Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte Episodes 4 and 7.
Summary
Jedi MasterKelnaccais one of the most prominent characters inThe Acolyte, and there are quite a few things that make him interesting both on-screen and from behind the camera. Based on theconfirmed details aboutThe Acolyte, theupcomingStar Warsshowwill break quite a bit of new ground for the franchise. It’s set to tell one of the darkest stories inStar Wars, but it should also introduce exciting new pieces of lore, and it will be the first time several different parts of the franchise appear in live-action.
Part of the reasonThe Acolytewill be the firstStar Warsshow to introduce so many concepts is because it will be the first live-action appearance ofthe High Republic era. Set 100 years before the events ofStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, both the High Republic andThe Acolytefeature a very different Jedi Order and galaxy from the ones shown intheStar Warsmovies. One such exciting part ofThe Acolyteis Kelnacca, the show’s Wookiee Jedi. He seems to be one of the show’s most exciting characters, both because of his characterization and how he came to be.
Everything You Need To Know Before Watching Star Wars: The Acolyte
Star Wars' next TV show, The Acolyte, will come to Disney+ on June 4. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this epic Star Wars series.
Kelnacca Is Star Wars' First Live-Action Wookiee Jedi
There Have Been Other Wookiee Jedi In Animation, Novels, & Comics
Kelnacca is a unique Jedi Master for a number of reasons. There have beenWookiee Jedi in bothStar WarsLegends and canonbefore, but they’ve mostly appeared in animated shows likeStar Wars: The Clone Wars, novels, and comics like the High Republic phases I and III.Kelnacca is therefore the first Wookiee Jedi in live-action, which meansThe Acolyteis already makingStar Warshistory. He won’t be the only new addition to the franchise made byThe Acolyte, but Kelnacca will fulfill something fans have wanted to see for a very long time, which is a very exciting prospect.
Kelnacca
Kelnacca, a Wookiee Jedi, is a loner who lives a solitary life on a jungle world.
Who Plays Jedi Master Kelnacca In The Acolyte?
Joonas Suotamo Plays Kelnacca In The Acolyte
Kelnacca is played by actor Joonas Suotamo, who has a long history with theStar Warsfranchise. Suotamo has also played another Wookiee, the famous Chewbacca.Suotamo began portraying Chewbacca in 2015’sStar Wars: The Force Awakens, as he acted as a double for Peter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca actor. Mayhew retired from the role for health concerns prior toStar Wars: The Last Jedi, and Suotamo has been the main Chewbacca actor in everyStar Warsmovie since. Kelnacca marks the first time he has played a Wookiee who wasn’t Chewie, and he first played the role duringStar WarsCelebration Europe in 2023.
Chewbacca
200 years old by the time of the Star Wars original trilogy, the mighty Chewbacca is best known for swearing a life debt to Han Solo. Chewie accompanied Han through countless adventures, choosing to battle against the Empire for the freedom of his homeworld Kashyyyk. He remained with Han and the Solo family even after the Empire’s fall, becoming a crucial ally of the Resistance to the First Order. The sequels seemed to end with Chewie remaining co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon - but now to Rey.
Outside ofStar Wars, Suotamo has had a few different roles. He played The Scourge in Disney+‘sWillow, and he’s also set to play a role, likely Lurch, inNetflix’sWednesdayseason 2. Suotamo has not only been an actor in his professional career, though. He also played basketball for the Penn State Nittany Lions in college, and he briefly played professionally in his home country of Finland. Ultimately, Suotamo left basketball behind, and he ended up bringing some of the most important and beloved characters inStar Warsto life.
Why Wookiee Jedi Are So Unusual In Star Wars
George Lucas Didn’t Want There To Be Many Wookiee Jedi
Wookiees are one of the most prominent alien species inStar Wars, so it’s odd that they so rarely are shown to be Jedi. The reason there are so few Wookiee Jedi inStar Warscanon is becauseGeorge Lucas had a rule that banned Wookiees from being Jediafter a few Wookiee Jedi were created inStar WarsLegends. That’s why there are no Wookiee Jedi in theStar Warsprequel trilogy, despite their homeworld of Kashyyk being so prominently featured. Eventually, though, Lucas repealed that order, and there have since been Wookiee Jedi in canon, including one created during his tenure: Gungi, who was featured inThe Clone Wars.
Light of the Jedi
The Acolyte
In the years since Lucas’ rule banning Wookiee Jedi was undone,Star Warshas begun depicting more members of the species as Jedi. There are two other Wookiee Jedi in the High Republic era, Burryaga and Arkoff in addition to Kelnacca.Still, though, Wookiee Jedi remain exceedingly rare, with only four examples inStar Warscanon. It’s likely that this is simply a product of how little time there has been to introduce new Wookiee characters, but it could also be a continuation of Lucas' rule and an effort to show that Wookiees rarely become Jedi, something that Huyang established inThe Clone Warsseason 5, episode 7.
Kelnacca Was One Of Four Jedi Sent To Brendok
The Details Of The Night On Brendok Changed Between The Acolyte Episodes 3 & 7
The Acolytecenters around a single night on the planet Brendok, one where a tragedy occured 16 years before the rest of the show.Four Jedi - Kelnacca, Sol, Indara, and Torbin - had been sent to Brendok to research a possibleForce vergencethere. Through a series of bad decisions and unfortunate mistakes, the Jedi found Mae and Osha Aniseya and began a conflict withthe Witches of Brendok, a coven of dark side Force-users who were hiding on the planet. That conflict ultimately led to tragedy, as the witches were wiped out, and Kelnacca played an unwilling part in it.
After Sol and Torbin returned to the witches' compound to retrieve Osha and Mae, the tensions between the Jedi and the witches came to a boiling point. Kelnacca and Indara followed to attempt to stop them, but they were too late. By the time Kelnacca reached the compound, Sol had already killed Mother Aniseya, and a fight had already broken out.Then, the remaining Witches of Brendok began a ritual to possess Kelnacca and force him to fight his fellow Jedi. During that fight, Kelnacca used his claws to seriously injure and scar Torbin, and he nearly killed Sol as well.
The Acolyte: What Happened On Brendok Explained
The Acolyte finally revisited the tragic night on Brendok from 16 years earlier, but its explosive truth wasn’t as clear as it could have been.
When Indara was able to land their ship and join the rest of the Jedi, she managed to free Kelnacca from the witches' control. It’s not clear exactly how she did that, but freeing Kelnacca either knocked the witches unconscious or killed them outright. In any case, the Witches of Brendok were killed, and Kelnacca was never the same after being possessed by them.
Kelnacca Was Living In Seclusion On Khofar
The Stranger Killed Kelnacca When Mae Tried To Turn Herself In
After the fateful night on Brendok, Kelnacca mostly slipped off the map.As one of the four Jedi present during the massacre of the Witches of Brendok, however, Kelnacca became one of Mae’s targets for assassination. Mae learned that Kelnacca was living in isolation on the jungle world Khofar, and he had been stationed there for about a year prior to her assassination attempt. Kelnacca was the third Jedi on Mae’s list of targets, though, so the Jedi sent Sol and a team of seven other Jedi to Khofar to stop Mae before she could kill him.
While searching for the Wookiee Jedi, Mae told her colleague, Qimir, that she wanted to turn herself in to Kelnacca so that she could be with Osha again. Unfortunately,before either Mae or the other Jedi could find Kelnacca,The Acolyte’s Sith Lord, also known as the Stranger, slashed him across the chest with a lightsaber and killed him.The Acolyteepisode 4 saw Kelnacca’s death, but that wasn’t the end of his effect on the show. While fighting the Stranger, Padawan Jecki Lon used Kelnacca’s lightsaber to give herself an advantage in battle, and counterthe Stranger’s cortosis helmet.
The Acolyte Episode 5 Recap: 7 Biggest Star Wars Canon & Sith Lord Reveals
Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 5, “Night,” took the action to a whole new level as Mae’s mysterious Sith Master was finally unmasked on Khofar.
Kelnacca didn’t get much time on Khofar, but there were some interesting details about his life there. The walls of Kelnacca’s living place were decorated with the same spirals that the Witches of Brendok had on their faces, and the one Mae got after the Ascension ceremony. That suggests Kelnacca never fully moved on from Brendok. There’s also a chanceKelnacca chose to sequester himself because he was branded a “madclaw,“a Wookiee who was shamed for using their claws in battle. ThoughKelnaccalikely won’t be seen again inThe Acolyte, he made quite an impression.
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
