Star Wars: The Acolyte: Surprising Prequel Jedi Cameos in Episode 4

Thus far, Star Wars: The Acolyte has weaved together narrative elements from across the larger Star Wars lexicon. In addition to bringing the High Republic era into live action, the episodes of the series thus far have folded in parts of the Legends canon, as well as plot elements from the existing film series. That was especially in the case in The Acolyte‘s most recent episode, which very briefly featured the return of an unexpected Prequel Trilogy character. Spoilers for episode 4 of Star Wars: The Acolyte below! Only look if you want to know!

Early on in the episode, Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and some of the other Jedi elders are debating about how to handle Mae (Amandla Stenberg), and her quest to get revenge on the Jedi who killed her family. One of the elders is a Cerean male who, as confirmed by the episode’s credits, is none other than a young Ki-Adi-Mundi. While Ki-Adi-Mundi is originally portrayed by Silas Carson in the Prequel Trilogy, The Acolyte’s version of him is played by Derek Arnold.

Who Is Ki-Adi-Mundi?

Debuting in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Ki-Adi-Mundi is a Cerean who rises through the ranks of the Grand Army and eventually joins the Jedi High Council. Although his death is shown during Order 66 in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the character has remained a distinct part of the Prequel Era discourse. In the Legends canon, Ki-Adi-Mundi is also revealed to have a big family with multiple wives, a unique allowance from the Jedi Council due to the low birth rate of his species.

Ki-Adi-Mundi’s appearance in The Acolyte does raise a question around his comments in The Phantom Menace, in which he claims that the Sith haven’t appeared in over a millennium — only for other characters on The Acolyte to run into one by the end of Episode 4. Granted, this wouldn’t be the first or last time that a Star Wars plot point has been remixed as the franchise has expanded, so we’ll ultimately have to wait and see if a narrative justification is given.

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.

Star Wars: The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner- Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers. 

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST. If you haven’t checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

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