Chewbacca has delighted fans for decades, his fierce loyalty and huggable appearance making him an easy favorite, brought to life first by Peter Mayhew and later Joonas Suotamo. Legends stories had Wookiee Jedi and lately canon has brought in the emphatic, also fan-favorite Burryaga in The High Republic, and now we’ll get our first live-action lightsaber wielding Wookiee Jedi in The Acolyte: Kelnacca! To celebrate the character, and tie The High Republic era to The Acolyte, which takes place towards its final years, io9 has revealed Marvel has a special one-shot comic all about Kelnacca coming in September, written by THR mastermind Cavan Scott with art from Marika Cresta! More details below!
We’ve not seen a lot of footage of Kelnacca, besides a few TV spots recently which show him jumping into action and maybe having clawed someone’s face, while between his Databank entry and a recent character poster, it seems the Wookiee did something he regrets and has holed up away from everyone because of it (if he clawed who the footage suggests, it makes sense). He maybe even took a Barash Vow, where a Jedi goes to commune with the Force and nothing else, the origins of which come from a character in The High Republic during its second Phase, which is 350 years prior to The Phantom Menace. By the time The Acolyte – Kelnacca #1 arrives on September 4, we’ll know that full story, so this comic is more concerned with bridging the gap, showing what he was up and how he got involved with the larger events being told in The High Republic initiative, while also exploring the character more. In fact, one aspect took me by surprise, which Scott revealed in the announcement:
“In this comic, we will learn more about one of the most intriguing aspects of Kelnacca’s design: the meaning behind those mysterious tattoos. Along the way we’ll see the struggle of a Padawan and a master who is stoic, wise, and, ultimately, a true practitioner of Light and Life.”
Kelnacca has…tattoos?! Even in the character poster I can’t see them, or in any other footage/images we’ve seen, even him walking around at premieres, so either I’m missing them or we’ll really get our first glimpse at them once the show begins. UPDATE: A picture from the London premiere by Charlie Ashby reveals the tattoos! I don’t suspect much of Phase III of The High Republic, which brings the initiative to a close in June 2025, will have too many references to The Acolyte, so I like the idea of a comic trying to tie them together that’s outside of the main narrative. Hopefully there’s more tie-ins in the future, as we went from an overload for The Force Awakens and slowly petered out over the years as productions changed too rapidly for publishing to reliable keep up. Either way, how about these gorgeous covers by Phil Noto, which will be the main, and the two variants, one by Björn Barends and the other Takashi Okazaki?! Gorgeous stuff to behold and I look forward to seeing what Marika Cresta will bring for the interiors!
The Acolyte premieres June 4, so we’ll have reviews no later than June 5, and check back in September for my thoughts on this upcoming one-shot, The Acolyte: Kelnacca #1!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.