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After weeks of teasing the backstory aboutJude Law’s mysterious Jod Na Nawood inStar Wars: Skeleton Crew, the series finally provided a hint about his origins.The Disney+ series revealed that the pirate Captain, who went by many aliases, was trained in the ways of the Force by a mysterious female Jedibefore she was killed in front of him. While Jod does not name the Jedi, the few details he offers about himself in the finale, plus throughout the series and his status as a space pirate, might tell us something about his backstory.
Ever since Disney acquiredStar Wars, one favorite thing among creatives has been to reuse old scrapped concepts from the original six movies and reincorporate them into the franchise in new ways. From Zeb inStar Wars: Rebelsusing Ralph McQuarrie’s original concept art for Chewbacca or the Krykna spider initially intended to be on Dagobah inThe Empire Strikes Backappearing on the ice planet inThe Mandalorian, many scrapped concepts are now part of theStar Warscanon.Jod’s backstory might hint that Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, and Lucasfilm are revisiting some of George Lucas' original concepts for Han Solothat were supposed to appear inRevenge of the Sith,which dates back to 1977.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Han Solo’s Cut Origin From ‘Revenge of the Sith’
Han Solo is easily one of the most famous characters from theStar Warsfranchise, thanks in no small part toHarrison Ford’s career-making performance. While many fans know at one point, Han Solo was originally envisioned as an alien with green skin and gills before Lucas made him a human and the alien his co-pilot, Chewbacca. They might not know what Lucas intended for Han Solo’s origin. In Paul Duncan’s bookThe Star Wars Archives: Episode I-III 1999-2005, it is revealed that back in 1977, after the firstStar Warshit theaters and Lucas began talking with screenwriter Leigh Bracket about developingThe Empire Strikes Back, Lucas intended Han to be an orphan on the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk and this is when he would have met Chewbacca.
Lucas planned to canonize this idea inRevenge of the Sith. The movie was set to feature a 10-year-old Han Solo, who would have been living among the Wookiees. A subplot would have involved Han Solo assisting Yoda in the battle. In the end, though,Lucas decided against including a young Han Solo for a few reasons. The first was that the Kashyyyk scene was a small part ofRevenge of the Sith, and including Han Solo might have been distracting. Lucas also acknowledged that after already featuringa young Boba FettinAttack of the Clones, having another young version of a character from the original trilogy might have been a step too far for the franchise.
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With Han Solo’s planned origin scrapped, the deck was clear to take a new look at his origin.2018’sSolo: A Star Wars Storygave Han Solo a Charles Dickens-esque inspired origin as an orphan growing up on Corellia working for a street criminal before getting off the planet, joining the Empire out of desperation and then running off with a prisoner he met, his future ally Chewbacca. Han Solo became a smuggler and pilot in the criminal world, becoming the figure everyone knows. Despite being made following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, George Lucas had already begun planning a Han Solo origin film before the sale, so it is clear that the orphan on a Wookiee planet idea was something Lucas scrapped and never looked back on.Skeleton Crew, however, might have found use for it.
Is Jod From Kashykkk…and Was His Jedi Teacher in ‘Revenge of the Sith’?
Jod is designed to fit the Han Solocharacter model.Lando describes Han Solo as a “pirate,” and Jod is literally a pirate, Captain Silvo. Because of Han Solo’s devil-may-care attitude that starts selfish but later becomes one of the Rebel Alliance’s leading figures, fans have come to expect redemption stories from the scoundrel character inStar Wars.
Jod is certainly positioned as an untrustworthy pirate who teams up with the kids ofSkeleton Crewbut also seemingly has a soft spot for them. It seemed like he would have a redemptive arc, sacrificing treasure for the kids' safety. YetSkeleton Crewtook the opposite approach, making him the true antagonist for the final batch of episodes.Jod is a subversion of Han Solo, and some clues in his backstory suggest that his backstory might be George Lucas' originalRevenge of the Sithidea.
In Episode 4, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin,” Jod comments that the planet of At Achrann is a lot like his home. The area is covered in fog and has some vegetation, possibly burned down. Kashykkk had foggy environments, and bothThe Clone WarsandThe Bad Batchshow forces trying to burn the trees of the Wookiee planet. Jod might have grown up on the planet of Kashykkk and could even have been present inRevenge of the Sithjust out of frame of the action. If that is true, this might suggest that the mysterious Jedi master who trained him was also on Kashykkk. Yet it wouldn’t be Master Yoda.It could be Luminara Unduli.
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Luminara Unduli was a female Mirialan Jedi who served duringThe Clone Wars. InRevenge of the Sith, she is shown on the planet of Kashykkk, coordinating with the Wookiees. Both she and Yoda were on the planet together when Order 66 happened, though they are not shown together. Many assumed Luminara might have died during Order 66; otherwise, Yoda would not have left her behind. Yoda could have assumed she died but could have escaped and been on the run for a short time on the planet before being hunted down and killed.Star Wars: Rebelsestablished that The Empire used Luminara’s body specifically to make a trap to lureJedi who survived Order 66out of hiding, but why would they choose her specifically of all the Jedi who were killed during Order 66 whose bodies the Clones likely had access to?
This implies that Luminara might have initially survived Order 66and was on the run for a short time before she was killed. In that time, she could find Jod on the planet and teach him a few Force tricks before the Empire kills her. This would match up with creator Jon Watts and Christopher Ford’s commentsfollowing the season finalethat they had intended for Jod’s trainer to be someone who escaped Order 66.
IfSkeleton Crewis using Han Solo’s original backstory forRevenge of the Sith, that gives them a potential Jedi master to be Jod’s trainer that connects to the broaderStar Warsgalaxyand brings back an abandoned story concept. It feels like the best answer to the mystery behind Jod Na Nawood and something that Disney and Lucasfilm could and should explore in Season 2 or a comic book series or novel.Star Wars: Skeleton Crewis streaming onDisney+.
