This article contains spoilers for “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” season 1, episode 2.
Everything can seem dangerous when you’re a kid lost in space, and the pirate droid SM-33 makes no exceptions. “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” certainly takes care to frame him as a potential threat. When the clunky, partially malfunctioning robot with an alien critter residing in its empty eye socket regains power and shuffles into the frame, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve accidentally tuned in to a space-themed horror movie and witnessing the main antagonist.
Fortunately, SM-33 — a not-so-subtle nod to Mr. Smee from “Peter Pan,” no doubt — is firmly on the main characters’ side, at least after one of the show’s young heroes, Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), convinces him that she’s killed the former captain of the Onyx Cinder and taken charge. Though old and decrepit, he proves to be a useful (if unnerving) ally who can even switch to a capable combat mode when push comes to shove. He also happens to be connected to a fellow shady figure from “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.”
SM-33 is voiced by Nick Frost, who’s arguably best known for his work in Edgar Wright’s Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End”). He stars in each of those three movies with Simon Pegg, who himself previously played Unkar Plutt (aka the scheming Crolute junk boss that Daisy Ridley’s Rey has to deal with on Jakku) in “The Force Awakens.” Considering Plutt’s status as a high-profile criminal barterer and SM-33’s profession as a space pirate, it’s even plausible that the two characters may have met at some point.
Star Wars is but one of many things Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have both worked on
Though Simon Pegg has made a name for himself with roles like Scotty in the Kelvin timeline “Star Trek” movies and Benji Dunn in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, it’s always special when he joins forces with Nick Frost. The pair’s nuanced and funny double act might be best known for the Three Flavors Cornetto movies, but that’s just a small part of their joint filmography. After all, they started their lengthy collaboration on the British Channel 4 sitcom “Spaced” in 1999, and have remained on such good terms that they have their own production house called Stolen Picture.
Arguably, their biggest non-Cornetto work together is the loving 2011 sci-fi parody “Paul,” which they also wrote. In the movie, Pegg’s Graeme and Frost’s Clive are science-fiction fans who join forces with an alien called Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) on a hectic road trip. Pegg and Frost also appear together in movies like the 2018 horror-comedy “Slaughterhouse Rulez” and the 2020 Amazon Prime Video series “Truth Seekers,” and portray detectives Thomson and Thompson in Steven Spielberg’s 2011 animated film “The Adventures of Tintin.” Speaking of animations, they also both voice characters in 2014’s “The Boxtrolls.” Â
Granted, at the moment it seems unlikely that Pegg and Frost will ever directly cross paths onscreen among the various alien races of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.” Even so, merely the knowledge that both men portray characters in the sci-fi mega-franchise makes “Star Wars” seem just a little bit more complete.
New episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” drop Tuesdays at 6pm PST on Disney+.