Star Wars debuts new era of mystery with ‘The Acolyte’
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Streaming service Disney+ premiered the highly anticipated Star Wars series “The Acolyte” with a two-episode release on June 4th, 2024.
The remaining six episodes of the original live-action show will be released weekly.
“The Acolyte” takes a unique approach within the Star Wars universe, diving into a thrilling mystery narrative set during a time of relative peace.
The streaming series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo and Carrie-Anne Moss.
According to the synopsis in Disney+’s media kit for “The Acolyte,” the story revolves around a respected Jedi Master (played by Lung-jae), who, during an investigation into a shocking crime spree, is pitted against a dangerous warrior (played by Stenberg) from his past. With the emergence of more clues, the Jedi Master and the warrior find that they have to go down a dangerous path, and when they do, sinister forces reveal to them that not everything is as peaceful as it appears.
The show is created by film and television screenwriter, playwright, director and producer Leslye Headland. Headland is famous for the play and the 2012 comedy movie “Bachelorette,” which she wrote, directed and co-produced, and the 2015 romantic comedy movie “Sleeping with Other People,” which she wrote, directed and co-executive produced. Other than “The Acolyte,” her television credits include “Terriers” (writer of 2 episodes), “Blunt Talk” (director; 2 episodes), “SMILF” (director; 3 episodes), “Heathers” (director; 4 episodes|executive producer; pilot), “Black Monday” (director; 2 episodes), “Almost Family” (director; pilot|executive producer), “Russian Doll” (writer; 3 episodes|director; 4 episodes|executive producer|co-creator) and “Single Drunk Female” (director & executive producer; 2 episodes).
Initial critical reception for “The Acolyte” has been positive. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the streaming show holds an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10, based on 68 critic reviews. The Critics Consensus on the review aggregator’s website reads, “Taking fresh risks with Star Wars lore while having infectious fun playing with the stylistic trappings of a galaxy far, far away, The Acolyte is a Padawan series with the potential to become a Master.”
Headland told The Hollywood Reporter apparently back in March that she had ensured one of the writers of the show was someone that had never seen Star Wars before. If you are like that i.e. have never seen Star Wars, let us explain the informal noun “padawan” for you: an inexperienced, naive young person. It even has an entry in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which also notes, “This use of padawan has its origin in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise, where the term padawan refers to aspiring Jedi knights whose education is overseen by a Jedi master.”
“The Acolyte” appears poised to carve out its own niche within the ever-expanding Star Wars universe. The first two episodes have laid the groundwork for a captivating mystery, and strong performances from the lead cast have left fans eager to see where the story goes next.
Featured photo is a cropped version of the photo of Amandla Stenberg at a video promotional for the Oscars 2019 by Cal Laird (Source: Vimeo: OSCARS {view archived source}) (License: CC BY 3.0)
