First Big Look At Star Wars’ The Acolyte

11 Comments | disney, disney+, lucasfilm, sci-fi, star wars, the acolyte | By Peter Paltridge | March 19, 2024 | 2 minutes of reading

We’ve been waiting for The Acolyte for some time. It holds a lot of promise to be the next “good” Star Wars show. While no one can say that for certain yet, the trailer released today gets our hopes up further.

The Acolyte is set 100 years before The Phantom Menace — the earliest big-scale Star Wars production to date. Yes, it’s a prequel, and we know how you feel. Prequels have the added baggage of the audience knowing the ending. Coming up with something interesting that happens BEFORE anything interesting happens, while trying not to break the events in motion that lead there, is a writing challenge more productions fail than nail. But this? This could be different.

The Mandalorian succeeded by channeling Westerns and the tense showdown situations people love to see in them. The Acolyte takes its inspiration from martial arts films, and (we hope) will be similarly cribbing the best elements from those: awe-inspiring acrobatics, brutal battles between two dueling parties, and possibly stealth scenes. The few fight scenes we get in this trailer don’t look like anything Star Wars has done before:

The Acolyte stars stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (Top Gun: Maverick), Dafne Keen (Logan) and Carrie-Ann Moss (The Matrix), and was brought into being by Leslye Headland (Russian Doll).

Here’s the REAL twist: the characters we’re looking at may not be Jedi, but Sith. Headland has spoken in past interviews about making this a Dark Side show. “I was coming at it as a fan who was much more into the RPG [role-playing games] that the Extended Universe feeds on,” IGN quotes her as saying in 2022. “I knew the timeline really well. And I was like, ‘I think if you want to explore Star Wars from the perspective of the bad guys, the best time to do it is when the bad guys are wildly outnumbered. When they actually are essentially the underdogs, for lack of a better term.’ So this would be that era.”

Star Wars: The Acolyte begins with the first two episodes June 4 on Disney+.

11 replies

Join the discussion →

Loading new replies...

Dean

And all that I can see is just another Lemon tree

337 messages 3 likes

#1 Mar 19, 2024

I'm impressed with the cast because these people have very impressive resumes. I mean, we have Manny Jacinto from The Good Place and Top Gun: Maverick. We have Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix. We have Dafne Keen from Logan. Lee Jung Jae from Squid Game. And we even have... My only fear is that the fandom menace has a huge grudge against female protagonists in Star Wars content. This is either going to be good or polarizing.

Reply Like

Redturtle

New Member

44 messages 0 likes

#2 Mar 19, 2024

I'm a bit nervous about this series for one reason: the writer. She's known to be super feminist and too woke. She's even a very vocal pro-choice advocate, which means Republicans and anti-woke individuals will definitely hate her, this producer. And even woke people will dislike her because she used to be Harvey Weinstein's assistant. So, she's basically a red flag for both ends of the political spectrum.

Reply Like

Chance

Member

433 messages 13 likes

#3 Mar 19, 2024

I can see the anti-wokes of YouTube to be attacking the hell out of this show. It has everything that they hate. A girlboss protagonist, feminist writer, and diverse cast. I hope that this show is good and somehow survive the stigma.

Reply Like

Loginmill

New Member

40 messages 1 like

#4 Mar 19, 2024

Ugh, another Star Wars show? Seriously? I'm kinda over it. Like, how many times can they milk this franchise? And a prequel on top of that? They better come up with something seriously fresh to keep me interested. But, okay, I gotta admit, the whole Sith angle sounds kinda cool. I mean, seeing things from the Dark Side's perspective could be interesting. Still not sure if I'm gonna watch it though.

Reply Like

DungeonDad87

New Member

48 messages 4 likes

#5 Mar 19, 2024

Okay, but like, why are we going back in time again? We've already got so much Star Wars content set after the original trilogy. Can't they explore something new instead of digging up the past? Plus, prequels are always risky business. But hey, if they're gonna focus on the Sith, I guess it could be cool. As long as they don't mess it up with cheesy dialogue and stuff.

Reply Like

guy

Sentai Monster with no Mouth Animation

109 messages 1 like

#6 Mar 19, 2024

It makes me feel old to see Daphne Keen as a woman because all I remember is that little girl from Logan. Time is so fast. Out of nowhere, she's now an adult on her 20s.

Reply Like

Tomasso

New Member

28 messages 0 likes

#7 Mar 19, 2024

Star Wars fans being toxic again attacking the show without even watching it. But I cannot blame them because the writer is already defending the show before it's even released, making it seem like a red flag.

Reply Like

Maverick

I hate WOKE trash

397 messages 4 likes

#8 Mar 19, 2024

Oh, I won't watch The Acolyte because the writer, Leslye Headland, is pro-choice. I just can't support someone who holds those beliefs, you know? It goes against what I stand for, and I'd rather not give them my views or support their work. It's a personal decision, but I just can't separate the artist from their beliefs in this case. So, as much as the show might seem interesting, I'll have to pass on it.

Reply Like