Summary
The age ofStar Warscharacter Ki-Adi-Mundi is the latest in a long line of controversial topics raised byThe Acolyte, with the show apparently “retconning” this aspect of canon. Since the first trailers forThe Acolyte, Ki-Adi-Mundi has - ironically, for such a minorStar Warscharacter - been the focus of divisiveness. Ki-Adi-Mundi appears in thefirst chronologicalStar Warsmovie,Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,and insists the Sith have been extinct for millennia, something many have claimedThe Acolyte’s Sith villaincontradicts.
However,Star Wars’many stories make it abundantly clear that the Sith were never extinct, only that the Jedi believed they were. This controversy exploded further as ofThe Acolyteepisode 4’s ending, with Ki-Adi-Mundi making a brief cameo in the episode. His appearance not only resurfaced the arguments about his comments fromEpisode Ibut also led many to accuseThe Acolyteof breaking canon by changing his age. This apparent disregard of canon caused an uproar of debate, speculation, evidence, and anger overThe Acolyte’s blink-and-you-miss-it cameo, further dividing theStar Warsfanbase.
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Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Age Was Only Ever Established In Legends
When Ki-Adi-Mundi Was Born Has Never Been An Official Part Of Canon
The primary source of outrage from a section of theStar Warsfan base states thatThe Acolytehas retconned a previously cemented element of canon. ConsideringThe Acolyteis set inStar Wars' High Republic Era, around 100 years beforeThe Phantom Menace, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s appearance in episode 4 confirms he must have been born before this point in the timeline. Evidently, this caused friction.
Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age is not canon, rendering the debate, controversy, and anger towardsThe Acolytecompletely invalid…
Star Warsfans who felt aggrieved by this revelation have since claimedThe Acolyteis breaking canon, as previous stories surrounding Ki-Adi-Mundi confirmed he was born in 93 BBY, around 40 years afterThe Acolytetakes place. That said,this date of birth for theStar WarsJedi was only ever confirmed in a story from Legends, the umbrella term for any projects that are not considered canon. As such, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age is not canon, rendering the debate, controversy, and anger towardsThe Acolytecompletely invalid.
Star Wars Canon Has Never Revealed Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Age
Star Wars Canon Is The Official Timeline Of Events, Not Legends
Given that Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age has only ever been revealed in Legends, the fact remains that it has never been confirmed in a canon story. Ki-Adi-Mundi has been in myriad stories from the prequel era ofStar Wars, from the prequel trilogy to TV shows likeStar Wars: The Clone Warsand surrounding canon material like John Jackson Miller’sStar Wars: The Living Force. These many stories have revealed a lot about Ki-Adi-Mundi and made him a stalwart of theStar Warsprequel era, yet nothing about his age has ever been confirmed in canon.
Some elements of Star Wars canon directly contradict Legends and vice versa, but unlike those instances, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age is completely absent from the former.
Ki-Adi-Mundi is known to be an older Jedi, though how old exactly is unclear, even afterThe Acolyteepisode 4. He is visibly younger by design inThe Acolyte, hinting that he was not born too long before the events of the series. Nonetheless, the most recentStar WarsTV showand every single other canon project containing Ki-Adi-Mundi has neglected to outline his age, date of birth, or anything closely related to this aspect of his life. Upcoming episodes ofThe Acolytecould do so, and only then would his date of birth be officially cemented intoStar Warscanon.
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Is The Acolyte Even A Retcon?
Do The Arguments Against The Acolyte Hold Any Merit?
No,The Acolyteis not a retcon at all. With Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age only ever being confirmed in Legends and allStar Warscanon stories neglecting to reveal this information, the creators ofThe Acolytewere well within their rights to include the prequel Jedi in the show’s story. It is worth noting that there are some elements ofThe Acolytethat raise the potential of contradicting canon, but there are still four episodes of season 1 remaining, and potentially even two more seasons beyond that should creator Leslye Headland have her wishes granted.
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Elements like the Sith revealing themselves to the Jedi beforeThe Phantom Menace, Ki-Adi-Mundi’s knowledge of this, and Osha and Mae’s mysterious origins will undoubtedly be addressed before the show ends. Headland has made it clear she is as much a fan ofStar Wars, be it canon or Legends, as anyone; she will be aware of what is canon and what is not, and how to make her own story fit that foundation. As such,The Acolyteis not a retcon, and its creators should be allowed to tell the story they wish without suffering vitriol, hatred, and toxicity.
The Acolyte
Cast
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.
