One of Star Wars' new upcoming Disney+ shows, The Acolyte, recently took fans back longer ago in the galaxy far, far away than ever with brand-new footage from the series shown at Star Wars Celebration.
Star Wars has explored a number of different historical eras with its Disney+ shows over the last few years, filling in gaps from the Skywalker Saga with Obi-Wan Kenobi and prefacing Rogue One's events in the first season of Andor.
Now, the intergalactic saga is set to go back even further in the timeline to the High Republic Era. This is a time in Star Wars history that's been extensively detailed in its own book series, although it's never been explored in any of the movies or Disney+ shows that make up the story on screen.
And after Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures took the first opportunity to dive into the High Republic era in animated fashion, the time is almost here to see what that time period looks like in a live-action adventure.
The Acolyte Trailer Expands Star Wars Timeline
Lucasfilm and Disney shared the first official footage from The Acolyte, which is currently set to arrive on Disney+ sometime in 2024.
At Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy unveiled a timeline that Star Wars projects, past, present, and future, would fit squarely into. With the reveal of The Acolyte footage, the studio has taken its first steps in expanding the timeline of the galaxy far, far away in live-action by visiting the High Republic era.
This footage shows a story set a full century before the events of 1999's Episode I: The Phantom Menace, making Star Wars history by presenting the earliest story that's ever been shown in the Star Wars timeline in a live-action project.
Scripps News' Clayton Sandell celebrated the "Jedi lightsaber and martial arts action" from the footage shown at Star Wars Celebration while confirming The Acolyte's place in the timeline:
"The Acolyte looks INCREDIBLE. Lots of Jedi lightsaber and martial arts action. It’s the earliest era we’ve seen on screen but looks and feels very Star Wars."
Collider also reported on the trailer, which featured Squid Games' Lee Jung-Jae as a Jedi Master passing his teachings on to a group of younglings.
The Hunger Games' Amandla Stenberg and Jessica Jones' Carrie-Anne Moss were also seen as a masked warrior and Jedi knight, respectively, with the footage teasing a conflict rising in an otherwise peaceful era as the two traded blows in a dingy bar. Stenberg's ninja-like character forgoes the use of a lightsaber, oddly enough, using a dagger to try to assassinate Moss' Jedi.
Despite taking place so far in the past, familiar locations haven't been forgotten. Coruscant was heavily featured in the trailer according to a description from Screenrant, the location of the Jedi Temple.
New locales are also shown off. Bespin Bulletin noted that Charlie Barnett and other Jedi can be seen scaling a snowy mountain as a blizzard billows down.
The First of New Timeline Expansions for Star Wars
Disney+ continues to push the boundaries of where Star Wars can go with The Acolyte, setting the story in an era that's never been touched on the big or small screen before in live-action.
And considering how widely-popular the High Republic book series has been in recent years, now feels like the perfect time to dive into this time period for the general viewing public.
On top of making history from a timeline perspective, The Acolyte will also be the first Star Wars project to center on the Sith perspective, highlighting the early days of the Jedi/Sith tussle across the galaxy.
And with this series finding unique ways to tie back to everything that's already been seen in other eras, it will hopefully be only the start for Star Wars in terms of pushing the boundaries of the timeline.
The Acolyte is set to debut on Disney+ sometime in 2024.
