'Star Wars: The Acolyte' Review: Before the Skywalkers, Mysteries Abound

Amandla Stenberg, Dafne Keen and Lee Jung-jae star in the swiftly entertaining series, created by Leslye Headland.

Now Streaming: The first two episodes, debuting tonight on Disney+, are secrets, as far as their narratives and character definitions, which flies in the face of established wisdom, but helps to make them feel bold in the Star Wars universe, which refuses to ossify completely. The first two episodes are also immediately involving and incredibly entertaining. 

Created by Leslye Headland, a playwright who served as a staff writer on the much-loved, much-missed (if little watched in general) Terriers before breaking out by writing and directing films that do not appear to be family-friendly (Bachelorette, 2012; Sleeping With Other People, 2015) and co-creating the fabulous, if not family-friendly, Russian Doll series for Netflix, Star Wars: The Acolyte is proof that long-established intellectual properties are often served best by fresh voices from unexpected places. 

Headland wrote and directed the first two episodes, which establish Osha (Amandla Stenberg) as a good and kind person during the so-called 'High Republic era,' taking place years before the Skywalker Saga, which launched with the so-called 'prequel trilogy.' Thus, we're talking about a prequel to the prequel (?!). (By the way. Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, a series of six animated shorts that I reviewed last year, is also set in 'High Republic era,' though a bit earlier in choronology than this show.) 

Alternatively, you can simply ignore the chronology and enjoy a thoughtful variation on familiar Star Wars and adjacent themes: good and evil, honorable conduct and horrible behavior, playful robots and aging technology, blasters and, oh, yes, lightsabers. 

Osha is accused of a crime that she did not commit, but why is everyone convinced that she was the perpetrator? She soon joins with Jedi master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), her former mentor; along with Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen), Sol's current young Padawan; and Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), a rather rigid Jedi Knight. They work together to help Osha clear her name, but also to solve the greater mystery behind why Osha was accused in the first place. 

Kogonada helmed the third episode and Alex Garcia Lopez the fourth, following Headeye's directing template of crisp, interpersonal battles that are easy to follow and character development that takes precedence over the action. 

One of the episodes, in which Jodie Turner-Smith plays the leader of a coven of witches, tempted me hit the fast-forward button, as I was afraid it was venturing too far into horror territory, which I personally avoid nowawadays. Upon reflection, though, it feels about equal to how the entire Star Wars universe defines The Force. 

Truly, it's a matter of how each viewer feels about such things, but since it doesn't appear to rely upon strictly supernatural things, I feel okay about it. But that's just me; please be aware that it exists in this series and may be a reason for some to avoid it entirely. 

The first two episodes debut tonight, but the first four episodes were made available for preview, and they are all terrific, pointing forward to a new direction for the Star Wars universe. New episodes will debut every Tuesday evening, concluding July 16. [Disney+]