Skeleton Crew's Attin Mystery could be hiding a first round connection

This article contains spoilers for “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” episode 7, “We're Gonna Be In So Much Trouble.”

The mystery of Atin has been at the center of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. right from the start, putting a fun twist on the classic treasure island/planet trope by having all the main characters be from the hidden world. Instead of finding it the first time, they have to find their way back. However, as Season 1 continues, more and more interesting tidbits have been leaked about the secret Republic planet. Attin is valuable because it houses one of the last functioning mints of the Old Republic, but there seems to be more going on than just money.

Attinna has been isolated from the rest of the galaxy for many years – long before the Empire was born. And yet, when Jodh Na Navud (Jude Law) lands on the planet Onyx Cinder in Episode 7, “We're Gonna Be In So Much Trouble,” he's quickly picked up as a Republic emissary and taken to the vaults. This is because the ship is immediately recognized as one of the Mint ships, and the droids react to the Attin as if it were a completely normal occurrence. If the Republic has not been working for years, then who is coming to collect money? Maybe this is the first shipment in decades and the droids just don't think it's weird. Or maybe someone has been taking money from the planet all along and just says it's for the Republic.

The most likely culprit in such a scheme? Agents of the First Order from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Here's what could be indeed to be held at Attin.

“Skeleton Crew” runs concurrently with “The Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka” the new “Star Wars” timeline. The New Republic is still thriving, and the First Order has been a real threat to the galaxy for years, but we know that Palpatine's Shadow Faction is secretly strengthening by amassing navies and militaries. In The Force Awakens, we learn that the First Order strengthened its ranks by abducting children from outside the galaxy, and that it looted many resources in the same way. But inside “The Last Jedi” we also see the corporate infrastructure building and selling First Order ships and weapons.

That money has to come from somewhere. While the former emperors who founded the First Order were likely able to take a large amount of loot with them when the empire fell, the scale of the First Order would require more investment. Since Palpatine would have known all about Atin when he was Chancellor, he could have easily continued the ruse after he became Emperor. He could even have maintained an off-world shipment pattern while living in exile in the Unknown Regions. After all, no one in the New Republic would know about Atin, so it would have been pretty easy for Palpatine to continue using the mint to fund the First Order and his other dark projects.

While the mint itself is deep inside the Attin another possible “Treasure Planet” homage — is pretty mysterious in itself, there could still be more going on. “Skeleton Crew” is just one episode away from bringing everything together, but we still haven't met the oft-mentioned Supervisor. In their message to the children, the parents also mention that they would have learned about Athena's true nature when they were adults, though they do not elaborate on what that is. Are they just talking about mint? Is it secret planet status? Or something else?

In other words, it remains unclear how much all adults know and how much only the supervisor knows. Some early fan theories suggested that Attin is involved in Palpatine's dark Force cloning project, though that seems to detract a bit from the show, which is really trying to distance itself from the main “Star Wars” storylines. However, there is potential there.

As big as the mint is, it probably doesn't take an entire planet to print money, especially considering how much money seems to be automated. They also have no economy to keep up with, as the old republic that founded Attin no longer exists. So what are those analysts like? indeed do? Maybe Jodh bringing the lightsaber to the planet will set some things in motion. At least he'll have trouble returning to the off-world with his throw.

The Season 1 finale of Star Wars: The Skeleton Squad will take place on January 14, 2025 at 6pm PST on Disney+.