One of the pirates in Skeleton Crew made his first appearance in The Mandalorian season three

If you thought that one of the pirates in Captain Silvo’s crew in Skeleton Crew looked familiar, you’re right.

Vane, a Nikto seen working for Silvo and later Brutus, first appeared in The Mandalorian season three as one of the pirates giving the locals on Nevarro trouble. Din Djarin and Greef Karga scared the pirates away, but only for a short time, as pirate boss Gorian Shard arrived to reinforce his men. But Shard was killed by Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze, and in the battle, Vane fled to save his own life.

The fact that Vane shows up here isn’t just a cameo to give a familiar face for viewers, but actually gives us context to better understand the pirates in this series. For one, it seems to confirm what most suspected, which is that Skeleton Crew is actually set after the third season of The Mandalorian. But it also seems to suggest that some of the members of Gorian Shard’s crew are still active as pirates, now working with others. In fact, I wonder if these pirates were actually in some way connected with Shard, since his colors are seen all over Port Borgo.

Of course, there are plenty of pirate gangs throughout the galaxy, as the New Republic struggles to enforce justice and protect its citizens from acts of piracy away from the core worlds. With so many other responsibilities, like driving out the Imperial remnants and establishing a new government, they have found themselves stretched thin, which has allowed piracy to grow.