With 'The Acolyte' on the horizon we're now deep into Disney and Lucasfilm's plans for Star Wars TV shows. Alongside 'The Mandalorian, ' 'The Book of Boba Fett, ' Ahsoka,' and 'Skeleton Crew', these shows are all building towards a big event movie and we're pretty excited. This latest entry is our first live-action exploration of the High Republic era of the Star Wars timeline. Since this is new territory for a lot of Star Wars fans, we put together a guide to everything we know about 'The Acolyte'.
The High Republic multimedia initiative, mostly developed through books and comics so far, created and expanded on a period that bridges the distant times of the famous Old Republic and the events that lead into The Phantom Menace. This era lasted around 400 years and was defined by the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order having a golden age before their downfall. While it's largely considered an era of peace, insidious forces worked to rip apart the Republic and the Jedi in the (assumed) absence of the Sith.
If you're looking to get into the Star Wars mood in between Disney Plus shows, we've got a Star Wars movies ranked list and extensive analyses of the best lightsabers credits can buy. Moreover, don't miss out on some amazing stories by playing some of the best Star Wars games.
The Acolyte release date
Episodes of "The Acolyte" will arrive each Tuesday at 9 pm EDT (6 pm PDT/0100 GMT) unless Disney decides to alter the release schedule. This means U.K. and European Union fans will wake up to new episodes every Wednesday. For those who want a look at the full release schedule as of now, here you go:
- Episodes 1 & 2: June 4
- Episode 3: June 11
- Episode 4: June 18
- Episode 5: June 25
- Episode 6: July 2
- Episode 7: July 9
- Episode 8 [finale]: July 16
How to watch The Acolyte online
Like everything Star Wars, 'The Acolyte' will be available on Disney Plus alongside the other Star Wars shows. If you're not currently signed up to Disney's streaming platform, there are some bundle offers below that are worth checking out.
What is the plot of The Acolyte?
'The Acolyte' has been described by Lucasfilm 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." In this story, a former Padawan (probably Amandla Stenberg's Osha) reunites with her Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae's Master Sol) in order to investigate and solve a series of crimes, but the Jedi will reportedly encounter "sinister" forces that pose a threat to both the Jedi Order and the Republic.
The trailers and spots released so far have shown us plenty of martial arts action and a sinister villain with a striking helmet which will surely become a fan-favorite. While they certainly look like a Sith lord, we’re not expecting Lucasfilm to simply reveal in the previews the endgame of the season, so a twist is likely coming our way. For all we know, they could just be a member of the old Knights of Ren, with the Sith lords acting in the shadows during the series’ first season and fooling absolutely everyone.
Mind you, The Phantom Menace showed us the Jedi Order disregarded Qui-Gon Jinn's warnings about the Sith returning, claiming they'd been fully defeated over a thousand years ago. So, whatever happens in this show with dark side cultists and potential Sith figures shouldn't contradict that crucial part of the Order's ultimate downfall. There's also the possibility of the anarchistic Nihil marauders (or their remnants) showing up, since they've been the main villains of the High Republic era so far, plus they've been confirmed to appear in the in-development Star Wars Eclipse video game.
The Acolyte trailers
Disney and Lucasfilm released online the first official trailer for The Acolyte on March 19, 2024. You can watch it below:
A second trailer appeared on Star Wars Day, May the 4th, revealing much more of the series’ take on the Jedi of old and the menace lurking in the shadows. If you don’t mind learning a bit more about the plot, check it out here:
The barrage of pre-release previews didn’t stop there, with Disney Plus and Lucasfilm choosing to double down hard on what could be their biggest series of the year. It all can be found in the official Star Wars YouTube channel, but we’ve collected all the coolest spots and previews here.
A featurette, released on May 21, 2024, on Lee Jung-jae's Master Sol shone light on his character and the work that went into bringing him to life.
The following day, on May 22, we received a first clip in which Mae, the mysterious assassin, faces Sol in hand-to-hand combat.
May 30 brought us a conversation between The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland and Lucasfilm’s chief creative officer, Dave Filoni, who most fans already know and love.
Out of all the spots released so far, the standout arrived on May 31, letting us hear the mysterious masked villain for the very first time. Are we looking at a Sith or someone else?
Last but not least, we also believe this short behind-the-scenes look at the work done on the show’s fights is exciting and teases something unlike anything we’ve seen before in on-screen Star Wars. It dropped on June 2.
The Acolyte cast
The main cast for 'The Acolyte' was officially unveiled by Disney Plus and Lucasfilm on November 7, 2022. It includes Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keen (Logan), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) and Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) playing a Wookiee Jedi.
Currently, we don't know about any potential cameos of well-established Star Wars characters. We suspect that there might not be too many, as the story takes place roughly 100 years before the events of "The Phantom Menace." That doesn't rule out a possible Yoda appearance though…
The Acolyte Directors, writers, & crew
'The Acolyte' comes from creator, showrunner and executive producer Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), and began production in the U.K. in late 2022. The executive producers are Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff King, and Jason Micallef. Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson are producing as well.
Leslye Headland herself directed the first two episodes. She was followed by Kogonada (After Yang), Alex García López (The Witcher), and Hanelle Culpepper (Star Trek: Discovery). Each director has worked on two episodes.
On top of Headland, the writers’ room included Charmaine DeGrate (House of the Dragon), Jasmyne Flournoy (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Eileen Shim (House of the Dragon), Claire Kiechel (Watchmen), Kor Adana (Mr. Robot), Cameron Squires (WandaVision), Jason Micallef (Heathers), Jocelyn Bioh (Russian Doll), and Jen Richards (Mayfair Witches).
The cinematography work was split between James Friend (All Quiet on the Western Front) and Chris Teague (Only Murders in the Building). Michael Abels (Nope) composed the all-new original score for the series.
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