“Star Wars” just released the first trailer for “The Acolyte” after announcing yesterday (March 18) that the show would debut June 4 on Disney Plus. After watching it, there are many reactions one could have, but for me there was one clear reaction.
This is a breath of fresh air for the “Star Wars” galaxy.
Is this show going to be perfect? Probably not. Shows are rarely like that to begin with, but after watching the trailer, it’s probably not the dialogue that caught your attention.
The fight sequences? Maybe, though it’s not exactly what I was expecting John Wick-level choreography from this show overall, and certainly not after seeing the first trailer. And while there are certainly a lot of lightsabers flashing, that’s to be expected from a show about the Jedi.
No, what caught my attention was simple: there are no Skywalkers. Not even a single one.
‘Star Wars’ finally ditched the Skywalkers
Yes, that is correct. “The Acolyte” completely lacks any connection to the Skywalker Saga. Well, at least there’s no direct connection. While the events of this show will likely have some bearing on the eventual fall of the Galactic Republic, the goal of the show is not to establish narratives about the Emperor or the Chosen One. There are no clones to be seen either, which is a relief, to say the least.
Instead, we get a story from the High Republic era. This part of the “Star Wars” story takes place approximately 100 years before the events of “Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.” And while there’s certainly a lot of talk about someone running around killing Jedi and Jedi Masters feeling the darkness (yet, they apparently don’t feel “a disturbance in the force”), I have no doubt that at the end of this story, we won’t suddenly discover that someone is secretly a Palpatine or a Skywalker.
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And to me, that’s the most important thing this program can do. Yes, I would love for it to be a good show in its own right and explore still unexplored corners of a time long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. But honestly, I just want “The Acolyte” to show Disney that they don’t need the Skywalkers to worry about “Star Wars.” To that end, this first trailer certainly seems to have done a good job.
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