The Acolyte teaser: what you need to know about the dark Star Wars adventure

Luca Fontana

20/3/2024

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Finally – The Acolyte, the next show in the Star Wars universe, has released its first teaser trailer. The series is set around 100 years before the films. Time to analyse what the teaser reveals.

«For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire,» Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi once explained to his young protégé Luke Skywalker. The Empire may have sealed the Order’s demise, but its downfall started much earlier. 100 years earlier, during the High Republic to be exact, the heyday of the Jedi Order was already coming to an end.

The Acolyte, the latest Star Wars show, begins right then. We’ve already know this for months. However, the first teaser trailer only just came out, announcing the start date of the series. In Germany, it’s launching with a double episode on 5 June 2024.

Not much is yet known about the plot. Only that Jedi Master Sol, played by Squid Game star Lee Jung-Jae, has to solve a series of Jedi murders. As if that wasn’t enough, he realises that far more sinister forces than he initially suspected are emerging in the background. Forces on par with the Jedi. And suddenly, he’s confronted by a dangerous warrior from his past…

Is it the titular Acolyte?

A dark war story

The teaser somewhat confirms what showrunner, writer and director Leslye Headland told us about the series in advance. That it’s a dark story, told mainly from the perspective of the apparent bad guys, for example This was made clear by a poster released shortly before the teaser. It shows a lightsaber shooting out blood, not energy.

The teaser begins with a scene from the Jedi Temple. «Your eyes can deceive you,» Master Sol explains to his disciples. «We must not trust them.» A nice homage to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s words, when he had Luke do target practice with a lightsaber in the Millennium Falcon. But the scene doesn’t end here. The younglings have to reveal what they see in their mind’s eye.

«I see fire,» says a young girl.

My feeling is that what we’re seeing here is a flashback. And the girl who sees fire later becomes the young woman fighting Jedi Master Indara, played by The Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss. According to StarWars.com, the young woman’s name is Mae. She will be drawn into a dark secret that unexpectedly places her at the centre of a conflict. It’s quite possible that she’s behind the Jedi murders – or at least acting on behalf of someone who wants Jedi dead.

In an interview with StarWars.com, showrunner Leslye Headland actually mentions personal conflicts again and again. «The underdog versus the institution». Only, the institution in question here is the Jedi Order. And because we humans tend to side with the weaker party in a conflict, Headland says this creates a fresh, new dynamic. Coupled with other interviews in which Headland compares The Acolyte to Kill Bill, I’m starting to get a sense of the possible storyline.

In it, former youngling and Padawan Mae may have felt so betrayed by the Jedi Order for reasons as yet unknown (perhaps it has something to do with fire) that she embarks on a bloody campaign of revenge – much like Uma Thurman as the bride in Kill Bill. Perhaps she’s even guided and/or seduced to do so. Mae becomes the first acolyte of a long-forgotten enemy.

The Sith.

Headland also confirmed that the Sith are returning – an incredible occurrence during the High Republic era. Impossible, if not completely absurd. It’s like suddenly coming face to face with a dinosaur in our world, says the showrunner. She points out that the situation in The Phantom Menace was quite similar, but that the Senate had already been infiltrated by a Sith Lord then – unnoticed by the Jedi.

That’s not the case in The Acolyte. Not yet. Instead, the series aims to explore how such a highly respected Order could simultaneously be in its golden age and on the brink of the chaos that would later unfold in the Skywalker saga.

Or to put it another way: «What went wrong?»

More than just black and white

You’ve probably noticed something – those strikingly magnificent Jedi robes. Some of them in festive white, representatives. Others in precious gold for outdoor use. This is no coincidence. As I said, the Jedi are currently experiencing their golden era. Never again would they be more numerous, more powerful and more popular. And rarely has the galaxy seen peace like this, with no galaxy-wide conflicts for centuries. This is also reflected in their magnificent, relatively immaculate appearance.

The fact that someone’s specifically hunting down Jedi right now therefore seems like a morbid joke. This is also confirmed in the teaser trailer by young Jedi Knight Yord. According to StarWars.com, he’s a guardian of the Jedi Temple and also a strict follower of rules with a strong need to act exclusively according to the book.

He probably represents many other Jedi in the series. They no longer seem to be used to real danger, underestimating or ignoring it altogether. Why would anyone hunt Jedi? Utter nonsense. There must be another explanation. To them, there are no more shades of grey. Only black and white, light and darkness. A theme that, according to Headland, will also be addressed.

However, the almost unbearable matter-of-factness of the Jedi also seems to be a thorn in the side of another group of Force users. A coven of witches led by a certain Mother Aniseya. According to Mother Aniseya, the current conflict isn’t a fight between good and evil, but a Force struggle – and who gets to use it.

Literally.

Anyone familiar with the books and comics from the High Republic era – I talked about them once here – knows that this wasn’t always the case. Centuries ago, on the desert moon of Jedha, there was the Convocation of the Force, a council that brought all the religions of the Force to one table. These included the Jedi, of course – but also the Guardians of the Whills, who we already know from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Unfortunately, the peace between the religions didn’t last long. When mistrust and hostility became rampant, open warfare broke out in the streets of the holy city of Jedha. Since then, the Council no longer exists. No wonder, the Jedi now prefer to decide for themselves which religion is tolerated, which is conducive to peace in the galaxy and which is not.

The Return of the Sith

The trailer ends with a bang, or rather, a hiss. A lightsaber being drawn. Only it isn’t blue, green, yellow or orange, but blood red. After what Headland said about the Sith reappearing, we can only imagine what’s going through the minds of the Jedi who see this.

If I’m interpreting the scenes from the teaser correctly, Master Sol and a group of Jedi Knights appear to be about to confront the assassin, only to find out that it’s their long-forgotten nemesis. They overpower the group with a sneering superiority. And this despite the fact we’ve seen what skilled fighters the Jedi were in that era in previous scenes.

Then the trailer comes to an end. I’m left curiously wondering. The High Republic, which I’ve explored in so many books and comics, is finally coming to life.

*How did you like the teaser trailer for The Acolyte? Have I missed any important details? Let me know by commenting below.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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