Darkness rises in an age of light in first trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the Galactic Republic and its Jedi masters symbolized the epitome of enlightenment and peace. Then came the inevitable downfall and outbreak of war as the Sith, who embraced the Dark Side of the Force, came to power. Star Wars: The Acolyte is a forthcoming new series on Disney+ that will explore those final days of the Republic as the seeds of its destruction were sown—and the streaming platform just dropped the first trailer. The eight-episode series was created by Leslye Headland, who co-created Russian Doll with Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler. It's set at the end of the High Republic Era, about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace. Apparently Headland rather cheekily pitched The Acolyte as "Frozen meets Kill Bill," which is an intriguing combination. She drew on wuxia martial arts films for inspiration, much like George Lucas was originally inspired by Westerns and the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa. (Some spoilers for the prequel trilogy below.) Star Wars fans already know that the evil mastermind behind the demise of the Republic was Sheev Palpatine, but The Acolyte focuses on other Sith who came before him during the Republic's golden age of peace. Headland will be introducing new characters to add to the existing canon but is also cognizant that some fans might not be open to the new series. (For the record, she's okay with that, given the diverse breadth of Star Wars stories out there.) She specifically wanted to address a common fan complaint about certain plot elements of the films (especially Episodes I-III), namely how Yoda wouldn't sense Darth Sidious' rise to power or how Palpatine managed to infiltrate the Galactic Senate without a single Jedi noticing. In keeping with the visual style of the prequel trilogy, The Acolyte will sport a sleek-looking, advanced civilization look, before the inevitable decay in the wake of the Republic's collapse and establishment of the Empire. Per the official premise: