him is that he’s the first mate of a mysterious ship.”
An interesting thing about SM-33 is that his name is spelled out “S-M-E-E”. If you’ve seen Peter Pan, you’ll know that Captain Hook’s first mate was also named Smee; and Jude Law, who plays a Jedi in the show, had also played Hook in Disney’s recent live-action remake Peter Pan and Wendy.
To add to the pirate comparisons for the droid, fans have also noticed that he has a peg leg, so he’s probably going to be hobbling around like a robot Long John Silver.
It’s going to be a few more months till fans get a look at Skeleton Crew, and hopefully by then Lucasfilm would have released a full trailer that would give fans a better idea of what kind of series to expect.
With the Stranger Things comparisons, it does kind of feel like Skeleton Crew would be Shawn Levy’s brainchild, but it is exciting to see Jon Watts working on something that isn’t Spider-Man for a change.
Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney+ on Dec. 3.