Star Wars: The Acolyte Trailer Has an Original Trilogy Connection

Star Wars: The Acolyte has a sneaky tie to the original trilogy. Lucasfilm dropped the first trailer for The Acolyte on hungry Star Wars fans this afternoon. In the clip, a Jedi master teaches some young Padawans a lesson that will be very familiar for longtime fans. Back in Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi teaches Luke Skywalker "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them." The training montages and exercises have popped up in multiple Star Wars spinoffs and sequels over the years. Apparently, this core teaching goes all the way back to The High Republic, if not further.  

Back in A New Hope, Kenobi begins, "I suggest you try it again Luke. This time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct." Skywalker asks how he's supposed to fight with the blast shield down. Obi-Wa continues, "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them." It's a clever way to both nod back at continuity and show how integral this lesson is across very different Jedi  upbringings. Check out the trailer for yourself up above!

What's Different About Star Wars: The Acolyte?

When footage of Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered at Star Wars Celebration, a lot of the attendees couldn't shake the different feel of the series. As this Disney+ show is set at the dusk of the High Republic era, this is a new step for live-action Star Wars. Leslye Headland is the series creator and told Dagobah Dispatch why they chose to go in this direction.

"The Acolyte stands out because it is the earliest in the Star Wars timeline that we have ever been in live-action," Headland shared. "We are toward the end of the High Republic, leading into George's prequels, so we are looking at a time period where the Jedi are at the height of their power."

"I think that what makes this show different and interesting is that it's from the perspective of the villains of Star Wars," Headland added. "These are people who are using the Force in their own way, dipping into the darker sides of the Force and are doing it without being sanctioned by the larger institution, which, in this case, is the Jedi."

"Star Wars is always about some version of the underdog versus the institution," mused Headland. "And I just thought it was very interesting to do a show about the bad guys and to set that during that time period made the most sense. So it's kind of almost flipped. We have more Jedi than you've seen in any of the of the Star Wars content, but at the same time, you see more morally ambiguous characters than you've seen in other Star Wars content."

What Is The Acolyte About?

Here's how Lucasfilm describes the series: "In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…."

The 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. The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers; Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim, and Rob Bredow are producing.

Are you excited for this series? Let us know down in the comments!