Star Wars fans, rejoice! Lucasfilm has finally unveiled The Acolyte, giving us a trailer that harks back to a time the new canon of a galaxy far, far away was barely explored. The upcoming Disney+ series will take us back to the High Republic era, a time when the Jedi were more than just a bunch of names in ancient texts and the Sith were extinct – or believed to be.
The trailer that spans nearly two minutes kicks off with a meditative scene as Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae, who’s now donning the robes of Jedi Master Sol, schools his younglings in the art of seeing without seeing (though asking an alien with no eyelids to close their eyes seems kind of unfair).
It’s all very zen until we hit a dark mood brought about by a student who looks a lot like a younger version of Amandla Stenberg’s Mae, who simply says, “I see fire.” Mae, the former padawan, later turns into a dark-side detective and teams up with her old master to unravel a web of Jedi murders.
As their investigation unfolds, everything begins to point to a threat engulfed in the dark arts of the Sith. This becomes even more apparent during the trailer’s climax, which sees a confrontation in a dark forest where a red Sith lightsaber emerges from the shadows, leading to a powerful clash.
Who the Sith Lord might be is anyone’s guess, but at the very least, we know it’s not one of the fan favorites like Darth Vader or Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine), and it’s certainly not going to be Darth Maul.
The leading theory suggests that the unknown Sith might likely be Darth Plagueis or Darth Tenebrous (the latter trained the former, and the former trained Palpatine, and they successively killed their masters in true Sith fashion). Of course, these are just rumors, so take this information with a grain of salt.
What’s genuinely fascinating about The Acolyte is its unabashed leap into the darker corners of Star Wars lore. There’s a delightful noir feel to the proceedings, a sense that we’re not just going to get another chapter of the eternal light vs. dark saga but rather explore the nuanced spaces that previous Star Wars shows have failed to do.
How the trailer teases Mae’s character in a morally ambiguous light gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, this might be another Andor in the making. Of course, Disney has lately gained a reputation for subverting expectations, so I won’t be too surprised if this turns out to be as bad as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In terms of casting, The Acolyte does a good job infusing the series with prominent actors capable of carrying the weight of a Star Wars project. Alongside Jung-jae and Stenberg, The Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss will play Indara, a Jedi Master. She’ll be joined by Logan‘s Dafne Keen as Jecki Lon and Jodie Turner-Smith as Mother Aniseya, the leader of a coven of witches.
The Acolyte will run for eight episodes, with the first two premiering on Disney+ on June 4.
