Set during the High Republic Era, Star Wars: The Acolyte draws inspiration from Star Wars Legends and features concepts and ideas from the Expanded Universe. Aside from introducing new characters, the show eyes to make the greater Star Wars lore and aliens canon. That said, the upcoming The Acolyte Episode 4 will feature the live-action debut of Tynnans, an alien race from Legends.
The Star Wars website has confirmed the appearance of the Tynnan tracker named Bazil in The Acolyte Episode 4. Played by Hassan Taj, who operated R2-D2 in the 2019 Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker and JV-P12 in the 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Jedi will employ Bazil while they look for the Wookie Jedi Master Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) in the jungle as the story returns to Khofar.
Talking about creating Bazil for the Disney+ series, creature and droid FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan revealed he and his team, who were also behind BB-8 and the Porgs’ designs, repurposed the Tynnans’ original Legends design to make him somehow look realistic. For him, a really effective design wouldn’t surprise viewers if they saw a droid on their garage door.
“You wouldn't wake up one morning screaming if you saw a bird in a tree that was from Star Wars,” he said. “You wouldn't run a mile.”
First appearing in the 1979 novel Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley, Tynnans feature elements of beavers and otters with their brown fur and a thick layer of insulating blubber. Their short stature makes them look cuter and pudgy than other alien species. However, Scanlan and his group make Bazil extra darling by design in The Acolyte.
“We thought about how we could include some of these things that were not only, you know, cute and lovable and adorable, but also showed signs of a bigger sort of character makeup. A character like this is much more engaging,” he explained. “What qualities are [fans of all ages] going to see in him that they would identify with? That will only work if they feel like there's an element that they could give him a cuddle or that he's friendly. You know, it's an important part of, I think, the Star Wars world.”
Who is Bazil in Star Wars: The Acolyte?
Bazil is a Tynnan tracker who lives during the High Republic Era. A character specially made for The Acolyte, he’s about to work with the Jedi Order to look for Kelnacca in the jungles of Khofar. Like other Tynnans, he has a dark nose, poor eyesight, and pointed ears. His muzzle has two buck teeth.
However, Bazil’s role in the story has influenced his design, giving him a more prominent snout to track his quarries. He, too, wears a visor and a helmet that provide sensory deprivation so that he can focus on his sense of smell and tune out the rest of the outside world as he performs his task.
“Bazil was very sensory, so he would obviously smell and hear things probably better than using his eyesight,” Scanlan revealed. “The idea of having goggles was that he would then sort of go inwardly and become the tracker.”
Scanlan used Marty Feldman’s Igor in the comedy Young Frankenstein as an inspiration when he created Bazil. Like Igor, despite Bazil’s cute size, he has a big personality that can be likened to the other characters around him.
“He's tiny, but [in camera you] shoot him in that kind of directorial style whereby his presence was equal, if not in some ways more commanding than those around him,” Scanlan continued.
By the looks of it, Bazil has a major role in The Acolyte Episode 4 as the Jedi pursue the last member of the Jedi Knights who visited the planet Brendok about 16 years ago. So, from Ewoks to Porgs to Grogu and more, Star Wars has another cute creature in the mix.
The Acolyte Episode 4 is set to release on Tuesday, June 18, on Disney+.
