The Acolyte, the new series being added to the Star Wars universe, will thrust the audience into the High Republic era of Star Wars lore and fill in some much-needed gaps on the Empire’s rise. While alluded to, this new series, headed up by Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland, will be the first on-screen adaptation to explore the High Republic era.
The Acolytes were a cult of dark side apprentices who rose to prominence during the early years of the High Republic era and began to follow the Sith religion. Given the show’s title, The Acolyte is going to give a greater glimpse into the galaxy’s descent into darkness and Sith rule.
The High Republic Era Explained
The High Republic era is an expanded part of the Star Wars universe and a centuries-long period that takes place about 200 years before the Skywalker saga. The time was a golden age for the Jedi Order, and the Galactic Republic was at the height of its rule. Under the pretense that they have defeated the Sith, the Jedi expanded and explored the Outer Rim and rendered aid and acted as arbiters throughout the galaxy. And most of the beginnings of this era centers around the Starlight Beacon launch, a new space station. But even as the Sith lay dormant and in hiding, disaster continued to strike the galaxy.
In the aftermath of one of the largest catastrophes in Stars Wars history -- as a Republic transport vessel is destroyed, and the debris throws the Hetzal system into havoc -- a new terrorist group arises. The Nihil, a group of space pirates, come from the Outer Rim of the galaxy and are led by a marauder with a deep-seated hatred for the Republic and Jedi Order. With the story reaching out to planets in the Outer Rim, legacy characters of the franchise are met with new threats and allies as the dangers and fall of the Republic are explored in the new series.
What We Know of The Acolyte
The all-star cast includes Bodies Bodies Bodies lead Amandla Stenberg as well as the Emmy-Award-winning star of Squid Game, Lee Jung-jae. With the cast fully assembled and production already underway, Lucasfilm and Disney put out a short synopsis of the series:
“The Acolyte is 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. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.”
As the show’s title might suggest, and from the words of Leslye Headland herself, the series will explore the events of the rise of the Sith through the eyes of the villainous Sith themselves and reveal the Sith’s journey to discovering the powers of the dark side -- with the live-action debut of Darth Plagueis rumored. In a Vanity Fair interview, Headland explained that the show is set about 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and will ask questions like: how did we get to this point? In this era, the Sith are outnumbered by the Jedi, and The Acolyte will display how a few bad guys were able to unravel a once-thriving government.
The Acolyte is expected to stream on Disney+ in 2023.