The upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte is going to attempt to give us something different from anything that we’ve seen before in the Star Wars franchise as it is set in a whole new era of the universe that we’ve never seen before.
Now, just because this series is looking to set itself apart from the other Star Wars films and TV shows doesn’t mean it’s not going to reference what’s come before. In fact, showrunner Leslye Headland promises that The Acolyte will be “packed” with nods to pretty much every era in Star Wars.
Hedland said in an interview with Total Film: “It’s a show packed with everything I wanted to explore: I wanted EU [Expanded Universe] stuff in there, references to the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace, the Disney sequels… it’s absolutely packed. Because you never know, you may not get the chance again.”
Headland went on to say that they also wanted to honor George Lucas’s camera moves, saying: “[Cinematographer] Chris [Teague] and I talked a lot about honoring George Lucas’s camera moves.
She added: “I would say the original trilogy became our touchpoint for how to craft the world, while the Episode I-ness of the show is a bit more thematic.”
In the series, Amandla Steinberg is a former Padawan and dangerous warrior who is hunting down and killing Jedi.
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.
In The Acolyte, “An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….”
The series also stars Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae stars as the Jedi Master, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva, Joonas Suotamo, and Amy Tsang.
The Acolyte will have eight episodes in total, with Headland, Garcia Lopez, and Kogonada directing episodes of the series. It’s set to premiere on June 4, 2024, on Disney+.