With 'The Acolyte' on the horizon we're now deep into Disney and Lucasfilm's plans for Star Wars TV shows. Alongside 'The Mandalorian, ' 'The Book of Boba Fett, ' Ahsoka,' and 'Skeleton Crew', these shows are all building towards a big event movie and we're pretty excited. This latest entry is our first live-action exploration of the High Republic era of the Star Wars timeline. Since this is new territory for a lot of Star Wars fans, we put together a guide to everything we know about 'The Acolyte'.
The High Republic multimedia initiative, mostly developed through books and comics so far, created and expanded on a period that bridges the distant times of the famous Old Republic and the events that lead into The Phantom Menace. This era lasted around 400 years and was defined by the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order having a golden age before their downfall. While it's largely considered an era of peace, insidious forces worked to rip apart the Republic and the Jedi in the (assumed) absence of the Sith.
If you're looking to get into the Star Wars mood in between Disney Plus shows, we've got a Star Wars movies ranked list and extensive analyses of the best lightsabers credits can buy. Moreover, don't miss out on some amazing stories by playing some of the best Star Wars games.
The Acolyte release date
The first two episodes of "The Acolyte" will be released on June 4, 2024, exclusively on Disney Plus.
How to watch The Acolyte online
Like everything Star Wars, 'The Acolyte' will be available on Disney Plus alongside the other Star Wars shows. If you're not currently signed up to Disney's streaming platform, there are some bundle offers below that are worth checking out.
What is the plot of The Acolyte?
'The Acolyte' has been described by Lucasfilm as "a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era." In this story, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master in order to investigate and solve a series of crimes, but the Jedi will reportedly encounter "sinister" forces that pose a threat to both the Jedi Order and the Republic.
The early teaser for 'The Acolyte' shown at Star Wars Celebration 2023 was described as a dark thriller of sorts with plenty of Force-powered martial arts action and Jedi lore, but further details about the sinister characters at the center of the story were kept in the shadows.
The preview ended with a sizable group of Jedi Knights firing up lightsabers before facing unknown enemies. Dafne Keen teased that the show is "kind of an explanation of how the Sith infiltrated the Jedi," which indicates we could meet Darth Plagueis, the master of Sheev Palpatine aka Darth Sidious.
Mind you, The Phantom Menace showed us the Jedi Order disregarded Qui-Gon Jinn's warnings about the Sith returning, claiming they'd been fully defeated over a thousand years ago. So, whatever happens in this show with dark side cultists and potential Sith figures shouldn't contradict that crucial part of the Order's ultimate downfall. There's also the possibility of the anarchistic Nihil marauders (or their remnants) showing up, since they've been the main villains of the High Republic era so far, plus they've been confirmed to appear in the in-development Star Wars Eclipse video game.
The Acolyte trailers
Disney and Lucasfilm released the first official trailer for "The Acolyte" on March 19, 2024.
The trailer, while scant on plot details, reveals that the series will be set in the High Republic era and will explore the more mystical elements of the Jedi. The trailer is packed with cloaked Jedi wielding lightsabers of all colors and lots of martial arts combat, so we can expect this series to be action-packed.
The Acolyte cast
The main cast for 'The Acolyte' was officially unveiled by Disney Plus and Lucasfilm on November 7, 2022. It includes Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keen (Logan), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) and Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) playing a Wookiee Jedi.
Currently, we don't know about any potential cameos of well-established Star Wars characters. We suspect that there might not be too many, as the story takes place roughly 100 years before the events of "The Phantom Menace." That doesn't rule out a possible Yoda appearance though…
The Acolyte Directors, writers, & crew
'The Acolyte' comes from creator, showrunner and executive producer Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), and began production in the U.K. in late 2022. The executive producers are Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff King, and Jason Micallef. Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson are producing as well. Headland will also direct the series pilot.
Word on the street is that Loki season 1 director Kate Herron, Kogonada (After Yang) and Alex García López (The Witcher) were approached to join the directing team of the show, but we don't have an official roster of directors nor writers yet (aside from Headland).
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