Joonas Suotamo is no stranger to being a Wookiee. The actor has portrayed the iconic Chewbacca in several films, but soon he will be taking on another role in a galaxy far, far away. Suotamo will portray Kelnacca, a Wookiee Jedi in the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte on Disney+.
Empire
- Empire shared a first look image (above) of Kelnacca as well as an interview with Suotamo about taking on the new role.
- As Star Wars fans might have guessed, Suotamo said playing a Jedi is “another Star Wars dream come true” during the interview:
- “Ever since [I was] five years old, I've been fantasizing about being a Jedi, like every kid. When the word ‘Jedi’ was first mentioned [in talks for The Acolyte], I felt really excited – like a little kid who finally gets his favorite toy on his birthday.”
- Suotamo drew on advice he took from Peter Mayhew when he first took on the role of Chewbacca, a role he has played in sequel series as well as Solo: A Star Wars Story:
- “Peter told me right from the get-go that Chewbacca is a mime character,. The audience doesn't understand what he's saying exactly, but they [interpret] his mannerisms, and every little twitch, and every little movement, and roar.”
- However, the actor couldn’t simply portray this new character the same way he did Chewbacca. He needed to make some adjustments:
- “Kelnacca being a Jedi, that sets certain expectations to how you carry yourself in the line of duty. There are certain assumptions that can be made as to whether he lets his emotions take control of him to the extent that Chewbacca would, for example. It was very interesting to bake that into the character and try to personify that on screen.”
- Kelnacca is not the first Wookiee Jedi though and Suotamo discussed the challenge of walking the line to differentiate his character from the popular Burryaga of the High Republic era of novels:
- “I was aware of the character, and I talked to the High Republic writers at a convention. I also wanted to differentiate Kelnacca from Burryaga, and not copy too much from those stories.”
- You can read Empire’s full The Acolyte cover feature in the June 2024 issue, on sale Thursday, April 11.
Empire – The Acolyte – June 2024 issue newsstand cover
About The Acolyte:
- The Acolyte is set during the High Republic era and the prime of the Jedi Order. An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
- The series stars:
- Amandla Stenberg
- Lee Jung-jae
- Manny Jacinto
- Dafne Keen
- Charlie Barnett
- Jodie Turner-Smith
- Rebecca Henderson
- Dean-Charles Chapman
- Carrie-Anne Moss
- The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef.
- The Acolyte premieres with its first two episodes on Tuesday, June 4th, exclusively via Disney+.