Someone is Killing The Jedi in The Acolyte Trailer
Welcome to the Dark Side.
The Acolyte is making Star Wars history in almost every way. It’s the first live-action project to be set before the prequels, making it the earliest-set series we’ve seen yet. It’s the first Star Wars project to star a non-binary person, with Amandla Stenberg taking on the role of the protagonist.
Most interestingly, this series is also the first Star Wars live-action project to show the world of the Sith with the same depth we usually see with the Jedi. After more than three years of being kept in the dark, we finally have our first glimpse of what this world looks like, and it’s vastly different from anything else we’ve seen.
Ahead of the series’ June 4 release date, Disney+ has released the first teaser trailer for the series. You can check it out below.
Star Wars’ official website describes the plot as “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….”
The trailer shows a mystery unfolding among the Jedi: someone is targeting and killing them. From the looks of it, that person seems to be Stenberg’s character, though her motivations are a little bit murky. “This isn’t about good or bad,” someone says ominously in the trailer. “This is about power and who is allowed to use it.” Could this killer be taking the Jedi to task for their unchecked power and authority? It would make for an intriguing moral dilemma that Star Wars has rarely tackled before.
The most jarring element of the teaser is the shift in tone. Previous Disney+ Star Wars series have all taken a more lighthearted approach, like The Mandalorian’s space Western elements or Andor’s take on the spy thriller. The Acolyte isn’t afraid to embrace the darkness and portray the Sith not only as more than just villains, but sympathetic anti-heroes. With that comes a darker tone that would be more at home in a horror movie than the Star Wars universe.
The Acolyte is by far the most innovative Star Wars series we’ve seen so far, pushing the envelope of what’s possible both stylistically and logistically. But in the hands of Leslye Headland, who brought the abstract, twisting story of Russian Doll to Netflix icon status, even the most mysterious parts of the Star Wars universe can be explored in a way that makes the world just as fleshed out as the Jedi we’ve seen for decades now.
