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This Star Wars: Skeleton Crew article contains spoilers.
While creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford previously warned Star Wars fans that they shouldn’t expect “insane cameos” in Skeleton Crew, that doesn’t mean that the show is completely devoid of them. Take this week’s episode, for example, which features voice work from two well-known actors in their Star Wars debuts: Alia Shawkat as a bird-like alien named Kh’ymm and Alfred Molina as the pirate Benjar Pranic.
Let’s break down who these characters are on Skeleton Crew, what they reveal about the mysterious Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), and where you’ve seen Shawkat and Molina before.
Yet another character I immediately LOVE in #SkeletonCrew:
Kh’ymm 👏✨️ pic.twitter.com/ZHdQHmqnEU
— QG Jenna 🖤 (@QuiGonJenna) December 11, 2024
Alia Shawkat as Kh’ymm
Best known for playing Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development and Dory Sief on Search Party, Alia Shawkwat established herself as TV comedy royalty long before Star Wars, and she brings those comedy chops to the character Kh’ymm (pronounced “Kim”), who might be best describe as an “owl lady.” Kh’ymm is a brilliant astronomer and navigator whose knowledge of the galaxy and all its star systems and planets is the key to finding the mythical At Attin, aka Wim, Neel, Fern, and KB’s home planet.
As we learn in the episode, the planet has been well hidden from the rest of the galaxy, but Jod wants to help get the kids back home because of a pirate legend that says At Attin is the location of a great treasure unlike any other. What that treasure is isn’t clear at the moment, but Jod wants it.
Kh’ymm comes through with some new data from her observatory that could get the kids a bit closer to finding their home, but she also calls a New Republic patrol to capture Jod, whom she warns should not be trusted under no circumstances. She also reveals Jod’s name is actually “Crimson Jack,” which bears a bit of significance if you know your Star Wars history. After all, it’s the name of a “pirate master” who troubled Han and Chewie in the early issues of Marvel’s Star Wars comics. Whether Jod is meant to be that character from the old Legends continuity or this is simply a fun reference to Star Wars history is unclear.
Jod and the kids manage to escape with the data before the New Republic can capture them, but before KB departs, Kh’ymm advises her to find the truth about Jod. The owl lady also tells KB that the kids can call her any time if they need help again, meaning this probably won’t be the last time we hear from Shawkat’s character on the show.
Alfred Molina has officially joined the #StarWars universe. He voiced Benjar Pranic in ‘STAR WARS: SKELETON CREW’! pic.twitter.com/1pPcPKgdjg
— Cine Updates (@Updates4Cinema) December 11, 2024
Alfred Molina as Benjar Pranic
While not as meaty a role as Shawkat’s, Alfred Molina enjoys a fun little cameo earlier in the episode as the old pirate Benjar Pranic, an Ishi Tib who once served in Jod’s crew when he was known as Captain Silvo. If you remember, Silvo was stripped of command in the first episode after a plan gone wrong.
Jod/Silvo meets Benjar as he’s retrieving SM-33 from a droid repair shop. It seems at first that Benjar isn’t going to rat out his former captain, but the old pirate does eventually decide that he should call Brutus (the Shistavanen pirate who took over from Silvo) to report Jod’s escape. We don’t see what Jod does next, but he’s able to escape before Brutus can catch up with him.
Fans know Molina from several classic geeky films. In fact, his very first movie role was as the treacherous guide Satipo in the legendary opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark. But these days, you absolutely know him best for playing Doctor Octopus in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and Jon Watts’ own Spider-Man: No Way Home!
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is streaming now on Disney+.
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