Let’s Talk About ‘The Acolyte’

There are several factors that have gone into the current state of Star Wars as it rests under the Disney umbrella, and while not all of them have led to something positive, it’s difficult to argue that the overall effect hasn’t been successful. The Acolyte is shaping up to be another interesting chapter in the Star Wars saga as it continues to expand in more than one direction. Focused on a Sith acolyte by the name of Aura, or so the rumors are saying at the moment, this show will be set in the final days of the High Republic, meaning that things are finally being pushed back beyond the original trilogy and the prequels to show something other than what people have known for so long. One can expect to see a lot of new characters, Sith and Jedi alike, especially since apart from the more long-lived characters in the story, many individuals don’t have a lifespan of more than a century or less. That might bring up thoughts of seeing Yoda during this show, even if it is briefly, but it doesn’t sound as though any such mention has been revealed yet. 

At this time it does feel that those who are coming up with these new stories are pulling away from what’s already well-known in order to give people something else to look at and new characters to enjoy. With any well-known franchise that’s a bit of a risk since it’s asking the fans to invest in a character that they don’t know and haven’t seen before versus those that they’ve known for years. But one has to recall that at one point, many of the characters that people have taken the time to understand and come to appreciate were new and absolutely unknown. So, in other words, introducing new characters in familiar ways, such as reinvigorating the battle between the Sith and the Jedi in new and innovative ways, is bound to ease the transition just a bit. 

Plus, it would appear that this show will focus on the difficulties of being Force-sensitive and desiring to follow one’s chosen path to become the best that the main character can be while perhaps struggling with the light and dark side tendencies that are often seen to war with one another in such a situation. This is one of the many moments when it feels as though the moment that more information is released that many will sit back and realize that things weren’t bound to go as they’d hoped, or they’ll lean forward with greater interest as they get hooked on yet another Star Wars story that will hopefully be a great addition to the franchise and not another online debate waiting to happen. When it comes to anything that Lucasfilm has put out since being bought up by Disney it’s been hit or miss for the most part since despite making money, the sequel trilogy still managed to garner a lot of hate from people that didn’t want to see their heroes changed so much and the galaxy they’d been reading about for so long to be changed in such a dramatic way. It’s true that change is necessary to push an idea forward, but when it comes at the expense of what made the franchise popular in the first place it does feel as though the Mouse House dropped the ball a bit. 

Getting past that, however, it’s fair to say that they’ve hit it big with other projects such as The Mandalorian and even Visions as they continue to plot and plan the course of the Star Wars franchise moving forward. At this point, one has to wonder how far back they’re going to go and what the future will hold for the movies and shows that will be pushing the story forward. But there’s still a great deal of lore that’s been created over the years that people are wanting to see. Whether the Mouse House will make this happen or not is tough to say since the Legends canon has been picked at more than once despite the fact that it’s been made clear that Legends is not the canon that Disney is working from. 

The Acolyte could be the start of something great as the franchise leans into the past, but it’s a big hope that we’ll get to see more and more as time goes on and those in charge hopefully find a way to create stories that are recognized by fans and embraced by those that love the visual representation. Star Wars still has a lot of room left to grow considering that within the galaxy the story occupies there’s still plenty of space for new discoveries. In terms of the Sith and Jedi, there are quite a few stories to be told as of yet and a lot of material that can help bring them to life.