The first trailer has arrived for the upcoming Star Wars series, The Acolyte, and the new teaser has several elements that need explaining.
Originally announced in 2020, The Acolyte promises to be one of the most fascinating TV series in the Star Wars franchise yet and will prove whether the sci-fi saga has life beyond the stories of the Skywalkers and the eras surrounding the original trilogy.
1. A new time period
The Acolyte will take place roughly 100 years before the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace in the final days of the era known as The High Republic.
This means that the series will be set earlier in the Star Wars timeline than any previous movie or TV show.
As a result, it will follow a completely new cast of characters as it will take place outside the lifespans of most of the main characters we know and love, except maybe for Yoda.
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2. From a new point of view
While every major Star Wars project has focused on the exploits of either a Jedi on the Light Side of the Force or a bounty hunter or rebel hero fighting against the evil Empire, The Acolyte will tell its story from another perspective.
The series will follow Mae (Amandla Stenberg), who was once a Jedi Padawan under the tutelage of Jedi Master Sol (Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae) but has since ventured down a much darker path.
In the new trailer, the character can be seen going toe-to-toe with Jedi Master Indara played by The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss.
3. Martial arts influences
Leading The Acolyte as showrunner is Leslye Headland, the Emmy-nominated co-creator of Netflix’s Russian Doll.
Speaking about the series in a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, she explained that The Acolyte is inspired by not only Westerns and the samurai movies of Akira Kurosawa but also martial arts movies like those by King Hu and the Shaw Brothers, and those inspirations are clearly evident from the use of the Force seen in the trailer.
Headland said that the storyline of the series will be “a little bit more personal and less global and galactic,” and that the warriors in the martial arts movies that inspired her “were on missions that were deeply personal, with people feeling wronged and having to make [things] right.”
4. Melancholic music
The trailer begins with a shot of several Jedi Padawans meditating in the Jedi Temple but the tranquil scene is underscored by music that is somber before ominous whispering can be heard, signaling the arrival of an unknown danger – hardly fitting of the Jedi Order at the peak of its powers.
As the teaser progresses, the music features several dark and gurgling synthesizer notes that wouldn’t sound out of place in a horror movie trailer.
There’s a very good reason for that as The Acolyte’s composer will be Michael Abels, the award-winning composer of the Jordan Peele horror movies Get Out, Us and Nope.
5. A shadowy figure
While Amandla Stenberg’s Mae has already been shown as a villainous character, it appears that she won’t necessarily be the big bad of the series.
In one of the final shots of the trailer, we can see a robed figure standing silhouetted on a cliff.
Agonizingly, this character’s identity isn’t revealed but could it potentially be Mae’s own Sith/Dark Side Master? We’ll have to wait and see.
An overview of The Acolyte
Beyond what clues we can pick up from the trailer, Lucasfilm has already teased several details about The Acolyte.
Its synopsis reads: “In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….”
Starring in the series cast are Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keen (Logan, His Dark Materials), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll, Chicago Fire), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, The Last Ship), Rebecca Henderson (Russian Doll, Single Drunk Female), Dean-Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca in The Star Wars sequels), and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).
The Acolyte will consist of eight episodes in total and the first two will premiere on Disney+ on Tuesday, June 4 in the US, with the remaining six chapters airing weekly.
