The Prophecy And in time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as : THE SON OF THE SUN. And he shall bring Balance to the Force. "Journal of the Whills, 3:12"
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LFL / Disney release the trailer for 'The Acolyte' TV show 31st March 2024
On the 19th of March, LFL and Disney released the trailer for the upcoming live-action TV show, 'The Acolyte'. Eagerly anticipated as wholly original content, this show is set at the end of the 'High Republic' era about one hundred years before Episode I : The Phantom Menace.
"An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…"
First impressions are almost that there's too much and it's unfocused.... however any footage is appreciated rather than none ! The imagery is certainly intriguing, with scenes across a variety of worlds, including Coruscant ; of the other planets, I wonder if we see Kaskyyyk, and possibly even Ilum ??
There is the ubiquitous dialogue of "not trusting your eyes", and seeing with the mind and the senses, with a padawan youngling revealing they see "fire". This is associated with a Jedi Master (idenitifed by SW.com as Indara) in a tavern on a simple 'medieval' (Outer Rim ?) world, who goes on to defend herself from a mysterious attacker named 'Mae', who is the show's anti-hero protagonist. We see her attack, and conceivably kill, another Jedi who appears to be in meditation (to the extent they don't defend themselves ?!).
Throughout we see martial arts style hand-to-hand skirmishes, and at this point I don't know if that's a good thing or not - yes, the Jedi were styled on the samurai and formal fencing, more than the culturally recent flashy hand/foot martial duelling, but Yoda's debuting acrobatics in Episode II : Attack of the Clones provides the substance of precedent.
Several shots in an urban jungle setting lead to the climactic showdown : a group of Jedi - Masters and padawans, and even a 'Temple Guardian' - are on the trail of the investigation. I wonder if the world will turn out to be Kashyyyk, since, by association, we then see a "loner" Wookiee Jedi, by the name of Kelnacca. We get a second glimpse of him in a further showdown with the group of Jedi... though the figures' appearances may suggest a flashback ?? In the setting of this face-off, we see an ornately dressed and bejewelled figure called 'Mother Aniseya', who, we are told is "the leader of a coven of Witches who value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers". This new character poses an intriguing statement, "This isn't about Good and Bad, this is about Power, and who is allowed to use it" ; is she referring to the heirarchy imposed by the established Jedi Order, or some other, Sithly, organisation ? In addition, there is a shot of an unmasked Mae approaching a black-clad silhouetted figure, seen from behind, on a coastline.... which equally makes one recall Ahch-To from the Sequel Trilogy !
Other tantalising scenes show Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh, introduced in LFL print media, now making a live-action debut, and a trader-smuggler espying unfolding events ; Jedi Master Sol apparently interrogating someone with the Force ; and him and the Temple Guardian running in a snowy rocky terrain, along with a shot of a spaceship (Sol's ?) crash-landing in the aforementioned landscape ; this ship is seen earlier approaching a castle settlement on a cliff top coastline.
And then the closing shots of a thrown red lightsabre surprising the Jedi group, who, as they ignite their swords (blue, green, orange blade colours) to retaliate, are blown back by an immensely powerful Force-push !
Exciting and tantalising, and I can't wait to see another trailer, but it does feel more like a splattering of imagery than a focused thematic message introducing the core of The Acolyte.
As I did with the progression of the Virtual Edition Episode X, I will post below sections of the prose for Episode XI as I draft it....
The P-Wing banked sharply, and began to descend. The rolling grassland stretched for miles all about the ship, a line of hills leading to mountains on the northern horizon, a meandering river flowing from east to west in the distance, culminating in the tell-tale misty cloud marking a waterfall at the distinctively unique world-edge. The swaying of the tall grasses became more agitated as the ship lowered. Not too far away, on a slightly rise, stood a stone circle, with a single towering monolith in its centre. From the cockpit Luke could discern the vague shapes of carved figures in the upper halves of the surrounding stones, all facing inwards, but worn to obscurity by the natural forces of erosion. The purple and violet sky above was flecked with pink cloud, a splatter of streaking high cirrus and lower fluffy cumulus.
The ship settled upon the grasses, and the landing gear auto-compensated for the uneven terrain. The boarding ramp lowered and the egress hatch slid open, revealing Luke stood with his hands on his hips, eyes closed, soaking in the sensations of the new world afforded to him by the Force.
Vibrant. Teeming. Breathing. Safe. Natural. A balanced eco-system. One of the galaxy’s many hidden jewels.
No sense of immediate danger or threat.
Empty of a sentient civilisation... but there seemed to be something... on the edge of perception... a faint echo... old... older, ancient...
Luke opened his eyes, and visually scanned the vista before him : the standing stones, with their carved upper halves ; the grasses swaying gently in the breeze ; a slow moving river, its source hills and mountains in the distance. The trill of bird song came to him, and he was aware of small brightly coloured birds fluttering amongst the tall grasses. A cluster of earth mounds lay between the stone circle and the river leading back towards the hills, and Luke could discern the edges of boulders poking out from the grasses at the feet of the mounds.
A whistle and a beep behind him betrayed an excited and intrigued Artoo. Threepio appeared soon after, his arms flapping in agitation.
“Now, how many times have I told you, Artoo, not every new planet is friendly and welcoming ! It may lead to another adventure, and I for one much prefer the familiar and above all civilised surroundings of an advanced society !”
Luke smiled to himself, and said, “It’s fine, Threepio, I sense no immediate danger. Let’s go and check out those stones. After all, it’s what we came here to do.”
“Yes, Master Luke, of course. Come along Artoo, we’ll need your scanners and my cultural records.”
The three disembarked, and made their way across to the rise upon which the tall stones had been planted.
As they approached, the enormity of the stones became apparent. Towering above, the weathered carvings began to reveal torsos and faces, some looking inward, others looking upward or to the side. The central stone appeared to be unadorned of carvings. The outer circle of stones were approximately four metres in height, while the inner one presided at over five metres.
As Luke stepped closer, he was aware of a subtle movement in the grasses near the base of the stones.
Small mammals and rodents appeared to march in a line from the earth mounds beyond, then describe a line clockwise around the base of the outer stones. At each monolith, one by one they would pause, drop back on to their rear haunches, stretch up, and rub their small paws over the lichen-free stone. After a few seconds of dedicated cleaning, the creature would return to its normal four-legged posture, and then move on to the next stone, repeating the rubbing actions. Once all the outer circle had been attended and they had completed their actions at the last stone, all the creatures then retreated into the undergrowth back towards the mounds. The line was a continuous motion, and, from what Luke could see and sense, near the mounds the creatures broke away and radiated off to wherever they needed to go – their burrows, hunting for food, whatever.
The Jedi Grand Master paused near one monolith and crouched down to peer at the animals as they intently went about their dedication. As far as he could tell, their eyes were yellow. He shivered with an unfelt chill, and the ancient echo that he had perceived tingled on the edge of his consciousness.
Fleeting vague images.... sensations more than images.... old and dusty.... stretching far back in time.... A sense of imperious command.... dictatorial.... tyrannical... dark.
A series of beeps and whistles from Artoo broke his reverie, and Threepio proclaimed, “Oh, yes, Artoo, you’re right, there do appear to be faint marks on the stones where their paws rub...”
The droids had caught up with him, and Artoo had extended his small boxy scanner from his head dome.
Luke turned his head to the droids, and squinted at what they had found. He stood and stepped across to join them.
“Are you able to decipher the marks ?” he asked of the protocol droid.
“As they currently appear, I’m sorry to say, Master Luke, that I am not,” Threepio replied smartly. “However, Artoo believes his scanner capability will be able to measure the depths of the silica that has been carved away, and along with a crude carbon-dating, he ought to be able to provide me with a simple hieroglyph that I may be able to use to cross-reference against my vast databanks of written scripts.”
“Oh, I see,” the Jedi Master responded, with a mix of incredulity and relief. He patted the droid on his shoulder. “Well, I’ll let you two get on with it, then.”
“But there’s no guarantee I will be able to locate a close enough match to even begin a successful deciphering,” warned Threepio.
“Well, do your best both of you !”
“We will, Master Luke, rest assured, you can rely on us ! Always !”
Luke smiled his thanks, silently noting the irony of the similarity to the oft-used Jedi phrase.
