The Marvel Cameo You Didn't Notice In Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 3

Matt Kennedy/Lucasfilm

This article contains spoilers for "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" season 1, episode 3.

There are lots of interesting aliens in "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew." In fact, some of them are so interesting that you may not even realize the full extent of their impact until the end credits. One such figure is Benjar Pranic, a former member of Jod Na Nawood's (Jude Law) crew. Pranic casually walks in when Jod attempts to retrieve SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost) at the behest of Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), KB (Kyriana Kratter), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith). Fully knowing that Jod should be imprisoned in the brig, the alien sets up a friendly conversation ... which soon cuts into the very unfriendly revelation that Jod now has Brutus' (Fred Tatasciore) entire crew chasing him. Turns out that retired or not, you really can't trust a pirate. 

Pranic gets quite a few lines for what may or may not turn out to be a throwaway character, doesn't he? This may be because he's voiced by a very familiar Marvel Cinematic Universe actor. The man behind Pranic's faux-pleasant voice is none other than Alfred Molina, who played Otto "Doctor Octopus" Octavius in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 2," and reprised the role in the 2021 all-star Marvel multiverse-hopper "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Since Law himself plays Yon-Rogg in "Captain Marvel," this makes the scene a conversation between two veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe villain game.  

A versatile actor, Molina's best movies include "Frida," "Boogie Nights," and "Promising Young Woman." Incidentally, "Skeleton Crew" isn't his first rodeo in a George Lucas-adjacent franchise. In 1981, Molina played Indiana Jones' (Harrison Ford) treacherous guide in the iconic opening sequence of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Lucasfilm

As experienced and suitably eagle-eyed "Star Wars" enthusiasts know, Alfred Molina isn't the first familiar face to make a stealthy cameo in the galaxy far, far away. On the contrary, the actor is merely the latest in the long list of famous names that the franchise seems to revel in making as unrecognizable as possible. 

Arguably the best-known case of such hard-to-spot cameos is the time when Simon Pegg was in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," hidden within the depths of the blobby costume of ruthless Jakku junk boss Unkar Plutt. Another major creature cameo comes in "The Last Jedi," where the magnificently-named Slowen Lo is voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Really, though, pretty much every installment of the Skywalker Saga, and several other "Star Wars" live-action works, features tons of fun little cameos from well-known industry figures from both sides of the camera. Even George Lucas himself turns up in "Revenge of the Sith" as a minor political figure called Notluwiski Papanoida. 

Another favorite "Star Wars" tactic of obscuring a distractingly famous cameo actor's identity is simply dressing them up as a Stormtrooper. Whenever one of these cannon fodder characters gets a passing moment of levity that seems to stand out from their usual activities, there's a decent chance that the helmet is hiding someone like Daniel Craig (in "The Force Awakens"), Tom Hardy (in "The Last Jedi"), Karl Urban (in "The Rise of Skywalker"), or Jason Sudeikis (who plays a scout trooper in "The Mandalorian" season 1). In other words, Molina is in good company. Since "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" clearly intends to continue the franchise's long-standing cameo tradition, fans may want to keep their eyes peeled for the next major name in the credits.