Original Star Wars Characters Alive During The Acolyte

This article contains spoilers for The Acolyte episodes 1 and 2.

The Acolyte has introduced viewers to a whole new part of the Star Wars timeline – but many established characters are still around. Set a century before the beginning of the Skywalker Saga, The Acolyte reveals the tail-end of the High Republic Era. This was the Golden Age of the edi, before any of the main established characters – 90 years before the birth of Anain Skywalker himself.

That doesn’t mean some familiar faces in among The Acolyte‘s cast. It’s important to remember that not every Star Wars character is human – and many alien races are much more longlived, as Master Yoda proved. Whether these heroes and villains turn up in The Acolyte or not, they lived through this period, and likely knew characters such as Vernestra Rwoh or Master Sol. Here are all the established Star Wars characters around at the time of The Acolyte.

8 Master Yoda

Grandmaster of the Jedi Order

Yoda had been Grandmaster of the Jedi Order – their oldest and most respected leader – for centuries by the time of The Acolyte. This means he’d already be the most important voice in the Jedi Council, the one whose opinion was sought after by all around him. It seems likely Vernestra Rwoh is the Master of the Order, responsible for overseeing the entire Order, which would mean she’d be working closely with Master Yoda.

Showrunner Leslye Headland claims Yoda won’t be making a cameo in The Acolyte, although that may just be a bluff. Whether he is or not, though, he’s surely being kept in the loop – albeit on an unofficial level. Vernestra is wary of notifying the Jedi Council, because they would have to submit reports to the Senate, risking exposing the Jedi to their political enemies.

7 Yaddle

Yoda’s fellow mysterious aliien

Little is known of Yoda’s mysterious alien species, but he wasn’t the only one of his race sitting on the Council. Yaddle was younger than Yoda; she was just 483 years old at the time of her death in the Tales of the Jedi series. But even this means she was an old, established Jedi Master during The Acolyte era. Like Yoda, Yaddle had long enjoyed working wiith the Jedi Younglings, and often traveled the galaxy with them.

Given Yaddle’s focus on Younglings, it’s likely she worked closely with Master Sol – who’s already been shown teaching Younglings the basics of meditation. That said, she feels unlikely to turn up in The Acolyte, simply because she wouldn’t be a go-to contact whe discussing mysterious Jedi assassinations. Still, the possibility can’t be ruled out, and it would be exciting to see more of Yaddle.

6 Ki-Adi-Mundi

A massive change from Legends

To the surprise of most viewers, The Acolyte episode 4 confirmed that the Cerean Jedi Ki-Adi-Mundi was already a respected Jedi at the time of The Acolyte. In Legends, obscure references established that Ki-Adi-Mundi had a much shorter lifespan – he was only 60 at the time of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. His lifespan has clearly changed in canon, and he’s much more long-lived now.

Amusingly, Ki-Adi-Mundi has become one of the most controversial topics for The Acolyte. Parts of the fanbase objected to his addition, insisting it broke canon – even though the Legends references were branded non-canon back in 2014. It will be interesting to see whether this change has been made purposefully; Ki-Adi-Mundi is the character who insists the Sith are extinct in The Phantom Menace, so there are concerns of a possible continuity problem here.

5 Oppo Rancisis & Yarael Poof

Two other long-lived members of the Jedi Council

Jedi Masters Oppo Rancisis and Yarael Poof are two of the oldest Star Wars characters, serving as members of the High Council during Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The High Republic books – a century before The Acolyte. It’s reasonable to assume they were seated on the Jedi Council during Mae’s rampage, too. Thisspiasians and Quermians have unknown lifespans, but they are clearly much longer than humans.

It’s entirely possible other nonhuman Jedi will appear in The Acolyte as well. Mirialans like Vernestra Rwoh are known to live for well over a hundred years, meaning Luminara Unduli could make an appearance. Even Pau’ans such as the Gran Inquisitor could have long lives; the Grand Inquisitor was a Temple Guard before Order 66, so he could easily turn up. Ironically, he’d be harder to identify because he’d be wearing a golden Temple Guard mask.

4 Jabba the Hutt

The Hutt had been a crime lord for centuries

Hutts are confirmed to be a remarkably longlived race in the Star Wars galaxy. Jabba was born in 600 BBY, meaning he’d already lived for centuries by The Acolyte‘s place in the timeline. That said, he was nowhere near as powerful and influential as the villain seen in Return of the Jedi. Jabba would have just been one of many Hutt leaders, and it’s even possible he hadn’t settled on Tatooine yet, instead operating from Nal Hutta or its smugglers’ moon, Nar Shaddaa.

The smugglers’ moon was actually name-dropped in The Acolyte episode 1. Apparently Osha’s fellow Mekneks had traveled there shortly before the episode, which gives a sense of the kind of company Osha was keeping. Still, that’s probably the closest The Acolyte will come to an official Jabba the Hutt Easter egg or cameo.

3 Chewbacca

Han Solo’s loyal friend

Even Wookiees have longer lives than humans; in fact, Chewbacca was 200 years old in A New Hope. Chewbacca would meet many Jedi over the course of his lifetime; he crossed paths with Ahsoka Tano during the Clone Wars, and Yoda himself in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. There’s no real reason to rule out the possibility Chewie encountered Jedi many other times.

The Acolyte is confirmed to feature the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca, but he probably doesn’t have any connection to Chewie – even if the names do end the same way. Little is known of Wookiee naming conventions, but Chewbacca’s father was named Attichicuk, so the “bacca” part clearly isn’t a family name. That does make a Chewbacca cameo feel rather unlikely for The Acolyte, although it can’t really be ruled out. It’s possible the show will head to Kashyyyk, which could potentially introduce other Wookiees.

2 Maz Kanata

The sequel trilogy pirate queen

The Star Wars sequel trilogy introduced the delightful Force-sensitive character named Maz Kanata, who clearly had a history with the Jedi (and once referred to Master Yoda affectionately as an old flirt). This history has gradually been fleshed out in Star Wars: The High Republic, which reveals there was once even a Jedi Temple on Takodana, the world Maz has claimed as her base of operations. The pirate queen had a certain accord with the Jedi.

That Jedi Temple has been gone for a century by the time of The Acolyte, but there’s no reason to assume Maz Kanata isn’t still willing to work with the Jedi. She’s surely a useful contact in the criminal underworld, which could mean she’d be helpful investigating Mae and the unknown Sith Lord. Still, there’s no evidence Maz will show up as of yet.

1 Dexter Jettster

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Attack of the Clones informant

Most viewers would be surprised to hear that even Obi-Wan Kenobi’s informant has a backstory in Star Wars – one that stretches back centuries. Star Wars: The High Republic revealed Dexter Jettster (or “Dex” for short) was a pirate during the High Republic Era, wandering the galaxy and occasionally working alongside Jedi. Besalisks apparently have a much longer life than anyone realized.

Dex remained part of the galactic underworld for centuries, eventually crossing paths with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Kiersten White’s novel Padawan. Obi-Wan was the one who convinced Dex to leave his life of crime, meaning he’d still be carrying out swashbuckling deeds of heroism during The Acolyte. That probably wouldn’t be a fit for this season, so a cameo isn’t really going to happen. Still, Leslye Headland has always teased The Acolyte season 2, so he could still appear later rather than sooner.

The Acolyte episodes 1 and 2 are streaming now on Disney+.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes – all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.

Cast

Dafne Keen , Lee Jung-jae , Amandla Stenberg , Jodie Turner-Smith , Joonas Suotamo , Carrie-Anne Moss , Margarita Levieva , Charlie Barnett , Dean-Charles Chapman

Streaming Service(s)

Disney+

Writers

Leslye Headland , Charmaine De Grate , Kor Adana

Directors

Leslye Headland , Alex Garcia Lopez

Showrunner

Leslye Headland