Who can actually be a Jedi? The selection criteria for the noble order of the Star Wars universe are strict: a candidate must not exceed a certain age. At least since the prequel trilogy, he must have a minimum number of midichlorians. And he must not be a Wookie, if it were up to George Lucas. But Star Wars: The Acolyte doesn’t care.
Star Wars creator George Lucas didn’t want a Wookie as a Jedi
The Wookie are a shaggy species of humanoids that inhabit the planet Kashyyyk. Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) is the most famous of them. They are loyal, strong and virtuous. Why didn’t Lucas want Wookie Jedi?
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Jedi Gungi (Jonathan Lipow) in The Bad Batch
As Collider has researched, Lucas took action against a Wookie Jedi in the video game Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. According to the report, his company Lucasfilm temporarily carried out a List of races suitable for becoming Jedi. Wookies were excluded from joining the Jedi Order, as were the Sand People of Tatooine. Why exactly Lucas or his advisors felt this way is not known.
The Acolyte throws George Lucas’ Star Wars rule overboard
Over time, however, Lucas apparently became more and more comfortable with the idea of shaggy lightsaber wielders. There were always the occasional Wookie Jedi, for example in the novel extensions of the franchise. At the latest with the appearance of the Jedi student Gungi (Jonathan Lipow) in The Clone Wars his heart seemed to soften. After all, he produced the series. The character later returned in Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
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Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo)
But The Acolyte violates his old Jedi rule to a particular degree: In 47 years of Star Wars history since the cinema release of Star Wars in 1977 No live-action Wookie has ever been seen as a Jedi. That changed with the appearance of Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo). And why not? Jedi have always been the heroes of Star Wars, and Wookies have been the winners of hearts. In the end, the inclusion of the shaggy creatures among the knights of the order only makes sense.
The first three episodes of the Star Wars series The Acolyte are available to stream on Disney+ *. Episode 4 will be released on June 19, 2024.
Podcast: The Acolyte shows Star Wars from a whole new perspective
The latest Star Wars series on Disney+ is a dark mystery thriller that delves deep into the Jedi past. But is The Acolyte worth watching?
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Set 100 years before Episode I, The Acolyte breaks new ground in live-action. We talk about the unexpected approaches that set the Star Wars series apart from previous Disney+ outings and discuss whether Jedi are really as heroic as we thought.
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