‘The Acolyte’ Shows Off New Wookiee Jedi Image, Joonas Suotamo Talks Differences With Chewbacca and Burryaga
Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte will be introducing our first live-action Wookiee Jedi, Master Kelnacca, played by Joonas Suotamo. This much was announced a year ago at Star Wars Celebration, but with the show less than two months away, we’re getting a few more details now — along with a new behind-the-scenes image.
Suotamo was recently part of Empire Magazine‘s big coverage of the show, and discussed his participation in the series as well as a few details about the character. To him, playing a Jedi was a dream come true:
“Ever since [I was] five years old, I’ve been fantasising 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 favourite toy on his birthday.”
Suotamo is no stranger to the Star Wars franchise now, having played Chewbacca in the last two movies from the sequel trilogy, as well as Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. But he sees Kelnacca as the antithesis of Chewbacca:
“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.”
Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the original trilogy and The Force Awakens, used to describe him as a mime, according to his successor in the suit:
“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.”
Suotamo also addressed the Wookiee in the room, as there’s another Jedi of this species present in High Republic-era stories, Burryaga. The athlete-turned-actor said that he wanted his character to feel different from Burryaga, adding that he hasn’t read much about him:
“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.”
Kelnacca is one of many characters in the vast ensemble of The Acolyte. Most of the cast is partaking in this big interview with Empire, and more details will be coming out over the next few days in the lead-up to the new issue’s release, on Thursday, April 11.
The Acolyte is set to debut on Disney Plus on June 4, at 6pm PT / 9pm ET / June 5 2am BST.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
