Skeleton Crew's Jod Na Nawood Could Be The Franchise's Next Darth Vader

The galaxy far, far away has just added another big villain. After being pitched as a heroic father figure akin to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Jude Law’s Jod Na Nawood is going into the finale as its de facto big bad. Every good Star Wars project needs a villain for fans to hate, and despite Jod’s Jedi potential, Jon Watts and Christopher Ford could be setting him up as Skeleton Crew’s very own Darth Vader.

As a swashbuckling space pirate, Jod Na Nawood’s end goal seems only to be satisfying his greed for the treasures of At Attin. Although this means he might not have the villainous intent to rid the galaxy of Jedi like Vader did, Skeleton Crew’s penultimate episode teased an equally tragic backstory and possibly Jod’s equally tragic end to that of Anakin Skywalker and his armor-plated alter ego.

Skeleton Crew’s Order 66 Throwback

In January 7’s episode, “We’re Gonna Be in So Much Trouble”, the young crew of heroes finally made it back to their homeworld of At Attin and were briefly reunited with their parents in the Imperial Mint beneath the planet. Their happy reunion was quickly interrupted by Jod, who had previously threatened the safety of the children’s parents if they didn’t help him out. The episode ended with Jod drawing a blue lightsaber he’d previously taken from Tak Rennod’s lair on Lanupa.

Eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot two potential nods to 2005’s divisive Revenge of the Sith, with the final shot mirroring one earlier in the episode. After decapitating SM-33 with the lightsaber, Jod brandished it at the kids and seemingly echoed the scene where a fallen Anakin approached the Younglings at the Jedi Temple during Order 66. Like Revenge of the Sith, the Skeleton Crew episode 7’s final scene also featured a supposed hero out of shot and holding a lightsaber, seemingly about to do something awful.

Even though audiences didn’t need to see Anakin directly murdering the Younglings in Revenge of the Sith, the fact that it’s not shown is even more menacing. Leaving Skeleton Crew’s penultimate episode on such a cliffhanger drums up similar fears that Jod could butcher the kids (or at least their families), and while that likely won’t happen, it’s one hell of a way to end episode 7. Putting the pieces together, there are wild theories that Jod himself could be an Order 66 survivor.

When confronting the kids aboard the Onyx Cinder, it felt like there was some serious projection when Jod snapped at Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) and said:

Reading between the lines, some think this is Jod (or whatever his name is) reliving the horrors of Order 66, where he was too ‘weak’ to prevent the slaughter of his friends at the hands of an unhinged Anakin Skywalker. The timelines just about match up: with Skeleton Crew taking place in 9 ABY, that puts it 28 years after Order 66. Jude Law is 52 in real life, so while 24 is probably a little old to be considered a Youngling, he still might have been in the temple at the time, making him one of the increasing number of Jedi who escaped the bloodbath.

Having Jod as another escapee from Palpatine’s clutches would be retreading some all-too-familiar ground. Ahsoka Tano survived Order 66, as did Gungi the Wookiee, Cal Kestis from Respawn Entertainment’s Jedi games, and even Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Reva (Moses Ingram). As Obi-Wan Kenobi only recently pulled the Reva twist, it seems unlikely that Jod will be another survivor. Then again, as the same series showed off Mapuzo’s Hidden Path with dozens of surviving Jedi, anything is possible. If Jod had his Jedi training cut short, it would also explain why he has powers but is reluctant to be classed as a full Jedi.

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Jod Na Nawood Is Due a Darth Vader Redemption

Order 66 theories aside, it’s more likely that Jod Na Nawood is heading in a similar direction to Darth Vader. As the prequels made clear, Anakin Skywalker wasn’t always a terrifying villain threatening the galaxy. The young boy from Tatooine was an aspiring Jedi who lost his way and fell into a life of villainy. Jod’s powers suggest that he once could’ve been a young protégé like Anakin, although it’s unclear how he became the unscrupulous pirate featured in Skeleton Crew. Similar to how a bit of good was still left in Anakin at the end, Jod might be destined for his own redemption arc in the finale.

The big twist at the end of 1983’s Return of the Jedi saw Darth Vader finally see he was merely Palpatine’s puppet. When Luke Skywalker’s life was threatened, Anakin’s heroic nature shone through. Before his villainous turn, Jod looked like he had genuinely become attached to the kids, even risking his own life to save them. While it’s possible this was all in the hope of getting to the treasure of At Attin, there’s the fact that there was no proof that this treasure existed. Nawood has threatened the kids on numerous occasions, but so far, has stopped short of actually harming them.

With Nawood’s mutinous crew out there beyond the barrier of At Attin, and him trying to reach the group so they can plunder the riches within, they might not have the same moral compass as him. There are plenty of parallels with Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow, who, even though he also looked like he was only out for himself, had a moral core beneath the surface. Assuming there’s a big showdown between the pirate crew and the people of At Attin, Jod could sacrifice himself to keep the kids safe. Then again, he could genuinely be a scoundrel who wants to put Wim, Fern, KB, Neel, and their parents to the sword.

The Skeleton Crew kids are tipped to return in The Mandalorian and Grogu, but could Law become a mainstay of Star Wars? After the cancelation of The Acolyte and a bulging slate of Star Wars movies and TV series that are shifting around in various stages of development hell, Disney seems to be putting all its efforts into the Mandoverse. This period of history post-Return of the Jedi seems to be the franchise’s most lucrative right now, and it’s here that Skeleton Crew sits. Assuming Jod gets his redemption but doesn’t perish like Vader did aboard the Death Star II, there’s every chance he could be back to lead the kids on more The Goonies-inspired adventures in the not-so-distant future of Star Wars.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

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Release Date

December 2, 2024

Network

Disney+

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Streaming Service(s)

Dis

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Directors

David Lowery
, Bryce Dallas Howard
, Jake Schreier
, Lee Isaac Chung
, Daniel Scheinert

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Showrunner

Jon Watts
, Christopher Ford

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