Plenty of comics and novels have been set in the so-called “High Republic” era of Star Wars, the century-plus before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace when, supposedly, things were awesome for the Jedi and the Sith were basically nonexistent. But to date, those events have only been alluded to onscreen. If you’re not the kind of Star Wars fan who really goes hard into the ancillary literature, you’ve barely experienced the High Republic.
That will change with the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte from Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland. The show, which is currently in development at Lucasfilm, will be the first set in that High Republic era. According to Headland in an interview with Vanity Fair, the show is primarily a mystery where the key questions being asked are: “Are things what they seem to be? Are things as good as everybody’s saying they are? That’s the big question of any society that has these big booming periods.”
The show is set roughly 100 years before The Phantom Menace where Headland will seek to explain how the Star Wars galaxy got to the point in that movie where one ambitious evildoer could destroy the entire Republic.
How did we get to where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? What went wrong? What are the scenarios that led us to this moment? So that’s what I would say. That’s how I would describe it to my friends, especially my non-Star Wars friends.
The show will apparently “explore Star Wars from the perspective of the bad guys.” And because it is set in this era where the bad guys basically don’t exist, they become “the underdogs” in the story. Are you ready to root for the Sith?
It does sound like an intriguing concept. The Acolyte doesn’t have a confirmed release date — it doesn’t even have an announced cast yet — but it will premiere in the future on Disney+.
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