‘The Acolyte’ Trailer, Explained: 4 Most Important Clues About the New ‘Star Wars’ Series
Different, we expect this Star Wars show to be.
As Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) said in The Last Jedi, darkness rises, and light to meet it—although in this summer’s The Acolyte, it appears his statement is true in reverse. The Acolyte will also mark several notable firsts for the franchise when it brings viewers to a new time period in a galaxy far, far away: 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. Here’s what stood out to us in the trailer, and what TV- and movie-only fans should know about the galaxy before the Skywalker Saga.
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1. It’ll take place in time of the High Republic.
The Acolyte won’t be concerned with the Rebellion and the Empire because neither exists yet, but it is concerned with the Jedi. During the High Republic time period—500 to 100 years before the Battle of Yavin—the Jedi Order was at the height of its power. Wearing golden robes and largely considered the galaxy’s peacekeepers, the Jedi dealt with threats like marauders, mysterious creatures, cults, and more. Portions of the Outer Rim hadn’t yet been explored or settled, and certain technologies that are essential in later Star Wars installments hadn’t been invented (Boba Fett [Temuera Morrison] wouldn’t have been able to take his bacta baths). On the whole, the Jedi thrive with lightsabers aglow, and the galaxy is made better by their peaceful yet powerful presence.
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2. We’ll find out what was going on with the Sith at that time.
That might be the thesis question of The Acolyte, which presents a potentially major wrinkle to the current Star Wars canon. During the prequel trilogy, the Jedi believed the Sith had been extinct for a millennium—which was why it was such a nasty shock when Darth Maul showed up and killed poor Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Yet, if The Acolyte deals with the Sith… how had the Jedi either forgotten about them or been unable to sense them during the century between The Acolyte and The Phantom Menace? We assume the show will answer that question, but it’s a huge consideration for longtime fans who are now pondering just how aware the Jedi were of the Sith during the High Republic.
Much of the source material we have for the Sith in the years before the prequel trilogy is now in a murky canon state. James Luceno’s 2012 novel Darth Plagueis detailed Muun Hego Damask’s (a.k.a. the Darth Plagueis from Palpatine’s “Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise”) rise to and fall from power within the Sith structure. It also briefly introduced readers to Plagueis’ Sith Master, Darth Tenebrous. While Plagueis, Tenebrous, and Palpatine’s story in that novel might no longer be canon, it’s possible Plagueis or Tenebrous could appear in The Acolyte—after all, Grand Admiral Thrawn was no longer canon, and then he appeared in Rebels. Really, the only thing we know for sure about the Sith during the era of the High Republic is that they weren’t active enough for the Jedi to sense them in the Force… although The Acolyte seemingly calls that into question.
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3. There are Easter eggs and adapted characters ahead.
For those who followed the High Republic source materials, there were a few gasp-worthy moments in the trailer. A brief snippet shows Vernestra Rwoh, a major character from the books and a powerful Jedi Master. Interestingly, Jodie Turner-Smith’s character, Mother Aniseya, might point toward the inclusion of a High-Republic-era extremist group called Path of the Open Hand. While it’s doubtful that her character is affiliated with Open Hand directly, her coven of witches may have adopted some of its philosophies: Namely, no one should use the Force.
While many of the Jedi fans know and adore aren’t around at this point in the timeline, Yoda and Yaddle—the only female we’ve ever seen of Yoda’s species—do exist and might appear.
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4. We’ve met Mae, but who is her Master?
As per the Rule of Two, there are only ever two Sith in the galaxy at a time: a Master, and an apprentice. The Acolyte’s trailer spends quite a bit of time with Amandla Stenberg’s formidable Mae, who appears to be fighting for the Dark Side… but is she truly a Sith? Despite the Rule of Two, Dark Side users occasionally took Force-sensitive apprentices; examples include Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress, or the Inquisitors, Vader, and Palpatine. If Mae is another similar case—she’s a Dark Side user who reports to a Sith Lord, but isn’t a Sith herself—then she’s a Sith acolyte who operates outside the Rule of Two. It seems worth noting that she doesn’t use the Force in this trailer, instead relying on daggers and hand-to-hand combat.
Mae’s Master, however, might be a Sith. The red lightsaber in the trailer implies that someone in this show is most certainly a Sith Lord, and the hand that gripped it at the end appeared human. Who is Mae working for, and how are they all connected to the Dark Side? We’ll have to watch and see.
Star Wars: The Acolyte, Two-Episode Series Premiere, Tuesday, June 4, Disney+
