Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is quite unlike any show that’s been launched in the Star Wars universe. It’s one of the few youth-oriented projects, which makes sense given its protagonists are actual children. Despite featuring a Force user in Jude Law‘s Jod Na Nawood, Skeleton Crew is also one of the few Star Wars projects to not feature a Jedi Knight or Sith Lord (for now, anyways). The biggest element that makes Skeleton Crew worth a watch, though? Pirates.
Co-creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have actually been open about how pirate movies are one of their major inspirations for Skeleton Crew, with Watts listing a few influences in an inteview with Entertainment Weekly: “It’s sort of a combination between the ship battles that you would see in Captain Blood or The Sea Hawk or these old pirate serials with A New Hope. We wanted to show what a pirate raid would look like, and using that New Hope sort of structure as the framework.”
Indeed, pirates play a major role in Skeleton Crew: The Onyx Cinder, the buried spaceship uncovered by the protagonists, used to belong to a pirate. And during the events of the second episode, “Way, Way Out Past The Barrier”, the kids run into a group of pirates led by the werewolf-esque Brutus (F red Tatasciore). Brutus is a member of a race who actually has a long history in the Star Wars universe.
Brutus’ Species Was First Seen in ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’
Brutus belongs to the Shistavanen, a race of werewolf-like creatures that hail from the planet of Vanen Prime. The first time a Shistavanen debuted on-screen was during the iconic Mos Eisley Cantina sequence in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, when Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) are searching for a pilot to take them to Alderaan. Obi-Wan tells Luke that Mos Eisley is “a wretched hive of scum and villainy,” and its inhabitants seem to prove his point. In addition to a Shistavanen, there are all sorts of aliens that look like they belong on the set of a horror movie rather than a space opera (especially the demonic-looking Devaronians).
Later additions to Star Wars canon expanded upon the Shistavanen that viewers first glimpsed in A New Hope. His name was Lak Sivrak, and he previously worked as a scout for the Empire. Sivrak would later defect to the Rebel Alliance, even piloting an X-Wing during the final battle shown in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. In an odd sort of way, Brutus serves as the mirror image of Sivrak, since he’s a pirate willing to kill or harm others for monetary gain.
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Though it’s been sporadic, the Shistavanen have appeared in other Star Wars stories. The High Republic publishing initiative, which would eventually pave the way for The Acolyte, features a Shistavanen pilot named Odabba in its debut novel Light of the Jedi by prolific Star Wars author Charles Soule. Odabba was part of a rescue mission to help planets affected by the “Great Hyperspace Disaster,” which sent the flaming wrecks of starships crashing into planets. However, his vessel was attacked by the Marauders known as the Nihil. Shistavanen also appear in the Star Wars novel Dark Legends, where the short story “Blood Moon” hints that, much like a werewolf, a blood moon can drive them into a feral state.
But one of the most prominent Shistavanen appeared in a non-canon Star Wars project. During Genndy Tartakovsky‘s Star Wars: Clone Wars micro series, a Shistavanen Jedi named Voolvif Monn is shown decimating a droid army during an episode. Monn is unique in that he’s a character who made it into the series due to fans; Cartoon Network launched a Choose Your Jedi contest featuring three characters, including Monn, who would show up in Clone Wars — the werewolf won the vote. It ended up being a rather moot point, as Monn’s appearance was immediately overshadowed by the (then) first appearance of General Grevious.
Brutus Is Just One of Many Antagonists in ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’
Brutus only makes a pair of sporadic appearances across Skeleton Crew‘s first two episodes, but he’s already proven to be a formidable threat. In the premiere, “This Could Be A Real Adventure,” he turns on his former captain and launches a mutiny after a heist gone wrong. Likewise, “Way, Way Out Past The Barrier” has him downing the droid SM-33 (Nick Frost) while locking the young protagonists in the brig of his ship. The Shistavanen might be a race that’s only made a few appearances, but Brutus may very well cement himself among Star Wars’ biggest villains.
Four kids make a mysterious discovery on their home planet that leads them to get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy.
- Release Date
- December 2, 2024
- Creator
- Cast
- Jude Law , Ravi Cabot-Conyers , Ryan Kiera Armstrong , Kyriana Kratter , Robert Timothy Smith , Tunde Adebimpe , Kerry Condon , Nick Frost
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 1
- Franchise
- Streaming Service(s)
- Dis
The first two episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are available to stream on Disney+. New episodes stream Tuesdays.
