Star Wars: The Acolyte: Is That a Sith in the Trailer?

Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s new trailer has fans asking if that’s a Sith in the clip from the Disney+ series. The entire premise of the upcoming Star Wars show is that there’s someone out there hunting Jedi. In other stories, this would obviously be a Sith. However, Star Wars: The Acolyte is set during The High Republic era. That means, the Sith are nowhere near a normal sight for the valiant Jedi Knights that are still riding high on their power during this era. However, as fans are well aware, The High Republic comes to an end and the stories moves onward. So, it could be a Sith, but also might be something else entirely.

During an interview with StarWars.com, series creator Leslye Headland talked about the idea of the Sith being more legend than reality in The High Republic. It was like a stated goal for this story to feel separate from stuff like the Prequel Trilogy. In fact, the looming threat of the Sith is just that, a myth to tell the Padawans. She likens encountering a Dark Side user to being “as likely as encountering a velociraptor.”

“I was so interested in a storyline where the Jedi were at the height of their power — and I don’t mean The Phantom Menace, because at that point, there’s a Sith Lord in the Senate that they’re not picking up on.” Headland observed. “Like it’s a thing I’ve heard of, but it’s not a thing that you would ever consider you’d be interacting with.”

What’s The Deal With The Red Lightsaber?

The other obvious point of discussion among Star Wars fans is that telltale red lightsaber. Usually a calling card for a Sith, the use of blade color has always been a hot topic of conversation. The waters have been muddied a bit by characters like Baylan Skool in Ahsoka. He’s not a Sith, but the hue of his blade can seem like that blood red if you’re not paying attention. Maybe something similar is going on with The Acolyte‘s mystery assassin. 

Star Wars braintrust member Dave Filoni teased that the orange was a bit more complicated than the red Sith sabers. Talking to ScreenRant, he laid out the case to understand Skoll a bit differently than most antagonists you would come into contact with in this universe.

“That was very intentional,” he said when asked about the color. “I didn’t make them like just a stark red. I remember as a kid that Vader’s lightsaber kind of fluctuated from visual effects to visual effects, being a little bit more orange. I didn’t want to go like straight up orange, but it’s identifying a little bit of something, maybe to kids, that they might not straight up be what you think they are in the beginning.”

What Is Coming With The Acolyte?

Here’s how Lucasfilm describes the series: “In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….”

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers; Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim, and Rob Bredow are producing.

Do you think there’s a Sith roaming about? Let us know down in the comments!