Star Wars: The Acolyte: Kelnacca the Wookiee Jedi, Explained

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte episodes 1 and 2.]

“Hrrarrarghhr?!” If you don’t speak Shyriiwook, the language of the Wookiees, that roughly translates to: “Who is the Wookiee Jedi in The Acolyte?”

That was the question raised at the end of “Revenge / Justice,” part two of Tuesday’s two-episode series premiere, which introduced Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca (played by Joonas Suotamo, who stepped into the late Peter Mayhew’s paws to portray Chewbacca in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Solo: A Star Wars Story). On the remote forest planet Khofar in the galaxy’s Outer Rim, the Force-wielding Wookiee used his abilities to disarm two scavengers, scaring them off with a roaring growl before retreating into his dwelling.

Little is known about Kelnacca, other than he’s a loner who lives a solitary life in the tangled jungles of Khofar — and he’s one of four Jedi that was stationed on Brendok 16 years ago. That’s the home planet of identical twin sisters Osha and Mae (Amandla Stenberg), the former an ex-Jedi padawan and the latter a revenge-seeking assassin whose existence was kept off-file by the Jedi Order. 

Mae was thought dead after supposedly starting the fire that killed her entire family, but she’s since hunted down and murdered Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) and then exacted her revenge on the scarred Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman), a Jedi who took the Barash Vow and hasn’t spoken in over ten years.

“We thought we were doing the right thing,” Torbin, breaking his silence, told Mae when she confronted him on Olega. Rather than confess his as-yet-unrevealed crime to the Jedi Council, Torbin ingested Bunta, a poison from Mae and Osha’s homeworld, Brendok. With Indara and Torbin dead, Mae has two targets left: Kelnacca and Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), Osha’s former teacher who was posted on Brendok 16 years earlier with Indara, Torbin, and Kelnacca.

Marvel Comics will shed light on the Wookiee Kelnacca in Star Wars: The Acolyte – Kelnacca #1, a one-shot comic book written by Cavan Scott (Star Wars: The High Republic) and drawn by Marika Cresta (Star Wars: The High Republic – Phase III).

“It’s been so exciting to draw a line from The Acolyte back to TheHigh Republic era we’ve been building in comics, books, audio andanimation,” Scott said when announcing the Acolyte prequel comic.”Kelnacca is the perfect character to bridge the gap between the timeof Leslye Headland’s spectacular series to the age of Starlight Beacon,the threat of Marchion Ro, and the marauding Nihil. In this comic, wewill learn more about one of the most intriguing aspects of Kelnacca’sdesign: the meaning behind those mysterious tattoos. Along the way we’llsee the struggle of a Padawan and a master who is stoic, wise, and,ultimately, a true practitioner of Light and Life.”

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte premiere Tuesdays in prime time on Disney+. Star Wars: The Acolyte – Kelnacca #1 goes on sale Sept. 4 from Marvel Comics.