Fans are curious to know who Darth Venamis is and who killed Kelnacca in The Acolyte Episode 4. Kelnacca, the Wookie Jedi Master who hid out on Khofar, was found dead at the end of the episode, with two big slash wounds on his body, implying a lightsaber’s involvement. This led fans to speculate whether a Sith Lord killed Kelnacca, and if Darth Venamis was the culprit.
So, who killed Kelnacca? Could it be the work of Darth Venamis? Here are your answers.
Did Darth Venamis kill Kelnacca in Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 4?
It’s unconfirmed if Darth Venamis killed Kelnacca in Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 4. The killer’s identity remains a mystery.
According to Star Wars Legends continuity, Darth Venamis was born sometime before 75 BBY. Assuming the Legends and canon continuities are similar to an extent, this could be the case in the series too. So, given that The Acolyte is set around 132 BBY, it is possible that Venamis wasn’t even born or had yet to become a Sith during this period, potentially eliminating him as a suspect.
Who is Darth Venamis?
In the Star Wars Legends continuity, Darth Venamis is a prospective Sith Lord from Darth Bane’s lineage.
Darth Venamis was apprenticed to Darth Tenebrous, a Sith Lord, who in both Legends and canon continuity trained Darth Plagueis, the Sith master of Darth Sidious. However, Plagueis was skeptical of Venamis’ training as a true Sith and believed that Venamis’ title of Darth was illegitimately bestowed upon him.
Before dying, Darth Tenebrous gave Darth Venamis one final task, to eliminate his other student Darth Plagueis. Venamis travelled to Sojourn to eliminate Plagueis only to be defeated by him in a duel. Darth Venamis was then force-fed with a coma bloom, a poisonous flower that rendered him comatose.
Venamis was then kept alive for Plagueis’ various experiments involving midi-chlorians. Then in 42 BBY, after he fulfilled his usefulness, he was allowed to die, only to be resurrected and killed each time in the presence of Plagueis’ droid 11-4D and his apprentice, Darth Sidious. Plagueis then allowed Venamis to die one final time after his repeated death and resurrection caused his organs to fail.
