“The Acolyte” star Joonas Suotamo reacts to shocking Kelnacca reveal

"I don't think Kelnacca would ever give up," the actor tells EW about the fate of his Wookiee Jedi.

Warning: This article contains spoilers about Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 4.

Another episode of The Acolyte, another Jedi ending up dead. First it was Carrie-Ann Moss’ Indara that got checked off the kill-list in the series premiere. Then, Dean Charles Chapman’s Torbin ended his life via poison in the series’ second installment. After a flashback episode that featured the death of scores of non-Jedi, The Acolyte returned to the present this week, and yet another member of the Order was slain. And not just any member, but the franchise’s first live-action Wookiee Jedi — Kelnacca.

Living in hiding as a hermit in Khofar was apparently not hidden enough as Kelnacca (played by Joonas Suotamo) met his untimely demise, but not at the hand viewers would have assumed. After learning that her twin Osha was still alive, Mae (Amandla Stenberg) planned to turn herself into Kelnacca with the hope of being reunited with her sister. But when she arrived at his hut, Mae found the Wookiee lying dead with a fresh lightsaber slash across his furry chest — clearly the work of her unknown Master, who then engaged a group of Jedi in a cliffhanger ending.

But what of poor Kelnacca? We spoke to the man who plays him (and took over the role of Chewbacca from Peter Mayhew) and have translated that conversation from Shyriiwook into basic.

Related: How The Acolyte brought the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca to life on screen

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When show creator Leslye Headland first told you about the role, did she tell you Kelnacca would be meeting a pretty early end?

JOONAS SUOTAMO: No, that wasn't discussed. I learned it as we went, and it was very surprising. So I wasn't aware initially, but ever since studying film at university, I've been on the story side as well, so I thought it was a necessary thing to happen in terms of it follows the story and is very sad and very dramatic. And what a shock too to see all these powerful Jedi to meet their fate in such a way!

What do you make of all these Jedi dropping left and right in the first four episodes?

I think it's bold. I think this whole series was from the get-go. I just knew that Leslye would bring this freshness to this story, and we are seeing it on-screen, clearly. So I was all for it and I knew she could pull it off.

What kind of Jedi was Kelnacca? We saw him doing some mechanical work in the flashback, but how would you describe him as a Jedi?

Kelnacca is a very proud Jedi. He's obviously completed his Jedi training, but I thought he always felt as a bit of an outsider because, obviously, he's not human-born. So that caused me to think that he's a bit of a lone wolf sort of thing. So he's with the others, but he's also mindful that he might not a hundred percent belong with the other Jedi in that way.

Related: Watch new Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo explain Peter Mayhew's influence

Does that play into why he went into seclusion and hiding essentially for all these years?

I think all that is going to be possibly revealed as the story goes on, but I explained it to myself that it's part of the fabric of his personality, and being an outsider made him choose that path more easily, and it came naturally to him that this is the way I should continue after the events of the story.

How much did you have to calibrate your performance in terms of learning how to play a different Wookiee from Chewbacca?

It’s in how you carry yourself, your posture, how you move, and all these choices of this physical acting. And it was actually Rian Johnson when we were filming The Last Jedi, he recommended that I watch the silent masters of cinema — Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton — so that I could learn more about how to show what my character is thinking and what he's doing. And I've tried to do that.

So whenever we get the page, I try to choose “How would Kelnacca go about doing what he's doing?” And comparing to Chewbacca, he's very trained, he's in control of his own desires, and he's very talented in doing these things that only Jedi can do. He was sort of like a samurai master, but also being of imposing size, that sort of led me to believe that he's like the Mufasa of Star Wars— that he's walking there and a very, very imposing figure for the others.

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How long would you have to go in that suit without a break?

I try to go all day, but it's a balancing act. Usually the hours are 10 hour days, so that's going to be a challenge. But usually I have to go to the men's room once a day. Because it's a suit, it's not that complicated. It's a full body suit with hair stitched in it, so it's fairly easy to take off.

We saw Master Indara fought off her attacker while Torbin willingly took the poison. Do you think Kelnacca fought back against his attacker, or did he accept or maybe even welcome his fate?

I don't think Kelnacca would ever give up. He is in a fight mode in the series. I think he's that proud preacher who would not give up. But yeah, I guess it's up to the interpretation at this point.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

New episodes of The Acolyte drop Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Disney+.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.