Why The Acolyte Is Dividing Star Wars Fans (Yes, It's Happening Again)

The first trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte has divided the Star Wars fanbase (again). Created by Leslye Headland, The Acolyte is set at the tail end of the High Republic Era - and it promises to scratch an itch viewers have had since 1977. The Acolyte's first trailer ends with a group of Jedi standing in front of a mysterious stranger with a red lightsaber - clearly setting up a Jedi versus Sith battle.

The Acolyte trailer is an exciting one, promising a suspenseful mystery in which Jedi are dying - likely on the Outer Rim, where the Republic's influence is at its weakest. But, surprisingly, the trailer has proved somewhat divisive among the fanbase. The Star Wars fandom has never been particularly well known for its unity, so there's a sense in which this shouldn't really come as much of a surprise. But what's going on now?

Star Wars: The Acolyte's Trailer Is Getting A Mixed Reaction

It's not hard to find the mixed reaction on social media. The Acolyte trailer has almost as many downvotes as YouTubes as it does likes, which speaks for te ferocity of the reaction from some portions of the fanbase. Over on X (formerly Twitter), there's a lot of discussion about canon and lore, with heavy critiques of Disney. It must be noted that this isn't a universal reaction, of course, because there are as many defenders arguing against these critics as there are negative posts.

Disappointment With Disney Is Tinging Reactions To The Acolyte

It's important to recognize the context. Part of the problem is that the Disney era of Star Wars hasn't exactly been uncontroversial; the Star Wars sequel trilogy had far too many pivots, with Star Wars: The Last Jedi dividing the fanbase, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker bringing the Skywalker saga to an unsatisfying conclusion. Although the anthology projects started off well with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, everything fell apart with the box office bomb of Solo. That's left some hardcore fans singularly unhappy.

Lucasfilm has successfully turned Star Wars into a bigger transmedia franchise than ever before, with the franchise flourishing in a range of hit Star Wars Disney+ TV shows. But, although The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 were well-received, subsequent shows have come in for heavy criticism on matters ranging from plotting to overuse of the CGI technology known as the Volume. A lot of goodwill has been burned, meaning the YouTube comments below The Acolyte's trailer reflect serious distrust of the House of Mouse.

Some Fans Are Concerned About The Acolyte's Impact On Star Wars Canon

Meanwhile, some viewers have raised concerns about the canon implications of the Jedi clashing with the Sith just a hundred years before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. George Lucas' movies are quite clear that the Jedi of the prequel trilogy believed the Sith to be extinct, and there's a risk The Acolyte could break canon. Of course, this is to prejudge a show that won't come out for three months based on a possible continuity problem; in reality, it's highly doubtful Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace will be retconned in any way.

It's not really hard to spot the wriggle-room in The Acolyte's trailer. The Sith were active throughout the last millennia, and canonically they crossed paths with the Jedi on countless occasions - not least because would-be apprentices tend to prove themselves worthy of becoming a Sith by hunting and killing a Jedi, taking their lightsaber's kyber crystal and bleeding it to create their own red blade. The key is simply that the Sith worked hard to conceal themselves and cover up their activities, and the same will surely be the case in The Acolyte.

The continuity concerns seem to be more than a little exaggerated. The most likely explanation for this is that portions of the fanbase wanted a very different Jedi versus Sith battle; they wanted Knights of the Old Republic, with literal armies of Sith and Jedi clashing in the days before the Sith Rule of Two. The Acolyte is a step closer to that, but it's not there yet, which is understandably frustrating.

Not All Reactions To The Acolyte Are Sadly In Good Faith

Unfortunately, it's sadly quite clear that not all negative reactions to The Acolyte are in good faith. This is a very diverse Star Wars TV show, and some detractors are furiously complaining that it is "woke" - an accusation they'd have made against The Acolyte no matter how good the trailer was, based only on its casting choices. There's an undercurrent of racism and misogyny among some complaints, which is truly saddening to see.

Showrunner Leslye Headland became a subject of some controversy when she called out misogyny in Hollywood, and in the Star Wars community in particular. Speaking to IndieWire, she argued excessive reverence for George Lucas held the franchise back, because it failed to recognize the contributions of others. "The idea that [Star Wars] only came from George Lucas, that only George Lucas holds the key for what we understand to be Star Wars, is just untrue," she argued. "And I think the prequels are an excellent example of that." These comments seem to have left some determined to hate The Acolyte on principle.

Headland is right, of course. Even the most auteur director exists in a context, and Lucas is well known for welcoming the involvement of others. This is not always appreciated, and it has led to the contributions of others - notably including Lucas' ex-wife, Marcia Lucas - being consistently overlooked. There seems to be a move to correct that at present, but it is prompting a backlash from one portion of the fanbase.

All in all, then, the first trailer for The Acolyte has not met universal approval among the fanbase. Some of the reasons are entirely legitimate, based on very real concerns or questions, but they are blending with comments from others that are most certainly made in good faith. Hopefully The Acolyte will prove its dectrators wrong.

Star Wars: The Acolyte will release on June 4 on Disney+