The Acolyte Just Looks…Boring

Why is this even a show? The brand-new Star Wars show, The Acolyte, just released its first trailer today, and I have to say that it looks REALLY, REALLY boring.

I fear this show is going to seriously mess with the pre-Episode 1 canon.

In what really could be a VERY fascinating time period to center a story, the pre-Skywalker saga Star Wars period seems to have been given a boring, lifeless adaptation in The Acolyte as the new trailer didn’t look all that great. And, I hate to crap on productions before they come out, but this one really doesn’t look like a good show.

What a waste this show is going to be.

So, like I said, the idea of centering a story 100 or so years before the events of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, which is commonly known as the late High Republic days in the Star Wars universe, is truly a fascinating idea as the formation of the new Sith Empire that Palpatine would bring about in Ep. 3, the discontent of the Galactic Republic and the conflicting worlds within it, and the decaying powers and control of the Jedi all offer compelling story ideas.

Moreover, there’s a plethora of interesting characters, such as Palpatine, Yoda, Darth Plagueis, Plo Koon, and even Darth Tenebrous if one goes back far enough, to draw inspiration from and formulate plots around. And, of course, the many, many, many alien and interesting worlds of the Star Wars galaxy exists and thrives within this era, and perhaps even more so than during the Clone Wars and Empire years.

So why am I complaining about the trailer for The Acolyte?

Well, first off, the show just looks boring. I understand this was only the teaser trailer and more highlights of the plot and characters will be on the way, but I don’t think Disney could have made a more lackluster and uninspiring trailer. I mean, what is the thrilling mystery and focal point behind this show? That Jedi are being murdered?

Not to sound cruel or crass here, but what else is new? This is Star Wars after all…and the Jedi are perhaps the most integral and intervening guild of any group in the Star Wars universe. Of course, there’s going to be assassination attempts on them as A LOT of people and creature do not wish for Jedi intervention in their nefarious plots and schemes (ex: like the Sith and criminal underworld).

So, mixed with the questionable looking set designs, costumes, alien designs (man, a few of those aliens looked AWFUL), and fight choreography, I don’t have much hope this show will be any more narratively intriguing than the Book of Boba Fett or as visually stunning as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Yeah…not great comparisons.

But the worst thing I picked up on in this trailer is not the seemingly cheap set and costume designs, but rather the huge canon discrepancies this show will bring.

As I said, this show is set to take place 100 years BEFORE The Phantom Menace…which took place in the year 32 BBY in the Star Wars universe. For reference, BBY refers to the Battle of Yavin in Episode 4 (when the Death Star gets blown up) to usher in the ABY system (after the Battle of Yavin).

Anyway, 100 years prior to The Phantom Menace will leave us in the year 132 BBY and REALLY EARLY in the timeline Darth Plagueis’ plan to overthrow the Jedi Order, recruit Palpatine, create a new Sith Empire, and to achieve immortality. As in he’s either not born yet (if his birthdate of 120 BBY is correct) or a teenager (if his birthdate of 147 BBY is correct) by the start of this show.

Assuming the show will go with the older birthdate, what’s the issue? Well, the Sith lord we saw in the trailer had a human hand…and Darth Plagueis was most certainly NOT a human. He was a Muun.

It’s true Muuns lived longer than humans and most likely into their 125’s-50’s or so, but would Darth Plagueis, the man known for his secrecy and patience, really go around and murder Jedi before he even enacted a tenth of his grand plan? I don’t think so.

And, with the hand being that of a human, the Sith lord in the trailer is clearly not Plagueis.

So, it must be Palpatine then, right? Unfortunately, no, as Palpatine was not born until the year 82 BBY and did not meet Darth Plagueis until the year 65 BBY…which is a full 70 or so years AFTER The Acolyte begins. How can either one of them be The Acolyte if one if not born and the other is not the human show in the trailer?

I guess it must be Darth Tenebrous, the master of Plagueis? Uh…no for he not only died in the year 67 BBY (70 years later), but he also was not a human. He was a Bith.

Who is this mysterious Sith figure then? Well, I don’t know…and that’s a major issue for a major reason why Palpatine’s plan worked so well was due to the fact the Jedi thought the Sith were extinct and posed not real threat. In fact, Qui-Gon Jin fighting Darth Maul in Episode 1 was the first sighting of a Sith Lord since the destruction of the Sith Empire thousands of years earlier as Plagueis and Tenebrous were unknown to the Jedi!

Would Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi, really not remember a Sith lord going around and killing Jedi just a hundred years prior to Darth Maul’s arrival on the scene? And would he really think Maul and his master were a one-off Sith sighting when the order fought against Sith a hundred years prior in The Acolyte.

Do you see what I mean with how this series is going to break the canon? It makes the Jedi look INCREDIBLY STUPID!

This show better be the best Star Wars production under Disney to justify its existence.

Images Source: Featured Image: (Disney/Star Wars) (The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+ (youtube.com))

In Text Image 1: (Disney/Star Wars) (The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+ (youtube.com))

In Text Image 2: (Disney/Star Wars) (The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+ (youtube.com))