By George & Josh Bate
The highly anticipated trailer for the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte has finally debuted! The official trailer features all sorts of easter eggs and hidden details that will surely excite Star Wars. In addition, StarWars.com has released a Databank describing the different characters of The Acolyte. Here are all of the easter eggs, hidden details, and references we noticed in the trailer for The Acolyte.
For starters, check out the trailer below:
This Jedi Youngling is a Tarsunt. A particularly notable Tarsunt is Lanever Villecham, who served as chancellor of the New Republic until his death in the Hosnian Cataclysm as depicted in The Force Awakens.
Jedi Master Sol tells the Younglings, “Your eyes can deceive you.” This is what Ben Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker when training him to use the Force aboard the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope.
One of the Jedi Younglings notes that she sees “fire” when searching inward with the Force. It’s possible that this Jedi Youngling is a young version of Mae in a flashback. Mae is the lead character of the series played by Amandla Stenberg.
Jedi Master Sol is the character training these Younglings. He is described as “a wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master, strong in the ways of the Force, who is going through emotional conflict.” He is played by Lee Jung-jae, known for his role in Netflix’s Squid Game.
The star of the series is Amandla Stenberg, who plays Mae. According to StarWars.com, “Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.” Stenberg previously starred in the fantastic murder mystery comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies.
Carrie-Anne Moss will play Indara, “a Jedi Master of great physical and mental skill.” Moss is known for her role as Trinity in The Matrix films.
A voice in the trailer says, “Someone is killing Jedi.” This aligns with Lesyle Headland describing The Acolyte as a mystery series. The mystery likely involves the Jedi trying to uncover who is killing their own.
It appears that Jedi Master Plo Koon can be seen in this shot from the trailer. In Legends, Plo Koon was born over 400 years prior to the Battle of Yavin, so it would make sense if the Jedi appears in the show. Plo Koon notably appeared in the Star Wars prequels and The Clone Wars before perishing in Order 66.
Another Jedi in this trailer is Yord, “a Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple” and “an overachiever and a rule follower. His need to be a by-the-book Jedi can cloud his mind.” Yord is played by Charlie Barnett, who previously collaborated with showrunner Leslye Headland on the Netflix series Russian Doll.
Alongside Yord is Jecki, played by Logan’s Dafne Keen. Jecki is the Padawan apprentice to Master Sol and is described as young, calm, and conducting herself with maturity.
Joonas Suotamo returns to Star Wars as the Wookiee Jedi named Kelnacca. He is described as a “loner who lives a solitary life.” Suotamo made a grand appearance in-costume as Kelnacca at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023. Of course, Suotamo is known for playing Chewbacca in the sequel trilogy and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Rebecca Henderson plays Vernestra Rwoh in The Acolyte. Vern first appeared in Charles Soule’s novel The High Republic: Light of the Jedi and has since featured in various High Republic stories.
Top Gun: Maverick’s Manny Jacinto plays Qimir, a “a former smuggler who now makes his living as a trader, procuring unusual things and enjoying a life of leisure.”
This shot appears to be a flashback given the different look of Master Sol. On the right, you can spot Dean-Charles Chapman as a Jedi. Chapman is known for playing Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones and Billy Elliot in a West End theatre production.
Carrie-Anne Moss’ Indara blocks an incoming knife attack from Amandla Stenberg’s Mae using the Force. This block is reminiscent of a move used by Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker.
Jodie Turner-Smith plays Mother Aniseya, who is described as “the leader of a coven of Witches who value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers.” Nightsisters like Mother Talzin and Asajj Ventress are known witches in the Star Wars universe. It is possible mother Aniseya is also a Nightsister.
We may be mistaken, but it looks like Mae and a mysterious cloaked figure are on the planet Ahch-To in this shot of the trailer. Ahch-To is the site of the first Jedi Temple shown in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
An unknown character wields a red lightsaber in the trailer. Given that in the prequels the Sith have not been seen for centuries, it is unlikely that this character is a Sith lord. However, the red blade definitely indicates that they are of the dark side of the Force.
The footage shown last year at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 featured another shot from this scene in which the camera faces forward toward the line of Jedi all igniting their lightsabers.
The Acolyte will premiere on Tuesdays (like Ahsoka) rather than Wednesdays (like The Bad Batch). Hopefully, this means the episodes debut on Tuesday nights. Also seen here is the updated logo for The Acolyte, which is different from the reveal logo during Disney Investor Day in 2020 (seen below).
StarWars.com confirmed that The Acolyte will feature 8 episodes. Headland directed the premiere episodes (episodes 101 and 102). Director Kogonada helmed episodes 103 and 107. Alex Garcia Lopez directed episodes 104 and 105. Hanelle Culpepper directed episodes 106 and 108. Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, composed the score for the show.
In addition to the trailer, new key art for the show was revealed and can be seen below.
The Acolyte premieres June 4 on Disney+. Stay tuned to Star Wars Holocron and The HoloFiles for continued coverage of the new Star Wars series.