This morning Lucasfilm dropped the first trailer for its new live-action Disney+ series Star Wars: The Acolyte, so once again it’s time to break it down shot-by-shot and see what we can find.
Note: The Acolyte is set at the end of The High Republic era (centuries prior to the events of the prequel trilogy), which has previously only been depicted in publishing and other ancillary Star Wars media.
Shot #1: The trailer opens in the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant, which at this point in the Star Wars timeline is the capital of the Republic. Two Younglings sit cross-legged on the floor– one is a member of the Tarsunt species (first seen on-screen in 2015’s The Force Awakens) and the other is human.
Off-screen dialogue: “Close your eyes.”
Shot #2: We fade in on another human Youngling, and the legs of a cloaked Jedi Master walk past her. This is Sol, played by Korean actor Lee Jung-jae (best known for Hunt).
Sol: “Your eyes…”
Shot #3: Another human female Youngling, with more seated in the background. Sol walks past again.
Sol: “…can deceive you.”
Shot #4: Yet another Youngling sitting in on the lesson. It should be noted that Sol’s words here echo a line spoken by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (as played by Sir Alec Guinness) in the original Star Wars film.
Sol: “We must not trust them.”
Shot #5: We cut to a different, more verdant planet as a purple-cloaked figure approaches an arch. This structure resembles Star Wars architecture we’ve seen before, both in Ralph McQuarrie concept art and in movies like The Force Awakens.
Shot #6: The same hooded figure hurries through a bustling marketplace.
Shot #7: Back to Coruscant, where we finally see Sol in full, standing over the group of Younglings. Outside through the windows we see the towering spires of the city-planet.
Sol: “Tell me what comes into your mind.”
Shot #8: A male Youngling meditates.
Shot #9: We return to the other planet as the purple-cloaked figure enters in through the door of what looks to be a seedy cantina-like establishment.
Shot #10: We see the patrons of this bar or restaurant. A server droid delivers bowls to a variety of aliens, none of which I recognize as identifiable species.
Shot #11: Coruscant again, only this time behind the Younglings stands Mirialan Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh (played by series creator Leslye Headland’s wife Rebecca Henderson from Russian Doll). Vernestra has been a key player in the Star Wars: The High Republic novels since that series launched in 2021, though those stories began when the character was much younger.
Youngling 1: “Life.”
Shot #12: From behind, the hooded figure approaches a table at the back of the dining establishment.
Youngling 2: “Balance.”
Shot #13: More Younglings. I don’t believe the species on the right has appeared in Star Wars previously.
Youngling 3: “I see fire.”
Shot #14: At a booth in the restaurant, we are introduced to the character of Jedi Master Indara, played by actress Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix). She turns her head to look at the approaching figure.
Shot #15: The action begins, with Indara battling the cloaked figure, who has been revealed to be Mae (Amandla Stenberg from The Hunger Games), in hand-to-hand combat. The fight choreography here is reminiscent of what we saw Moss capable of executing in The Matrix franchise. Mae appears to wield two small blades.
Shot #16: Using the Force, Indara pushes Mae across the floor of the restaurant, or maybe a storage room in the back of the establishment.
Shot #17: Mae grinds to a halt, breathing heavily and still wielding her blades, and stares back at Indara as light streams in through the slatted windows.
Title Card #1: “THIS JUNE”
Shot #18: Another cloaked figure, possibly also Mae, approaches a white-robed Jedi from behind in a dark alleyway.
Off-screen dialogue (identified as Yord): “Someone is killing Jedi.”
Shot #19: The cloaked figure strikes. It sure looks like this is Mae.
Shot #20: Two Jedi, the human Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett from Men In Black 3) and the Theelin Jecki Lon (Logan’s Dafne Keen) venture into a cave as Yord ignites his yellow-bladed lightsaber.
Shot #21: A medium shot of Yord standing among trees in a foggy forest.
Yord: “It doesn’t make sense.”
Shot #22: A group of robed Jedi stand on a grassy hill and look out over what is probably that same forest from the previous shot. They have a camp set up next to them.
Shot #23: Lucasfilm has identified this character as the Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca (played by Joonas Suotamo, who also portrayed Chewbacca in recent Star Wars films like Solo and The Rise of Skywalker). But I still have a sneaking suspicion it might actually be Burryaga, who is a Wookiee Jedi featured in The High Republic books and comics. It’s been established that Wookiees are long-lived enough that Burryaga’s presence at this point would make sense. Regardless, he’s in the forest as well.
Shot #24: In an interior space, Sol uses a Jedi mind trick by waving his hand.
Shot #25: The actor playing the target of the mind trick looks familiar, but I can’t quite place him. He doesn’t look happy.
Shot #26: Follow-through on the Jedi mind trick.
Sol: “What happened?”
Shot #27: A small aircraft approaches an island or peninsula with some ruins on it.
Off-screen dialogue, identified as Convict: “I sensed darkness.”
Shot #28: Here we have another fight scene, this time between Mae and Sol. Looks like they are in an exterior space in a settlement at nighttime.
Shot #29: Mae does a cool flip.
Shot #30: Sol catches her boot before it hits his face.
Shot #31: Similar to her fight with Indara earlier, Mae seems temporarily stunned by the Jedi’s abilities.
Shot #32: In another cool move, Mae spins away from Sol’s grip.
Title Card #2: “IN AN AGE OF LIGHT”
Shot #33: Vernestra uses the Force to open a sliding door, presumably also in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Other Jedi walk by in the background.
Shot #34: This is Qimir, played by The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto. Lucasfilm describes this character as a former smuggler, and here he can be seen hiding in an alcove.
Shot #35: A group of Jedi, including Kelnacca, Sol, and Indara, gather around someone who looks to be taller than all of them, which is interesting considering one of the Jedi is a Wookiee. This also appears to be the same nighttime settlement as the above fight scene.
Title Card #3: “A DARKNESS RISES”
Shot #36: More of the fight between Indara and Mae. The former uses the Force to stop the latter’s blade. We get a slightly better look at their surroundings.
Shot #37: A closeup on Indara’s hand.
Shot #38: And the reverse on Mae’s blade. It looks like there is a bar behind her.
Shot #39: This is pretty interesting. Lucasfilm identifies this character as Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith from Queen & Slim) and describes her as “the leader of a coven of witches.” There’s no indication as to whether these witches are connected to the Dathomiran Nightsisters.
Aniseya: “This isn’t about good or bad.”
Shot #40: This looks like it might be a flashback to Mae’s youth, as she runs through a burning forest.
Shot #41: We get a slightly better look at Mae’s outfit here, which is very different from what she’s wearing in other scenes, in a wider shot.
Shot #42: A ship crash-lands on an icy planet. It looks similar to the one we saw approaching the island earlier in the trailer.
Shot #43: Sol, Jecki, and Yord race toward the crashing ship as snow falls around them, though that could be misleading editing in this case.
Shot #44: Aniseya is inside a structure speaking to someone off-screen. We get a good look at her face tattoos.
Aniseya: “This is about power…”
Shot #45: Mae stares at the camera while standing in front of a cove, probably on the same planet as the island above.
Aniseya: “…and who is allowed to use it.”
Shot #46: This looks like it might be Mae in the foreground now, as she steps into frame while a figure stands in silhouette in the background, their image reflected in the water below. Now this planet is giving me major Ahch-To vibes. I like this shot a lot.
Shot #47: Fade in on Yord and Jecki, with another unidentified Jedi standing to the left. There are lights behind them, but otherwise it’s hard to tell where they are because it’s so dark.
Jecki: “What is that?”
Shot #48: A red-bladed lightsaber cuts through the darkness, slicing through trees as it spins. This is significant because the Sith (whose sabers tend to be red due to their corrupted Kyber crystals) are supposed to be extinct during this period of the Star Wars timeline, or at least so the Jedi Order believes.
Shot #49: A cloaked hand grabs the lightsaber. We do not see who the hand or weapon belong to.
Shot #50: Sol reacts by igniting his blue-bladed lightsaber. Another unnamed Jedi stands to the right.
Shot #51: A row of Jedi follow suit in igniting their lightsabers, which vary in color from blue to green to yellow, as the camera dollies past them.
Shot #52: The Jedi charge to the right of the frame.
Shot #53: The entire group of rushing Jedi are pushed back by the Force, accompanied by a large cloud of dust.
Shot #54: From behind, one of the Jedi flies haphazardly through the dust cloud and directly into the camera. In the background we see the red lightsaber again, though the dust obscures whoever is holding it.
Title Card #4: “STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE – TWO EPISODE PREMIERE – JUNE 4″
Title Card #5: The Disney+ logo.
The first two episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte will premiere on Tuesday, June 4th, exclusively via Disney+.