How The Acolyte brought the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca to life on screen

Wookiee Jedi are having a moment. Earlier this year, the furry force-wielder Gungi (previously introduced on The Clone Wars) made his triumphant animated return on The Bad Batch, while recent Star Wars High Republic novels like Light of the Jedi and The Fallen Star have introduced an empathic warrior named Burryaga. And coming soon — sometime in 2024 — we will be meeting our first-ever live-action Wookiee Jedi.

When word began circulating that The Acolyte was going to feature a Wookiee Jedi, many assumed that character would be Burryaga in a leap from page to screen. After all, both the books and the show take place in the same High Republic era. Alas, the High Republic spans hundreds of years, and once it was revealed that The Acolyte would be taking place at the tail end of that era, it seemed a new Wookiee Jedi might be in the works, and that is exactly what happened. Hence the creation of Kelnacca, played by former Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo.

Kate Green/Getty Images Kelnacca and Leslye Headland at Star Wars Celebration

"Obviously, they do have a Wookiee Jedi in the High Republic," showrunner Leslye Headland told EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast in an interview conducted before the current WGA strike. "And we thought it would be cool to do our own version of that. He has a very different character design." But the recent High Republic novels were not the only inspiration for Headland. "Honestly, I really loved Solo and I loved Joonas' performance in it. And as I was watching him, I was like, 'Gosh, it would be really cool to see him be a Jedi — to actually, do some action work and some fighting and not just the sidekick role.'"

For the man in the Wookiee suit, playing the character is a dream come true. "Kelnacca is a Wookiee Jedi," Suotamo said when he sat down with the Dagobah Dispatch before the SAG-AFTRA strike. "He brings his own his own energy and he is taught in the ways of the Force, which has been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid. To get to play a character that can wield the Force is beyond any of my dreams."

Just as no two human characters — even clones — are alike, Kelnacca and Chewbacca are completely different, even if they are both Wookiees and both played by the same man. "I'm really happy for everyone to get to know [Kelnacca] because I purposely tried to differentiate him from Chewbacca," says Suotamo. "Being a Jedi, there's more to that. And that was the challenge. It entailed all the training and getting ready with my castmates. We had such a fun time preparing for these roles, and there was a lot of time to think how to approach each situation and moment."

Rachell Smith for EW Joonas Suotamo of 'The Acolyte'

Suotamo owes his new role not just to his showrunner's vision, but her persistence as well. "I didn't think they would let me do it," says Headland. "And I just kept pitching and pitching and [Star Wars special effects artist] Neal Scanlan loved the idea."

For Headland, everything started with the look of the character. "I especially loved having a Wookiee with the sides of his head shaved. A lot of times these characters come up — even Amandla [Stenberg] and [Lee Jung-jae]'s characters — they come up almost from character design first. It's almost like I can see them — the way that they look and the costumes that they're wearing or any of those things. I'm a very visual person in that way. So that's how Kelnacca came to be."

Of course, there was another reason the showrunner pushed so hard for Kelnacca to be part of the show, even if her wife Rebecca Henderson (who plays a Jedi on the show) was at times less than thrilled with the idea. "I just couldn't resist being on set with a Wookiee," admits Headland. "It was just very, very selfish of me. Although my wife was very scared of him, which I thought was funny. I was so excited the first day that we worked, and she was like, 'The Wookiee is scary.'"

And this one is scary powerful as well.

Listen to our full interviews with The Acolyte cast and showrunner on the Dagobah Dispatch podcast.

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