Skeleton Crew's Jod Na Nawood Brings With Him A Whole Host Of Star Wars Mysteries

Lucasfilm

Spoilers for "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" episode 3 to follow.

A galaxy far, far away has introduced a brand new collection of characters with "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew," one of whom only just made his debut at the end of the second episode that premiered last week. Donning the classic attire of a Jedi but feeling like anything but is Jude Law as the mysterious Jod Na Nawood, who is also going by the name of Crimson Jack.

Landing somewhere in the hyperspace between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Captain Jack Sparrow, there's clearly more to Jod than meets the eye, particularly if the show's events — coupled with "Skeleton Crew" toy packaging descriptions in the real world — are anything to go by. Firstly, there's the fact that Jod/Jack seemingly used the Force to get him and his new crew mates out of the slammer and away from danger. Then there's the Hasbro Pulse listing for the Jod Na Nawood 3.75-inch action figure and the implications of his attire (or lack thereof).

So, just who is this guy and what kind of trouble could he be getting our heroes into going forward? Well, for this we need to get deep into Dagobah-level weeds and discuss a "Star Wars" character that was once canon, stopped being so, and now might just be again. Kinda.

Marvel Comics

The name Crimson Jack has been floating around the galaxy ever since "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" first made its way into theaters in 1977. Appearing in the Marvel-published "Star Wars" comic book series and written by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin, Jack was a longtime rival of our favorite scruffy-looking nerf herder, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and even stole the reward the smuggler and Chewbacca earned following the Battle of Yavin. From there, Jack sent Han on his way and the rival pirate took off in his annoyingly cool ride: his own personal Star Destroyer.

Cool ride or not, Jack and his adventures were wiped from the continuity of "Star Wars" after the Expanded Universe was deemed no longer canon and renamed Star Wars Legends. That was until 2022, when in Ethan Sacks and Will Sliney's "Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy," Jack returned as a pirate captain once again, setting his sights on the eponymous vessel, the Halcyon. However, both previous iterations of Jack look more like Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) from "Game of Thrones" than Mr. Napkin Head from "The Holiday" (aka Law). To make things even more complicated, Jack was reintroduced to the canon in a story that saw him carrying out a mission for the First Order, which doesn't come into power for years after the events of "Skeleton Crew" on the "Star Wars" timeline. So, what does this mean for Law's "Jack," and was the character inspired by a famous classic literary figure?

Matt Kennedy/Lucasfilm

Besides sharing the name with the already established Crimson Jack, Law's shifty stranger feels like a space-based versoin of Long John Silver from "Treasure Island" (or "Treasure Planet" if you know your Disney). It's fitting, then, that, as is revealed during his rescue mission for SM-33 (Nick Frost), that his former crewmates address him as Captain Silver, just like the character from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure tale.

Jod/Jack is already winning over select members of the Skeleton Crew on the series, just like Long John Silver famously did with cabin boy, Jim Hawkins, though it doesn't mean he can be trusted. It's quite likely this is all a ruse and that Jod/Jack is simply someone who can tap into the Force rather than a full-fledged Jedi (much like the boy with the broom in Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi"). The only difference is that this lawbreaker uses the Force to his advantage, which might pay off given where Crimson Jack ends up in "Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy."

Then again, it's possible that's another Jack altogether and that Jod really is a Jedi. If so, he would be but one of the survivors of Order 66 who took on a new name and turned to a life of crime after the Galactic Empire seized control of the galaxy. (Characters going by different identities, like Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, is certainly a well-established "Star Wars" trope.) For now, we'll have to wait and see what's in store for the show's heroes.

New episodes of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" premiere every Tuesday at 6 pm PST on Disney+.