The backlash over Star Wars: The Acolyte reached new heights after Episode 4, Day, was released last week. The said episode featured the cameo of Ki-Adi-Mundi, which instantly sparked a controversy due to his age and date of birth. As Wookieepedia, the franchise’s most famous wiki, updated its page to acknowledge the Jedi Master’s appearance in the series, the backlash got so intense that its editors started to receive death threats. With this unexpected turn of events, Star Wars fans show their support for the site as #WeStandWithWookipedia trends.
In a post on X, Wookieepedia addressed the hate it received after updating Ki-Adi-Mundi’s profile to reflect that he was already canonically alive during The Acolyte, which was set about a hundred years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. As many didn’t like this update, with some saying the character wasn’t born yet when the series was set, the website revealed some fans wished their editors and their pets' death. With this hate, they stressed that these ill-wishers were not Star Wars fans and weren’t welcome in the community.
“We aren't going to mince words on this one. If your response to an editor adding a date to an article on Wookieepedia is to tell them you hope they and their pets die, you are not a Star Wars fan,” the post reads. “Hate like that has no place here, and you are not welcome in our community.”
As expected, many Star Wars fans rallied behind Wookieepedia and showed their support for the site. X user @DrengirLord expressed their disappointment with the harassment the site experienced, calling its passion for the franchise inspiring and its role in the community important.
User @svrspr also shared their distaste for the hate, calling the threats over the site’s moderators “childish doing” after making a slight change in a fictional canon. “These people are so pitiful to live like this,” they said.
In addition, user @bordon26 clarified that Wookieepedia had always been updating the canon, and even the Star Wars Legends page discussed the changes in the canon. So, instead of threats, they claimed the editors deserved thanks and praise.
So, with the outpour of support, Wookieepedia thanked everyone who showed their love for the site and made the #WeStandWithWookipedia trend.
What is the Ki-Adi-Mundi backlash in Star Wars: The Acolyte about?
Ki-Adi-Mundi was famous for dismissing the threat of the Sith in The Phantom Menace. He then made a surprising cameo in The Acolyte as a part of the task force after Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) presumed Sith Master. With this appearance, many accused the show of ruining the canon.
Only two sources previously established the Cerean Jedi’s age: the 1999 CD-ROM released after The Phantom Menace and a 2013 trading card. However, the franchise creator himself, George Lucas, contradicted the CD-ROM’s contents when he changed Ki-Adi-Mundi’s lightsaber color in later movies, and the two sources were even rendered non-canon by Disney in 2014.
Though Star Wars Legends listed he was born in 93 BBY, his age in canon was never specified. However, the intense backlash began when Wookieepedia updated his information on the canon page. Some even shared images of Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Legends page and removed the “Legends” banner to make it look like from the canon.
Thankfully, Wookieepedia handled the backlash so well that it received a great deal of support from several Star Wars fans. Some even used the #WeStandWithWookipedia to show their support. Though seeing the editors receive death threats is disheartening, it’s uplifting to see the fandom coming together for the Wiki site.
The Acolyte Episodes 1 to 4 are available on Disney+, while new episodes are set to release every Tuesday.
