Disney+ premiered this Tuesday, June 4 Star Wars: The Acolyte, the new live-action series set in the universe created by George Lucas. A universe that already spans six decades since it was born in 1977 with the film that was later renamed Episode IV: A New Hope.
Its history changed in 2012, when the American giant bought Lucasfilm in exchange for 4.05 billion dollars. Disney knew how to see the extraordinary strength (pun intended) that had the brand and the universe, and has since successfully exploded Star Wars with all types of commercial actions, especially audiovisual ones in the form of films and series. But curiously, he did not dare to do live action series, trusting his stories with actors and actresses only to the cinema.
His story changed again in 2019, when The Mandalorian It became his first live-action series. And the result was great, both for fans and non-fans of the saga: a series not so focused on the canon and the line of the films, with a new protagonist and not taken from the big screen, which allowed for expansion and learn more about the universe of Star Wars hosting classic cameos in turn.
The popular acclaim for The Mandalorian was absolute, and managed to convince the demanding fans of Star Wars. Disney was then encouraged to try series following two strategies: delving into already known characters from its wide universe (Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022 and Ahsoka in 2023) and creating new alternative stories (The Boba Fett book in 2021, emerged as a spin-off of The Mandalorianand Andor in 2022).
And although it is true that The Boba Fett book It was not a successful experiment, and in fact its last episodes seemed to become an extra half season of The Mandalorian to the rescue of fiction, so much The Mandalorian as Andor they marked the way: open the universe of Star Wars with new characters and stories that allow us to go beyond what is already known, especially from the movies. And that is the strategy from which Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Disney+ shows the trailer for ‘The Acolyte’, the new ‘Star Wars’ series with the protagonist of ‘The Squid Game’
Why the series is very important for Star Wars…
In its official synopsis, Star Wars: The Acolyte It is presented like this: “It’s a mystery thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the Era of the High Republic. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they face are more sinister than they could have ever imagined.
The new series is very important for the universe of Star Wars because it is set in the era of High Republicabout 100 years before the events narrated in the Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), being the first major audiovisual product that explores this era that until now had only been covered in novels and comics. In her, The Jedi live their period of maximum splendorwhen they have more power and while the Republic expands throughout the universe allowing a few years of peace and stability.
In other words, The Acolyte becomes the first story, either in series or movie form, in the Star Wars timeline, since all the others take place during the decline of the Republic, the assault on power of the Galactic Empire, the struggle of The Resistance, the achievement of the New Republic, or the threat of the First Order. But if you are not a fan of the saga, don’t worry: the context is minimally necessary, because The Acolyte is a differentiated series with its own entity.
…And why the saga is not important to watch ‘The Acolyte’
What in this case the creator and showrunner offers Leslie Headland (after success with the acclaimed series Russian doll / Russian Doll) is a police investigation series. It may sound strange, but it partially repeats the scheme of The Mandalorian, which is still a western that embraces other genres and styles, taking advantage of its nature of self-contained chapters, almost like a procedural. In The Acolytewe see Jedis investigating a wave of serial murders that directly affect their Order, based on that style of investigative police that embraces other genres such as action and drama, but this one with greater continuity in its chapters, not so self-contained like your model The Mandalorian.
The intention to mark their own story is represented, in broad strokes, by completely new protagonists in their universe: Amanda Stenberg is the most notable for a “double” role as Osha and Mae that allows the main plot to develop, and is accompanied by a team of Jedi led by Sol played by Lee Jung-jae (who, as Maestro, is difficult to recognize as the protagonist of The Squid Game), the knight Yord Fandar played by Charlie Barnett (who tries to earn merit before the master), and his padawan Jecki Lon, played by the Spanish-British actress Dafne Keen (and whose intelligence and self-confidence make her stand out). From the first moment, the adventures allow you to introduce more characters.
But in fine lines, The Acolyte wants above all set your own style. It makes it clear from the first scene, starring the actress Carrie-Ann Moss as the Jedi master Indara, who has already gone down in film history as Trinity in Matrix. With it, the saga seems to receive an unexpected tribute that marks a very palpable difference with the original line: Less lightsaber duels, and more slow-motion martial artsin the purest style of Matrix and his ‘bullet time’, although less pronounced, as was already seen in Blade and Blade II or as Zack Snyder has promoted in recent years. That first scene marks the intention of returning to this adventure of Star Wars less galactic and closer to kung fu, and reveals new Jedi abilities more linked to the art of meditation and introspection related to eastern cultures and traditions such as the samurai.
Disney not only “copies” the model of The Mandalorian to play it safe, but in The Acolyte We can also see profiles that sound familiar to us from other Star Wars movies and series: its protagonist osha She is a responsive former Padawan with a lot of personality, reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker. She is accompanied by a ‘pocket’ android named Pip which only she understands, which is reminiscent of R2-D2 or BB-8. And her mentor, Jedi Master Sol, is wise, understanding and compassionate as Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn or Obi-Wan Kenobi were. In his characters the content changes, but certainly not the content.
Disney confirms how to successfully expand its universe
To prepare this article, the first four episodes of this series composed by eight chapters of about 40 minutes. Despite having to introduce many characters and contexts, what stands out is the ability to ensure that at the end of its first installment we already know Osha and know what her links are with the Jedi, and above all that the family drama that serves as an explosion for the entire plot. Also so as not to hide the more political side of it, in a saga that has always been analyzed from that perspective of good and bad, left and right, which George Lucas recently spoke about at the Cannes festival as reported by elDiario.es.
The Acolyte comes to Disney+ as a new approach to the enormous universe of Star Warsand manages to expand those borders immersing ourselves in its intrigue like an investigative thriller. Provides a refreshing alternative and interesting that it will once again receive the approval of the fans, and that those not versed in the world created by George Lucas will be able to look at, although perhaps not with as much devotion as The Mandalorian for having a slower and more reflective pace typical of the investigations of its plot.
What is clear, after what has been demonstrated by The Mandalorian and Andorthe thing is Disney+ seems to have found the key to exploit Star Wars, which involves not so much delving into stories already partially known (as with Obi-Wan Kenobi and with Ahsoka, waiting for Lando) but to create them from a more remote point in his galaxy, as he will also do in the next Skeleton Crew that will arrive at the end of this year. Science has shown that our universe expands, and the Star Wars universe has also found how to do so successfully.
