Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi has become incredibly controversial after his cameo in The Acolyte episode 4, but he has always been subject to retcons – including one by George Lucas himself. Essentially a background character in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Ki-Adi-Mundi has never exactly had a vocal fanbase. His greatest canon achievement, in John Jackson Miller’s The Living Force, is being dull enough to order a flavorless slushie – leaving the poor vendor utterly bewildered.

Remarkably, Ki-Adi-Mundi has become incredibly controversial over the last week. It’s because of a debate over Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age, with claims an unexpected cameo in The Acolyte was a continuity-breaking retcon. But, although the case for this is exaggerated, the Cerean Jedi has been at the heart of retcons for years – including one by George Lucas himself.

Before The Phantom Menace, Nobody Knew Jedi Couldn’t Have Relationships

In Star Wars‘ old Expanded Universe (now referred to as “Legends”), many Jedi had romantic relationships, and some even married. The Jedi Order did discourage marriage among its members, but that didn’t stop multiple Jedi from pursuing romantic attachments. One example is the relationship between Revan and Bastila Shan, as established in the Knights of the Old Republic video games. While the Jedi Council disapproved of their marriage at first, they eventually came to tolerate it.

Another example found in Legends is Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. When Luke established the New Jedi Order after the fall of the Galactic Empire, he got rid of the rule forbidding attachment. He fell in love with the former Emperor’s Hand Mara Jade, and the two married. From that point forward, Jedi were allowed to have romantic relationships in Legends.

Even in the canon timeline, one could argue Jedi formed attachments. Luke certainly forms strong bonds with his friends and mentors, and he often risks his own life and commitment to the light when trying to protect them. And while Leia was not officially trained in the original trilogy, she is later considered a Jedi, and she has a relationship with Han Solo. So while both Legends and canon continuities include the Jedi Order being opposed to these deep bonds, there are many examples of those relationships happening anyway.

Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Republic Stories Established His Love Life

Ki-Adi-Mundi made his debut in the 1998 Star Wars: Republic comics by Jan Strnad and Anthony Winn, and these comics established Ki-Adi-Mundi’s love life – an important part of his Legends backstory. In the first issue, “Prelude to Rebellion, Part 1,” writer Jan Strnad reveals Mundi had a bond-wife named Shea. Later in the issue, it is established that Cereans actually practice polygymy, and Mundi had four additional honor-wives, including one named Mawin. He also had children with these wives, and showed affection and attachment to them.

Unfortunately, Mundi’s entire family was killed during the Battle of Cerea. Again, this Clone Wars battle is considered Legends, but it could explain why the Cerean family is not mentioned or seen in the movies. It’s also unknown if Mundi pursued other relationships on his home planet after this tragic event.

Attack of the Clones Changed Everything For Jedi

When Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala travel to Naboo in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, the Padawan explains the Jedi’s rule against attachments. The Jedi Council forbade deep attachments, both romantic and platonic, because they believed those attachments could cause fear, jealousy and anger. And of course, as Yoda lays out in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, those feelings could lead to the dark side.

This is why Anakin and Padmé had to keep their marriage a secret; Anakin would likely have been kicked out of the Jedi Order had they found out. Anakin’s attachments to his mother and Padmé were depicted as key factors in his falling to the dark side. And if attachment created Darth Vader, it makes sense that other Jedi would want to avoid it at all costs.

This revelation caused a problem for the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, because it had never occurred to writers that Jedi couldn’t marry; little had been really known about the Jedi, but Lucas had previously confirmed Anakin Skywalker had been married. Looking back at Legends, there’s a massive attempt to explain this away, and that’s particularly true with Ki-Adi-Mundi. Lucas’ story required changes to the character’s backstory.

How Star Wars Fixed Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Story

If Jedi are forbidden romantic relationships, how could Ki-Adi-Mundi have multiple wives and children? Rather than discard the entire story, Legends explained this was tied to the Cerean race. On Cerea, there is a very low birth rate for males; in fact, Cerean females outnumber males by a 20:1 ratio. For this reason, Cereans have a hard time reproducing and keeping their numbers at a survivable level. According to this explanation, the Jedi Council allowed Ki-Adi-Mundi to produce offspring to keep his people alive.

This is a perfectly harmless retcon, an inevitable result from the evolving Star Wars story. Ki-Adi-Mundi’s backstory was established, but new lore contradicted it; instead of ignoring the contradiction, Lucasfilm came up with a story-based explanation. George Lucas himself signed off on this particular retcon, although ironically it too is now considered non-canon – because the old Legends arc was erased from continuity after Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012.

That doesn’t make this classic Star Wars retcon an irrelevance, however. Rather, it suggests viewers should watch Star Wars as an evolving franchise, aware the developing story can and will change things. That happened before, even in the days of George Lucas, and it will inevitably happen again.

The Acolyte episode 5 premieres June 25, 2024, on Disney+.