Naasa

Naasa was a Jumurra female who was a witch elder, augur, and advisor within Mother Aniseya's coven on its adopted homeworld Brendok during the High Republic Era. In 148 BBY, Naasa attended a meeting of Mother Aniseya's advisors after a group of Jedi sought out the Mother's twin daughters, Verosha Aniseya and Mae-ho Aniseya, and gained Aniseya's permission to test them as potential Jedi.

The elder suggested that only passing the test resulted in the twins leaving with the Jedi, and so Mother Aniseya instructed her daughters to intentionally fail, although Verosha disobeyed this order. Naasa later agreed with coven members who said that Verosha should not be allowed to leave shortly before Jedi infiltrated the fortress in search of the twins. Naasa then took part in casting a spell to possess the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca, forcing him to fight his comrades until Jedi Master Indara broke the possession, killing Naasa in the process.

Biography

Sage advice

Naasa was a Jumurra^[3] female in the exiled witch coven of Mother Aniseya, serving as an elder,^[4] augur,^[1] and advisor to the group's leader in its fortress^[4] on their adopted homeworld^[1] Brendok during the High Republic Era.^[4] In 148 BBY,^[2] Naasa was believed to be the eldest of the roughly fifty-four witches who lived in the coven.^[1] That year,^[2] a group of four Jedi came to the fortress seeking Mother Aniseya's twin daughters, Verosha Aniseya and Mae-ho Aniseya.^[4]

After a confrontation at the twins' Rite of Ascension ritual, the Jedi requested that Mother Aniseya give permission for her daughters—who were being trained by the witches—to be tested to become Jedi. The coven's leader agreed that they would take the test the following day, then called a meeting of her advisors in the fortress common room after the Jedi had left the fortress. Naasa attended the meeting but sat on the common room's steps while the others present stood. Mother Koril suggested that the coven attack the Jedi, but others objected and Aniseya ultimately rejected the idea, stating that the test would be taken.^[4]

Koril then questioned what would happen when the Jedi discovered the twins' origin, at which point Naasa interjected, slowly standing as the other advisors turned to listen. As^[4] she^[3] slowly moved toward Koril and Mother Aniseya, the elder pointed out that the test could be passed or failed, with only the pass result leading to the twins being taken away by the Jedi.^[4]

Collapse of the coven

After the meeting, Mother Aniseya instructed Verosha and Mae-ho to purposefully fail the test that the Jedi would give them, which Mae-ho gladly did. Verosha, however, wished to become a Jedi and so passed the test.^[4] Naasa sat on the steps of the common room and listened as Verosha informed her mother that she wished to go with the Jedi. After Verosha left the room, Naasa and the other witches present rose to discuss whether she should be allowed to leave.^[5]

Several members of the coven objected to Verosha being allowed to join the Jedi, and Naasa nodded in agreement with them. Mother Aniseya overruled them, prioritizing Verosha's wishes. Meanwhile, the Jedi Knight Sol and the Padawan Torbin had begun to infiltrate the fortress to rescue the twins while Koril called for the coven to prepare to defend itself. After Aniseya was killed during a confrontation with the Jedi in the fortress's courtyard, Naasa and a group of other witches began a chant while seated together in the common room to^[5] cast a spell^[6] that possessed the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca as he arrived at the fortress. Sat with their palms facing up and their eyes fully black, the witches swayed^[5] and mumbled the chant in a trance-like state of concentration while casting the spell.^[6]

Kelnacca fought against Sol and Torbin until Jedi Master Indara arrived and used the Force to end his possession,^[5] mentally cutting the Thread controlling him. This caused a psychic whiplash^[1] that resulted in the death^[2] of Naasa and the other witches with her,^[5] who collapsed into a lifeless heap.^[6] Sol rescued Verosha from a fire spreading in the fortress, and as they exited the structure, the pair came upon the bodies of the witches who had perished before they left.^[4]

Personality and traits

By 148 BBY,^[2] Naasa was wizened and elderly,^[7] requiring a cane to walk and struggling to stand during the meeting in the common room.^[4] Due to her age, the elder's primary concern was for the future of her coven, within which she stood out for her wisdom.^[3] Although Mother Aniseya cherished Naasa's divination skills, the elder always made sure to respectfully provide only options and insights, never directives.^[1] She did however hope to steer her sisters toward a brighter horizon that was free of outside interference.^[8] The witch had tan skin, brown eyes, and stood 1.75 meters (five feet, nine inches) tall.^[1]

Skills and abilities

Naasa was able to divine visions of the future by examining the Thread—the witches' name for the Force—and extrapolating from its vibrations. She could then put the visions into context with the insight provided by her deep knowledge and experience.^[1]

Equipment

After the Rite of Ascension,^[4] Naasa wore a densely corded gray-purple turban that symbolized intricacy of thought and darker purple robes patterned with a squared embroidery that symbolized discrete events amid perpetual recursion. The robes also had a golden trim.^[1]

Her stylized "wing case" necklace had many flat or thin golden adornments, and she had a golden ring on each index finger and another on her left ring finger. Naasa's walking stick was brown and festooned with talismans.^[1] At the time of her death, she wore a simpler gray-purple robe with a blue shawl and a necklace of dirty white adornments.^[5]

Behind the scenes

Portrayal and fabrication

Naasa first appeared and was identified in "Destiny,"^[4] the third episode of the live-action television series Star Wars: The Acolyte, which aired on Disney+ on June 11, 2024.^[10] Prior to the release of the episode, the character was first revealed in a trailer for the show released on May 18, 2024.^[11]

Jake Lunt Davies designed the character, and Nicolas Ferrard built^[12] and mechanised the animatronic mask, which was then sculpted by Stefano Cordioli, molded by Kenny Wilson and his crew, and painted by Henrik Svensson. Sherri Hazzard carried out the fabrication, and Jodi Corpe and her crew were responsible for the character's hair. Naasa's mask was puppeteered by Matt Denton and Claire Roi Harvey with Derek Arnold as CFX coordinator and Colin Purves as dep. Harvey also provided the character's dialogue on set.^[13]

The character was physically portrayed by Barbara Fadden^[4] and voiced by Shelby Young.^[14] Ferrard described her as one of the most fun and challenging creatures he had worked on,^[9] and Harvey claimed that she had been a joy to puppeteer and was especially pleased to puppeteer a witch.^[13]

Costume

Naasa's outfit was designed by costume designer Jennifer Bryan, and three separate costume design concepts were produced by Eleanor Barlow in 2022: one showing her in her full purple and gold robes, one showing her in simpler mauve garments, and one showing her with her arm in a sling.^[15] The coven's outfits were made from nine hundred meters of raw fabric that was initially more of a bright fuchsia before being meticulously dyed to a royal purple according to Bryan.^[16] The interior scenes on Brendok were filmed at Shinfield Studios,^[17] England.^[18]

Concept art galleries

Star Wars: The Acolyte

Storyboards

Concept art

Digital renderings

In-progress artwork

Concept art

Costume concept by Eleanor Barlow^[15]

Costume concept, Eleanor Barlow^[15]

Costume concept, Eleanor Barlow^[15]

In-progress artwork

In-progress sculpt by Stefano Cordioli^[19]

In-progress sculpt by Stefano Cordioli^[19]

In-progress sculpt by Stefano Cordioli^[19]

In-progress sculpt by Stefano Cordioli^[19]

In-progress sculpt by Stefano Cordioli^[19]

Appearances

Explore all of Wookieepedia's media for this article subject:
Audio · Images

• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Choice"
• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Destiny" (First appearance) (First identified as Naasa)

Sources

• The Acolyte | Plan | Streaming June 4 on Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (First pictured)
• The Acolyte Launch Event Recap on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Video clip only)
• "Destiny" Episode Guide | The Acolyte on StarWars.com (backup link) (Picture only)
• The Acolyte Explained | Highlights from "Destiny" on StarWars.com (backup link) (Picture only)
• The Acolyte | Jennifer Bryan - Witches Costumes | Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Video clip only)
• The Acolyte | The Costumes of The Acolyte | Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Picture only)
• "Star Wars: The Acolyte Companion" — Star Wars Insider 229 (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Visual Guide
• 2025 Topps Chrome Star Wars Card: #37 - Elder Naasa (backup link)
• Elder Naasa in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references