For a long, long time now The Acolyte has remained something of a mystery. Leslye Headland’s Star Wars show has been shrouded in secrecy – all we know is, it’s set in an entirely unexplored part of the timeline (100 years before The Phantom Menace, at the end of The High Republic era), it has a stacked ensemble cast, and it’s got something to do with the dark side. Well, now the veil of secrecy has somewhat lifted – nearly a year after Star Wars Celebration attendees got an early peek at the show in 2023, the first trailer for the Disney+ show has finally arrived. And it’s full of fresh faces, saber action, and mysteries just waiting to be unpacked. Watch it here:
There’s a huge amount to take in there. For one, get a load of all those Jedi. It seems to be Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae taking the lead there, resplendent in those gold High Republic robes – but we also see Carrie-Anne Moss in full Jedi get-up, Dafne Keen as a Theelin with a Padawan braid, and… was that a brief glimpse of Rebecca Henderson as fan-favourite High Republic book character Vernestra Rwoh, with her green skin in the Jedi Temple? While Andor leaned into human drama within the Star Wars galaxy, The Acolyte seems to be going all-out on colourful species, lightsabers, and Force-users. Speaking of which – that Force fight, with Carrie-Anne Moss and Amandla Stenberg pushing each other around? Holy moly, more of that please. Also among the cast are Manny Jacinto, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Joonas Suotamo – the latter playing Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca.
As for Stenberg, they seem to be the mysterious centre of the show – a knife-wielding fighter who seems to be causing serious trouble for our assembled Jedi. And among whisperings of the dark side (following yesterday’s surprisingly bloody poster), the trailer ends with a shocking flash of red: a Sith lightsaber. Could it be Stenberg’s? Or someone else’s? Either way, someone is killing Jedi, and it’s up to the order to find out who.
It’ll be fascinating to see how The Acolyte excavates an all-new part of the Star Wars timeline, bringing in elements of both the prequels and the High Republic novels while telling its own story – and here’s hoping there’s plenty more of that martial arts action to come when the show drops. We’ll find out when The Acolyte starts streaming with a two-episode premiere on Disney+ from 4 June.