Star Wars Is Introducing A New Lightsaber That Breaks All The Rules
Summary
The Acolyteshowrunner Leslye Headland has revealed whether Yoda will be making a cameo appearance in the upcomingStar Warsprequel series, which takes place long before the events ofThe Phantom Menace.The Acolyte’s storyis set 100 years before George Lucas' prequel trilogy, pulling from the franchise’s High Republic era. This means many familiar characters from the prequels like Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi haven’t been born yet. The only character who was alive at that time was Yoda, a century younger than he’s ever been before.
Speaking withComicBook, however, Headland confirmed thatcharacters like Yoda will not be showing up inThe Acolyte.The showrunner said that, while having familiar faces in the series would be great, the show is only featuring characters unique to that part of the timeline. She also says charcters from the franchise’s expanded universe will also be featured. Check out what Headland had to say below:
Can you imagine? Can you imagine if they were like, ‘No problem, you can use Yoda. Not a big deal. Go for it.’ No, there is not… We are pulling characters from the High Republic and characters from EU, but that’s it.
The Acolyte Will Stand On Its Own Story, Not Cameos
The Prequel Series Won’t Need Familiar Faces To Tell Its Tale
Headland’s confirmation thatThe Acolytecastwon’t consist of any familiar faces from otherStar Warsshows and movies is a good sign for how the story is being approached.The show will follow Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) as he investigates the murder of another Jedi,learning the culprit may be his former Padawan, Osha (Amandla Stenberg). However, it also seems to be part of a much larger conspiracy, something that the show will no doubt be primarily focusing on throughout its eight episodes.
While the lack of familiar cameos may be slightly disappointing, it also gives the series an opportunity to carve its own place in theStar Warsuniverse. Even though familiar faces showing up in places likeThe MandalorianandAhsokahave been important for those series,forcingThe Acolyteto show off well-known characters for the sake of it just wouldn’t work.By standing on its original characters and unique story to draw audiences in, the show carves out a unique space within the franchise.
However,The Acolytetrailerstill has plenty of familiarStar Warsvisuals, such as lightsabers, ships flying across space, and unique planets with their own characters that can add to the story unfolding. While there won’t be any familiar faces in the upcoming series, the story and visuals cement it as an important part of the franchise. Given how much mystery still shrouds its story, though, it appears the full scope of its importance won’t be unveiled until after it comes out.
The Acolytebegins with its first two episodes on Disney+ on July 22, 2025.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
