Star Wars’ The Acolyte Will Have A Wookie Jedi Master, And 4 More Thrilling Things We Learned

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There are beloved franchises, and then there’s Star Wars. Generations were brought up on the galaxy far, away, leading to a super strong fanbase. Many of those fans are currently across the pond for the annual Star Wars Celebration, which is revealing more information about the property’s future. That includes the mysterious new live-action series The Acolyte. That upcoming series will feature a Wookie Jedi Master, and there are four more thrilling updates we just learned.

While Star Wars’ future in the movies is still a mystery, Lucasfilm is continuing to focus on its TV content, which is available for those with a Disney+ subscription. And during today’s presentation at the Star Wars Celebration,  we were given some limited but exciting news about The Acolyte. Let’s break it all down.

To start, The Acolyte is going to be set during the era of the High Republic, before the events of The Phantom Menace and the rest of the prequel trilogy. This will break new ground as it’s the earliest point of the timeline that we’ve ever seen from the franchise. The Jedi Order is at the peak of its strength, with the upcoming series instead focusing on the perspective of the villains, as the Sith attempt to function in the shadows.

As previously mentioned, we’re going to be getting a Wookie Jedi Master in the new series, which should thrill Star Wars fans new and old. What’s more, some franchise royalty is going to be playing that role: Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo, who portrayed the furry hero in Solo and the sequel trilogy. This original character’s name is Kel Nockra. 

At the time of this presentation, four episodes of The Acolyte have already been finished, which shows just how much work is being done on this mysterious new series. Some footage was shown for those lucky enough to be in attendance, including CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell. And in that footage there were countless Jedi shown, with a variety of different lightsaber colors. Considering how many recent TV projects we’ve seen without any Jedi at all, this is an exciting change that’s sure to pique interests.

Since The Acolyte takes place during a time of peace in the galaxy, it’ll also mark the first time that a Star Wars project is free of any actual wars. Instead, the story will reportedly focus more on the Jedi/master dynamic, as well as mother/daughter relationship of its protagonist. And as previously mentioned, we’re going to be largely following the villains of the series. It certainly seems like this upcoming series is going to be firing on all cylinders when it arrives on Disney+. And the first footage revealed some of the killer cast at work including Amandla Stenberg and Matrix icon Carrie-Anne Moss. 

The Acolyte doesn’t currently have a concrete release date, but clearly the wheels are in motion at Lucasfilm. In the meantime, check out the TV premiere list to plan your next bing watch.