SM-33

Don't you ever want to do anything exciting?

Warning! This page contains spoilers from Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Caution is advised.

"Get back to your ship, droid."
"Not without me captain."

―Vane and SM-33^[6]

SM-33, nicknamed "Thirty-Three," was a droid pirate^[4] who served as First Mate of the starship Onyx Cinder.^[7] At some point the Onyx Cinder became buried in a forest on At Attin and by the early New Republic Era. In 9 ABY,^[8] a youngling called Wim discovered the Onyx Cinder and, together with three other children called Neel, Fern and KB, investigated the ship but they accidentally activated it and flew to another planet. The group of kids then forged an alliance with SM-33 and a force-sensitive man called Jod Na Nawood to find back home and avoid a band of pirates.^[6]

Biography[]

Adventure at At Achrann[]

"C-Can't say I remember no At Attin."

―SM-33 unable to recall At Attin^[9]

Sometime before 9 ABY,^[8] SM-33, along with Captain Tak Rennod^[1] of the Onyx Cinder, visited the planet At Achrann, one of the nine Jewels of the Old Republic. On the planet, they sneaked past warriors similar to those of the Hattan and eventually arrived at a tower, the Fallen Sanctum. Within the tower were Galactic coordinates for all nine Jewels of the Old Republic. The captain murdered everyone in his crew who saw the coordinates for the planet At Attin, another Jewel, and ordered SM-33 to destroy the coordinates and forget everything about the planet. He also instructed the droid to kill anyone looking for the mythical treasure of At Attin, specifying to "pull them apart."^[9]

Stranded at At Attin[]

SM-33 and his captain headed to the coordinates specified in the star chart of the Fallen Sanctum,^[9] arriving to the famed At Attin. However, the Onyx Cinder crashed upside down, and the captain disappeared. SM-33 was deactivated and the Onyx Cinder became stuck for years, ultimately being covered with dirt and forming a hill outside the city.^[10]

In 9 ABY, four kids from At Attin, Wim, Neel, Fern and KB discovered and entered the ship believing it to be an ancient Jedi Temple. They accidentally jump-started the ship, which also reactivated SM-33, and took the Onyx Cinder to hyperspace away from the planet.^[10] Believing them to be intruders, SM-33 confronted them and dragged Wim away, only to be stopped by Fern who claimed that she killed the captain and assume command of the ship herself. Recognizing her as the rightful new owner of the Cinder, SM-33 swore allegiance to her.^[6]

Serving a new captain[]

As Wim questioned her authority, the droid suggested they duel to the death, which put an end to the fighting. He then gave the kids a tour of the ship, and recognizing the need for immediate repairs due to the years of accumulated damage, he suggested they jump to the shadowport Borgo Prime. However, the kids asked to be taken back to At Attin instead, activating SM-33's order from his original captain which prevented him from revealing his memories of the planet. Without options, Fern reluctantly agreed to head to Port Borgo.^[6]

Upon arriving at Borgo, the kids got separated and Wim accidentally revealed his Old Republic credits to a bartender, prompting the pirates to attack them to steal the rest. SM-33 came to their rescue, defending them against the pirates and incapacitating several of them before being shot in the head by Brutus. The kids were then taken to the brig, while SM-33 was moved to the droid bay.^[6]

While in the brig, the kids met Jod Na Nawood, a Force-sensitive individual^[6] who helped them escape in exchange for passage off-world. The kids demanded he rescue SM-33 as well before returning to their ship, and Nawood complied, using his connections with the droidmaster Benjar Pranic to liberate SM-33. Despite being pursued by pirates, the crew reached the ship and escaped Borgo before reactivating SM-33. The droid again attempted to defend the ship against the perceived intruder, but the kids assured him Nawood was a friend. The crew then took the Onyx Cinder to the Observatory Moon where they hoped Nawood's astronomer contact Kh'ymm would be able to direct them to At Attin.^[11]

Personality and traits[]

"We are not pirates."
"You're not pirates?"
"We're kids."
"Why cannot kids—"

―Fern and SM-33^[6]

SM-33 had a cranky demeanor.^[7] He was extremely loyal to Tak Rennod, the former captain of the Onyx Cinder.^[4] He made it a point to follow pirate lore.^[12] SM-33 was skilled with direct hand-to-hand combat.^[6]

After becoming stranded on At Attin, a bilge rat named Snowball nested in SM-33’s left eye socket, affecting his circuitry and some functions. Despite being disturbed when the SM-33 became reactivated, Snowball continued to reside in the droid and follow him about.

Behind the scenes[]

"Jon pitched it as, 'Kids lost in the Star Wars universe. And there's a bunch of pirates.' I was like, 'Cool. I just finished a Peter Pan movie, I'm in the pirate world.' You were like, 'There’s a robot named SM-33.' I said, 'Oh, 'Smee', that’s very Peter Pan.' And then: 'Jude Law is going to star.' I was like, 'Oh! I think I just made this?' To do it again in Star Wars was a dream come true."

―David Lowery^[13]

SM-33 first appeared simultaneously in "This Could Be a Real Adventure"^[10] and "Way, Way Out Past the Barrier"^[6] the first^[14] and second episodes,^[15] respectively, of the first season of the Disney+ live-action series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.^[14]^[15] The episodes premiered on December 2, 2024.^[16] Jon Watts—creator of Skeleton Crew—introduced SM-33 and revealed Nick Frost voiced the droid on July 31, 2024. He shared details on SM-33's role in the story and described Frost's performance as "fun" and "absolutely perfect."^[7] From August 9 to August 11,^[17] during Disney's 2024 D23 event, a model of SM-33 was included^[18] for a photo opportunity at the Disney+ Pavilion.^[19] A model of SM-33 was also showcased during the Creatures & Droids with Legacy Effects panel while Alan Scott discussed details of SM-33's personality and provided insight on the droid's puppetry. Scott revealed there was a secret name for him and that Legacy Effects built three versions of the droid, with one being a partial suit, another being a full animatronic puppet, and a digital model for the fighting sequences.^[12]

Without Frost on set,^[20] someone puppeteered SM-33 while another triggered his dialogue, which was recorded as much as possible by Frost beforehand.^[21] When new lines were needed, the series's directors took turns doing SM-33 impressions.^[22] Frost came in to record the new lines about every six months, over a two to three year period. The actor occasionally pitched line changes for SM-33, which the writers were receptive to, which Frost found to be a nice, collaborative process.^[20] Watts said the recordings were helpful for the actors to understand the tone and vibe of SM-33. He further remarked that SM-33 injected humor and levity into the perilous adventure.^[22] Rob Ramsdell was SM-33's performance artist and Zach Andrews his stunt double.^[6]

According to director David Lowery, SM-33 is a reference to Smee from Peter Pan. Lowery previously directed the 2023 Disney film Peter Pan & Wendy, which also featured Jude Law as Captain Hook.^[13] Watts described SM-33 as the worst babysitter.^[21] Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who portrayed Fern, loved interacting with the SM-33 puppet on set.^[23] Frost originally turned down a role in Star Wars because he did not want to see his face,^[24] but he felt that SM-33 was a good compromise as he would only have to look at the droid.^[20]