Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 4, Day, revealed another shocker. After the deaths of Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) in the premiere episode and Jedi Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman) in the second episode, another member of the Jedi Order met his demise. He is no ordinary member, though, as he is the first live-action Wookiee Jedi, Kelnacca. However, fans aren’t the only ones surprised by his untimely death, as the character’s actor, Joonas Suotamo, revealed he was also shocked by Kelnacca’s tragic fate.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Despite having a change of heart, wanting to surrender herself to Kelnacca to reunite with her twin sister, Osha (Amandla Stenberg), Mae (Stenberg) found the Wookiee Jedi already lifeless in his hut. Kelnacca still had a fresh lightsaber slash across his chest, and Mae believed it was the work of her mysterious Master, who later emerged and engaged in a fight against Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and his group in a cliffhanging The Acolyte Episode 4 ending. A day after the episode’s release, Suotamo talked about the early end of his character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, revealing he wasn’t aware of it.
“That wasn't discussed,” he said. “I learned it as we went, and it was very surprising.”
But though unaware of that major turn of events, Soutamo understood the need for it after studying film at a university. The actor revealed that he was on the story side, thinking it was a “necessary thing to happen” to follow the story. For starters, Mae was hunting to kill four Jedi, Indara, Torbin, Kelnacca, and Sol, who visited her home planet of Brendok when they were young. Now that three are off the list, Sol is the only one alive.
“[It] is very sad and very dramatic,” he continued. “And what a shock, too, to see all these powerful Jedi to meet their fate in such a way.”
Joonas Suotamo Talks About Kelnacca in Star Wars: The Acolyte
Viewers only saw Kelnacca a few times on The Acolyte before he died in Episode 4. A young Kelnacca joined the Jedi Knights as they visited Brendok to confront Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) about the kids, Osha and Mae, they were training. As nobody has had the chance to know the Wookiee Jedi much more, Suotamo talks about his character and describes him as a “very proud Jedi.”
“He's obviously completed his Jedi training, but I thought he always felt as a bit of an outsider because, obviously, he's not human-born,” he added. “So, that caused me to think that he's a bit of a lone wolf sort of thing. So, he's with the others, but he's also mindful that he might not a hundred percent belong with the other Jedi in that way.”
When asked if that was the reason behind Kelnacca’s decision to go into seclusion, Suotamo believed more about it would be revealed as The Acolyte continued. But from what he understood, it was part of the fabric of Kelnacca’s personality, and being an outsider made him choose that path easily.
“It came naturally to him that this is the way I should continue after the events of the story,” he explained.
As a Jedi Master himself, the Solo: A Star Wars Story star was strongly convinced that Kelnacca would fight back against his attacker and would never give up. He was even in a fight mode in The Acolyte. However, for him, what happened behind the scenes is now up to the viewers’ interpretation.
Despite his demise, like Indara and Torbin, fans may still see Kelnacca in flashback scenes in The Acolyte. And with the introduction of a Wookiee Jedi into live-action, more may be seen in future Star Wars projects.
The Acolyte Episodes 1 to 4 are available on Disney+, while new episodes are set to release every Tuesday.
