There was a disturbance in the Force after "Star Wars: Acolyte's" first trailer teased a Jedi killer and the rise of the Sith. It displayed brand new live-action territory, as the show is set a century before the events of "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace." But while the new show boasts a cast of unknown characters to the galaxy far, far away comprised of Lee Jung-Jae, Amandla Stenberg, and Dafne Keen, X, formerly known as Twitter, user @sw_holocron spotted what might be a Jedi Master last seen on the other side of the aforementioned 100-year gap. Besides the important "Star Wars" details you missed in "The Acolyte" trailer, a group of Jedi can be seen, and among them looks to be everyone's favorite gas-mask-wearing master, Plo Koon.
Plo was one of the members of the Jedi Council who debuted in "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace." Unfortunately, he, like many Jedi who died in Order 66, was shot down in "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith." So what gives, then? Was he really kicking around with the Jedi Council for that long, or could there be another member of his species who joined the revered Jedi Order a century earlier? Honestly, it all depends on how one with the Force Plo was, and how much the show's creator has tangled with the history of the "Star Wars" universe.
Legend has it that Plo Koon saw a century or two in Star Wars
After Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the decision was made that the "Star Wars" universe had to start over and, as a result, convert what was once canon to "Legends" status. Details like the next generation of Skywalkers were swapped out with chest-thumping turncoats like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), and even trivia tidbits as small as Plo Koon's species, the Kel Dors, were shelved and never expanded upon further. However, the showrunner of "The Acolyte" Leslye Headland told StarWars.com that there were sections of Legends lore that she was transferring to her show, which might include Plo's history. Headland told the site, "There's also some EU lore that I decided to put in because I thought it was so cool, and no one told me I couldn't."
Part of this lore is that, while the Kel Dor has a similar life expectancy to humans, Plo Koon is an exception, given that Legends lore has him dying at the ripe old age of 385. With that in mind, there's no reason the familiar-looking Jedi shown in the recent trailer couldn't be Plo Koon or another Kel Dor entirely. We'll have to wait and see when "The Acolyte" fires up a wall rack full of lightsabers on June 4, 2024.
