It’s less than a month until The Acolyte arrives on Disney+! The latest show set in the Star Wars universe will drop with a two episode premiere on June 4th and boasts epic action and an intriguing mystery set 100 years before The Phantom Menace and the prequels in an era known as The High Republic. With a new trailer that just released on May 4th it is the perfect time to dive into what to expect from The Acolyte before it arrives.
When does The Acolyte take place in the Star Wars universe?
The Acolyte is set during the height of the Jedi order, around 100 years before the time of the prequels and the subsequent reveal of the Sith and fall of the Jedi. We can expect to see the Jedi as they are known all the way back in A New Hope where Obi-Wan calls them “The guardians of peace and justice.”
The Jedi of this era wear gold’s and white’s in their robes, a distinctive style as depicted in The High Republic series of books and comics, which sets them apart from the Jedi of the prequels. Even the Jedi Temple is more elevated in this era, being higher in the skyline than by the time of the prequels. (and also showing that Coruscant is still being built up.)
We can expect an era we have never seen before in live action, and also begin to see how the Jedi order unravels itself from being in its golden age as it descends into its undoing by the time of the prequels. The title of The Acolyte itself is a tease to what the show will be about. Leslye Headland (The showrunner) states that “there’s the concept of an Acolyte [in Star Wars legends] which is underneath a [Sith] apprentice.” showcasing that the show may well be from the perspective of the bad guys as opposed to the Jedi.
Working out the plot of The Acolyte
“Last night, a Jedi was murdered” is said by a character at the start of the newest trailer and brings us straight into the show’s premise. The Acolyte is described as a “mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging darkside powers in the final days of The High Republic,” by Disney themselves, and also teased as “Frozen meets Kill Bill” by Headland. It appears the Jedi order are thrust into dealing with being hunted by this supposed Sith Acolyte.
There will, of course, be plenty of Jedi Masters, Knights and Padawans in the show to help solve this mystery and stop the acolyte before things get out of hand. The show is set in an era where Jedi are revered by the Republic and wider galaxy, but whether that be the case by the end of the series, only time will tell, as “the story is like a spiral. It digs deeper and deeper and deeper” according to Headland. (via Empire magazine)
Diving into the characters such as Master Sol and Mae
“She was my student, I trained her. Let me be the one to bring her in.” Words spoken by Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) one of the main characters (or at least main Jedi) in The Acolyte. Described as a “wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master” we can expect him to be the voice of reason in the show to the Padawans and Knights teaming up with him. Shots of him teaching younglings and getting ready to fight showcase this fact, as he is always front and center to the danger.
The student Master Sol speaks of is the mysterious Mae (Amandla Stenberg) who seemingly is the villain of the series (or at least one of them). We see her several times in the trailer attacking Jedi for some unknown reason. With the show being called The Acolyte, we can assume she is being trained or is trying to gain the favor of the Sith at this time as she hunts the Jedi. It will be interesting to see why and how she ends up down the path to the darkside, and it will be a very interesting journey to see her and her former master (Sol) reconnect and just how they will both react to each other.
It is revealed in the trailer that Mae may come from a coven of witches led by Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner Smith) ; they seem to be an independent force in The Acolyte and want nothing more than to preserve their beliefs about the galaxy, whatever they may be. It will be interesting to see how they play into the show and whether this Mother Aniseya will be a friend or a foe.
There are plenty of other Jedi in the series of all manor of rankings, such as Jecki, a half-theelin Padawan (Dafne Keen). She is the newest apprentice to Master Sol so we can expect her to have a lot of screen time and provide an interesting contrast to Mae, described as “calm and mature.” It would seem she will be a great companion to Master Sol and the rest of the Jedi.
Other Jedi include Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), he is described as an “overachiever and rule follower”. This will provide an interesting dynamic as plenty of Jedi like to break the rules and defy the council, with him seemingly teaming up with Master Sol and Jecki in the trailer, will he prove to be an adversary to them? Being so much of an overachiever may also make him not feel good enough next to his other Jedi companions, and so could perhaps lead him down a darker path.
Master Indeera (Carrie-Anne Moss) is not seen much in the trailer. Many predict she will be the first Jedi to die by Mae’s hand, and I am inclined to agree, she is only seen in her canteen duel scene (which an extended look at was released alongside The Phantom Menace anniversary showings) and it appears she shows up in flashbacks as seen in the trailer. It will be interesting to see her relationship with the other characters, and whether or not she does actually die, how her death affects them too.
The Acolyte will also bring some firsts to Star Wars with the first live action Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca, described as a loner, we don’t know much about him or even see much of him apart from his semi-shaved monk style head. Wookiee Jedi are nothing new to the era, with Burryaga a big fan favorite in the High Republic books. However, Kelnacca is new for live action and this show, and I hope we get to see some good Wookiee Jedi action!
Another first for The Acolyte, is that the show will bring a character from the series of High Republic books into television. Vernestra Rwoh, a teen prodigy in the books, will appear in the show as an Aged Jedi master (Rebecca Henderson) she is very important to the High Republic books and her appearance in this show brings a lot of excitement to both fans of the books and also what this means for the future of The Acolyte. I don’t expect Vernestra to be a huge part of the show, but she will be a very important character for many reasons… (See my article on this linked below!)
Why Vernestra Rwoh is important to The Acolyte
The villains: “Always two, there are”
“What are you?” The end of the newest trailer brings us a look at the latest masked bad guy in the Star Wars universe, a terrifying force wearing a black helmet and brandishing a red lightsaber. It is unknown who exactly is under the mask and whether or not they are a Sith master or indeed just a Sith apprentice. And how exactly does Mae fit into this picture, with her seemingly going after Jedi, is she trying to impress the Sith and gain their favor? Or is she already under their “spell,” directly working for them to become a fully fledged apprentice?
What is certain, however, is that in a time of peace for the Jedi order and with the Sith supposedly being hidden away from the galaxy until they are ready to reveal themselves in The Phantom Menace, we can expect not many Jedi, if any, to survive an encounter with this Sith.
What do you expect to see in this new Star Wars series?
We can expect a lot of interesting ideas in The Acolyte, and with 7 weeks of episodes. It won’t be long until we get to dig deep into this mystery of a show. The Acolyte will be filled to the brim with lots of Jedi action, mysterious red lightsaber wielding adversaries, epic spaceship scenes (and a lot of crashing) and much, much more.
The Jedi are at their peak in this show, and it will be very interesting to see just how they end up so far fallen by the time of The Phantom Menace. I, for one, can’t wait!
Star Wars: The Acolyte starts streaming on Disney+ on June 4, 2024. Are you excited to check this new series out? Let us know what you expect to see in The Acolyte on social media @mycosmiccircus or in The Cosmic Circus Discord.
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