Disney has released the first official trailer for its newest Star Wars series The Acolyte.
Set during the High Republic, approximately 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), the series will follow a former Padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes. They travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
The Acolyte features the Emmy award-winning Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) and Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies). Also in the cast are The Matrix‘s Carrie-Anne Moss, Logan‘s Dafne Keen, and The Good Place‘s Manny Jacinto.
Russian Doll‘s Leslye Headland is The Acolyte‘s showrunner. She is also an executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef.
Headland previously spoke to IGN about how the show will differ from other Star Wars entries, saying “we've utilised practical sets much more so than the other shows. And part of that just came out of necessity and part of it was a creative choice.
“You see action a lot in the other shows but I would say that because of the influence of samurai, musha, and martial arts films, they become part of the storytelling as opposed to an action sequence. I think that's something that's a little different.”
Headland has also said that it is important for The Acolyte to have one writer who has never seen any Star Wars film or TV series before. She told The Hollywood Reporter “I don't want myself […] to just be relying on particular references in order to create emotional beats. I want those emotional beats to be earned and checked by someone that isn't super familiar with it.”
The Acolyte will be released on Disney+ on 5th June 2024.
