Summary

• Fans may have spotted a reference to The Empire Strikes Back in the first images of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
• Fern’s jacket in Skeleton Crew spells out “DAK” in Aurebesh, hinting at a connection to Dak Ralter, Luke Skywalker’s gunner during the Battle of Hoth.
• Establishing Fern as Dak’s daughter could lead to emotional storytelling in Skeleton Crew.

Though the first look at Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has only just been released, Star Wars fans seem to have already spotted a reference to The Empire Strikes Back. New images and details about Skeleton Crew were recently released, and they confirmed Skeleton Crew‘s release date as well as the names of Skeleton Crew‘s main characters. That first look gave some great insights into the upcoming Star Wars show and the future of the franchise, but it may have also included a key connection to one of the best Star Wars movies ever made.

One X user, albertmpadilla, has already noticed a subtle detail from one of the images of Skeleton Crew. Fern, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, was wearing a leather vest with a patch sewn on the front, and that patch had Aurebesh letters that spelled out the word “DAK.”

Aurebesh is the Star Wars equivalent of an alphabet, and though the symbols look odd, they serve as direct counterparts to the characters of the English language. The letters on Fern’s jacket translate to Dak, which seems to be a reference to Dak Ralter, a Rebel gunner who had a minor role in The Empire Strikes Back. If it does indeed serve as a reference to him, that small detail could have major implications for Skeleton Crew. Fern may be Dak’s daughter, and that would give her a connection to none other than Luke Skywalker himself.

Dak Ralter’s Empire Strikes Back Role Explained

Dak Ralter only had a short time on screen in The Empire Strikes Back, but he played a fairly important role. Dak was Luke’s gunner in the back of his T-47 airspeeder during the Battle of Hoth, and also one of his friends and admirers. Though they were friends, Dak only had a short time on-screen, as he was quickly killed when the back of their airspeeder was hit by blaster fire. Luke had to continue with his mission to attack the Empire’s AT-ATs that were advancing on Echo Base with Dak’s dead body just behind him.

Eventually, Luke had to crash-land his airspeeder and narrowly avoid being crushed underneath one of the AT-ATs. Unfortunately, Dak was still in the airspeeder at the time, and his body was destroyed along with it. That moment was the end of Dak Ralter’s time on-screen in Star Wars, but it might not be the end of his legacy. Dak was wearing an orange flight suit for the mission, meaning his personal effects and clothing were likely still at Echo Base. That would explain how Fern got hold of his jacket, if she does prove to be Dak’s daughter in Skeleton Crew.

Establishing that Fern was Dak’s child would open the door to so many interesting possibilities that Skeleton Crew could explore. Fern would have almost certainly grown up hearing about the legendary Luke Skywalker, especially considering Dak’s friendship with him and the circumstances of his death. Jude Law’s character, Jod Na Nawood, almost certainly knew Luke as well, considering they were both Jedi, and he would be able to tell her even more about her father’s friend. That would make it easy for Jod to be a father figure to Fern, and it could make Skeleton Crew a very emotional story.

Source: albertmpadilla