Audiences everywhere will soon meet the first live-action Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars history: Kelnacca. He’s one of the key characters on The Acolyte, the new Disney+ show that starts on June 4, and is played by the man who took over the role of Chewbacca, Joonas Suotamo.
What The Acolyte has in store for Kelnacca, we don’t know. What we do know, however, is that after the show finishes its first season, Marvel Comics will provide a bunch of new information about where he came from. io9 is excited to exclusively announce that Star Wars: The Acolyte – Kelnacca #1 is coming on September 4. It’s a one-shot written by Cavan Scott with art by Marika Cresta and will bridge the gap between The High Republic novels and comics to The Acolyte itself.
“It’s been so exciting to draw a line from The Acolyte back to The High Republic era we’ve been building in comics, books, audio and animation,” Scott told io9. “Kelnacca is the perfect character to bridge the gap between the time of Leslye Headland’s spectacular series to the age of Starlight Beacon, the threat of Marchion Ro, and the marauding Nihil. 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.”
The one-shot comes with a main cover and two variants. You can see a tease above, but here are the full covers.
The first cover is the main one; it’s by one of Marvel’s go-to artists for that type of thing, Phil Noto. The second cover, the close-up reminiscent of The Force Awakens character posters, is by Björn Barends. And the third cover, the black and white one, is by Takashi Okazaki.
As you can see on the covers, Marvel is letting readers know these comics are part of Star Wars: The High Republic, the popular, mainly literary era of Star Wars that’s now finally coming to live action with The Acolyte. That’s why Scott is a perfect person to link the two. He’s one of the authors who has been working on the era since its inception.
Star Wars: The Acolyte – Kelnacca #1 will be released on September 4. Will you be picking up a copy?
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