First Poster for STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE and the Trailer Drops Tomorrow
Lucasfilm has released the first poster for its upcoming Star Wars series, The Acolyte. The poster comes with the caption, “In an age of light, a darkness rises.” The image of the lightsaber leaving a bloody streak is an interesting visual. It was also revealed that the first trailer for the series will be released tomorrow!
The story is described 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.” The High Republic is set 100 years before the Skywalker Saga begins.
The series follows a former Padawan as she “reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.” The series stars Amandla Steinberg the former Padawan, while Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae stars as the Jedi Master. There are other rumored story details that have been shared that you can read about here.
Stenberg previously talked about the series, saying: “In the context of the Star Wars universe, it’s a time of great peace, theoretically. It’s also a time of an institution, and it’s a time in which conceptions around the Force are very strict. And I think what we’re trying to explore within our show is when an institution has a singular conception of how power can be used…we try to provide a lot of different perspectives and answers to that question. The idea is to kind of honor the ethos of Star Wars and ideas around the Force and also challenge them, hopefully harmoniously.”
Showrunner Leslye Headland has previously stated that The Acolyte will dedicate a lot of screen-time to "the antagonists, and described it as “Frozen meets Kill Bill.” She shared the that story will be told from the perspective of the villains and is set between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequel trilogy, “because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered.”
The series is described as a “spiritual war,” and it includes conflict between siblings, and parents, as well as a conflict between a master and an apprentice. It was reiterated the project is very much inspired by samurai films. It has been said to focus on the emergence of the Sith, a group of Dark Jedi set on conquering the galaxy. The '“acolyte” term has been used in the Star Wars universe to describe soldiers for the powerful Sith Lords.
Star Dafne Keen later revealed that the series will focus on The Sith "infiltrating" the Jedi. She said: “No, I mean, as you know, it’s set 100 years before the prequel movies, and it’s kind of an explanation of how the Sith infiltrated the Jedi. It’s a Sith-led story, which has never been done before. It’s been really fun to film – the cast is amazing, and the director and crew are just lovely. The whole experience is wonderful, and I’m already excited for people to see it.”
The series also stars Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva, Joonas Suotamo, and Amy Tsang.
The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland. It will have eight episodes in total, with Headland, Garcia Lopez, and Kogonada directing episodes of the series.
The Acolyte premieres on June 4, 2024, on Disney+.