Star Wars: The Acolyte – Everything We Know About Disney Plus Show

The Acolyte

The latest Star Wars TV show for Disney+, The Acolyte, releases in June. Ahead of that, the series just recently got its first trailer, poster, and more information about what to expect.

But who or what is an acolyte? Which actors star on the show? Who created it? What’s it all about? Where in the Star Wars timeline does it fit? And when does it release? In this gallery we’re running through all the essential things you need to know.

The Acolyte is just the latest Star Wars series for Disney+, following the likes of The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, and The Book of Boba Fett, as well as the animated shows The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, among others. And more are coming. In the future, Disney is also working on Skeleton Crew featuring Jude Law and more.

But for now, we’re focusing on The Acolyte. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is it all about?

The Acolyte is a new Star Wars TV show that follows a respected Jedi Master played by Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae, in which he’s fighting against a warrior from his past played by Amandla Stenberg. The story kicks off amid an “investigation into a shocking crime spree.”

“As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…” reads a line from the show’s description. “A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.”

Creator and showrunner Leslye Headland shed some further light on what The Acolyte is all about in an interview for StarWars.com. She said the show is not going to be what you’d expect.

“If Star Wars is about the underdog versus the institution, [in The Acolyte] the Jedi are the institution,” Headland said. “I was so interested in a storyline where the Jedi were at the height of their power–and I don’t mean The Phantom Menace, because at that point, there’s a Sith Lord in the Senate that they’re not picking up on.”

The Acolyte is further back in time, when encountering a Sith in the world might be like stumbling across a dinosaur by today’s standards. “Like it’s a thing I’ve heard of, but it’s not a thing that you would ever consider you’d be interacting with,” she said.

“Whatever you think The Acolyte is, it’s not that. It’s a drop in the bucket, baby. Just hang in there and check it out,” Headland teased.

What is an “acolyte”?

You might be wondering what an acolyte is. In its historical religious context, an acolyte is someone who assists the celebrant during a religious ceremony. But in the context of Star Wars, it’s probably a reference to the Sith Order rank called Sith Acolyte. This term describes, according to GameSpot sister site Fandom, apprentices who had just begun their training on the dark side under a more powerful Sith Lord.

When does it take place?

The Acolyte takes place during the High Republic era of Star Wars lore. This was the “prime” of the Jedi Order, according to Lucasfilm’s latest description of the show. A description released in November 2022 more specifically said the show would take place during the “final days” of the High Republic and would dig into a “galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers.” Unfortunately for the Jedi, “trouble is brewing for the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy,” according to a line from the show’s synopsis.

Creators

Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland created The Acolyte and serves as its showrunner and executive producer. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is an executive producer as well, alongside Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmane DeGrate and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim, and Rob Bredow are producers on The Acolyte.

There are eight episodes in all. Headland directed episodes 1 and 2, with South Korean filmmaker Kogonada (After Yang) directing episodes 3 and 7. The Witcher director Alex Garcia Lopez helmed episodes 4 and 5, and Westworld director Hanelle Culpepper was behind the camera for episodes 6 and 8. Michael Abels, who worked on the Jordan Peele movies Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.

Cast

The Acolyte features a big cast, including some major stars like The Matrix’s Carie-Anne Moss and Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game. The character names have not been confirmed, but here’s what we know about the main cast so far.

Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give)Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game)Manny Jacinito (The Good Place)Dafne Keen (Logan)Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll)Jodie Turner-Smith (Without Remorse)Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna)Dean-Charles Chapman (1917)Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars series) Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix)

Release date

The Acolyte premieres June 4 on Disney+. The show will debut two episodes that day, with the remaining six to come in the weeks that follow.