High Republic fans, your patience is about to pay off! Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres June 4th and Lucasfilm just released the first trailer from the series. So much in the trailer caught our eye, including the introduction of multiple new characters and several big-name actors.
Here are 5 spectacular moments that stood out from The Acolyte trailer.
1. Igniting of a red lightsaber
We've seen red lightsabers in Star Wars from the moment the franchise was born and know exactly what they represent. But in The Acolyte, this has a different meaning as it signals impending doom. Even though The Acolyte takes place about 100 years before The Phantom Menace, the events that led to the disintegration of the Jedi Order are already beginning to take shape. The dark side is looming in the shadows and the Jedi can't imagine how deep the rabbit hole goes! We'll also give this scene extra points for how well it was shot!
2. Carrie-Ann Moss as Master Indara
Speaking of the "rabbit hole," The Matrix's star, Carrie-Ann Moss, will be making her Star Wars debut in The Acolyte, where she plays a Jedi Master named Indara. Carrie-Ann is a big standout from the trailer and steals every scene, especially where she force-pushed her opponent. The actress is a perfect fit for the franchise and seems born to perform action scenes and the martial arts moves required by Jedi. We can't wait to see Carrie whipping out a lightsaber!
3. So many aliens!
The Acolyte trailer had so many alien characters! However, one in particular caught our eye. There's a shot of a character from the back, and the alien is someone from Master Plo Koon's species. Based on the timeline, it's hard to say if this is Master Plo himself or someone else, but it seems this person is a Jedi, too. Plo Koon was a humanoid from the Kel Dor species, and they normally lived to be 65 years old. However, those who used the force could live over 200 years old! We hope this is Ahsoka Tano's Master Plo so we can finally see his backstory.
4. Jodie Turner-Smith as Mother Aniseya
We're not saying that Mother Aniseya is a Nightsister, but she's someone very similar. According to the official character description, "Mother Aniseya is the leader of a coven of Witches who value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers." She might represent witches with different practices who have nothing to do with the Witches of Dathomir, but Mother Aniseya is an intriguing character who can sense the looming threat that the light versus dark conflict poses.
5. The Jedi fight together
The Acolyte trailer shows many Jedi and the moment all of them ignite their lightsabers simultaneously. This scene gave us major Star Wars prequel trilogy flashbacks. Holy Battle of Geonosis, it's great to see so many Jedi fighting together! As a franchise, Star Wars has been focusing on the era after the fall of the Jedi Order for a while now. So aside from the prequels and The Clone Wars, there aren't too many shows and movies that show us the Jedi in all their glory. The High Republic era, thankfully, takes place when the Jedi were many in number instead of the handful that were left after the fall of the Republic. We can't wait to see them fighting together while showcasing their different dueling styles.
The Acolyte will premiere on June 4th with two episodes, only on Disney+.