The first look at “Star Wars: The Acolyte” has arrived with a trailer teasing the mysterious new series that looks like a much darker take on the universe long before the rise of The Empire…
“Someone is killing Jedi”
Those haunting words highlight the first trailer for the upcoming series “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” which debuts with the first two episodes on Disney+ on June 4.
The series comes from Leslye Headland — best known for her work on the Netflix series “Russian Doll” and the show stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Here’s the synopsis for the new series:
“In 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.”
Stenberg portrays Mae, the lead character in “The Acolyte” as she “gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.” Meanwhile, Master Sol — played by “Squid Game” favorite Lee Jung-jae — “is a wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master, strong in the ways of the Force, who is going through emotional conflict.”
The new series is set during the era of the High Republic, around 100 years prior to the events in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” so this is long before the rise of the Galactic Empire or before anyone ever even heard the word Skywalker.
“If Star Wars is about the underdog versus the institution, [in The Acolyte] the Jedi are the institution,” Headland said about the series. “I was so interested in a storyline where the Jedi were at the height of their power — and I don’t mean The Phantom Menace, because at that point, there’s a Sith Lord in the Senate that they’re not picking up on.”
During this time, seeing a Sith lord was an incredibly rare occurrence, which was part of what attracted Headland about setting the series during this era.
“Like it’s a thing I’ve heard of, but it’s not a thing that you would ever consider you’d be interacting with,” Headland said about the Sith.
Headland promised that both longtime fans and new ones alike should enjoy the series and it’s not required to take a deep dive on any past material to understand what’s happening in “The Acolyte” — and she promises there are plenty of surprises coming.
“This is very incendiary,” Headland said. “But whatever you think The Acolyte is, it’s not that. It’s a drop in the bucket, baby. Just hang in there and check it out.”
Check out the new trailer above as well as the key art for the series below:
