The Star Wars Disney+ shows should be unique and fascinating explorations of the massive open universe of the film franchise. That was, presumably, the goal. Movies are more expensive, giving them an expectation of prestige. The shows can exist in another space, but Disney has rarely used that power. Andor aside, Star Wars shows have been even more risk-averse than the films in many cases. The Acolyte looks like something new, providing a new space to play in the galaxy far far away.
Live-action Star Wars shows suffer the same problems as their big-screen comrades. They exist primarily to sell Disney+ subscriptions, which is a questionable business model. Disney has an unusual path to streaming success. Services like Netflix have to crank out new IP to guarantee long-term support. Disney came equipped with several massive entertainment empires, leaving only the question of execution. Disney routinely struggles with its shows, but a touch of experimentation could fix that.
The Acolyte bends and introduces genres
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Creator |
Leslye Headland |
|---|---|
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Stars |
Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen |
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Release Date |
June 4th, 2024 |
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Episodes |
8 |
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Streaming On |
Disney+ |
The Acolyte takes place a century before the events of The Phantom Menace. Despite the ostensible eons of time Star Wars could explore, the first prequel remains the earliest period in its timeline to date. This new series will be the first on-screen exploration of the High Republic Era. Its place in the timeline is far from the only deviation from the norm. The Acolyte is a crime drama taking inspiration from martial arts movies. While many previous Star Wars projects featured elements of mystery or crime, none have locked down that genre. The Acolyte follows a Jedi Master as he struggles to solve a series of high-profile murders. The culprit, he’ll discover, is his former Padawan. While the overarching plot will involve investigation and discovery, the immediate conflicts are stripped down and direct. The trailers reveal several hand-to-hand fight scenes that feel unique in the Star Wars franchise.
Creator and showrunner Leslye Headland cites several sources of inspiration. Perhaps the most interesting example is Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon. The 1950 samurai drama popularized the idea of covering a single event from several perspectives, unpacking a narrative through multiple unreliable narrators. This concept will likely appear in The Acolyte, where the central murders may take the place of the dead samurai. Headland also mentioned wuxia films by creators like King Hu and Shaw Brothers Studio. Wuxia exists outside the martial arts movie subgenre, but shares some similar elements. These points of inspiration deviate heavily from George Lucas’s usual source material. The original Star Wars films borrowed heavily from Kurosawa, but Rashomon is new to the franchise. Some argue that wuxia provides more of the franchise’s DNA than samurai movies, but more explicit references will impact the presentation. Changing the ingredients will change the resulting outcome.
Future Star Wars shows should play with genre
Many of the Disney+ Star Wars series struggled to differentiate themselves from the material fans have seen in the movies. Ostensibly, The Mandalorian is a western, The Book of Boba Fett is a crime drama, and Andor is a political thriller. Only Andor maintains any measurable element of its presumed genre. The Mandalorian once felt like a classic space western, leaning into the cowboy elements that inspired the original trilogy to create a new sense of adventure. Unfortunately, future seasons abandoned that unique direction to lean into the classic blend. The Book of Boba Fett barely maintained focus on its main character, let alone any expectation of genre trappings. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka leaned into familiar tropes, promising the most straightforward experience by delivering something inspired more by classic Star Wars than anything else. Star Wars can’t continue to exist as a reference to itself. It needs fresh blood.
Genres Star Wars should explore
Most current Star Wars projects remain quiet. It’s hard to say what’s coming next, aside from the second season of Andor and the Mandalorian and Grogu movie. They’ve got LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, a broad comedy miniseries designed to celebrate the collaboration between the sci-fi franchise and the beloved building toys. Skeleton Crew seems to be a coming-of-age story about young children falling into the Star Wars universe. These could be new frontiers, but there are so many other potential innovations. Star Wars could include a horror series on the level of something like American Horror Story. It could create war stories in a fictional universe. The franchise that gave the world The Empire Strikes Back can put together a science fiction rival to Game of Thrones. All it needs is a willingness to take risks and try new things.
The Acolyte isn’t out yet. The crew may have lied about their inspirations or lost everything special about the show in round after round of studio notes. If the show fails because it falls short of its ambitions, it will at least be a worthwhile lesson. If it fails because Disney took another interesting idea and hammered it into the same bland mess, it’s a suitable reason for all but the most devoted fans to stop tuning in. The Acolyte could lead worlds of new Star Wars shows to find something new to say in the galaxy far far away.
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