This New Star Wars Trailer Is The Most Exciting I've Seen In Almost A Decade

Summary The Acolyte's new trailer promises to explore the dark side of the Force, with a focus on Sith mysteries and thrilling action.

With breathtaking fight choreography and a sense of mystery, The Acolyte's marketing cleverly conceals more than it reveals.

Inspired by fresh ideas and a unique vision, The Acolyte brings new life to Star Wars and promises intriguing twists for fans.

The Acolyte's new trailer is easily the most exciting one from Star Wars in almost a decade. A prequel to the prequels, The Acolyte is set at the tail end of the High Republic Era - the Golden Age of the Jedi Order. This was a time when the light of the Jedi shone brightly across the galaxy, but the Sith flourished in the shadows, preparing for their revenge.

The Acolyte's first two episodes will premiere on Disney+ on June 4, meaning marketing has picked up. While it's true Lucasfilm's marketing for their last Disney+ live-action show (Ahsoka) was disrupted by the strikes, there's never been anything quite like this before. The internet is abuzz with interviews, and every day seems to bring a new clip or trailer - still somehow mysterious, still concealing as much as they reveal. But the latest Acolyte trailer is easily the best I've seen from Lucasfilm in almost a decade.

The Best Trailers Tell A Story

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First, some context: I'm not exactly new to Star Wars. I've loved the franchise since 1991, when I watched the first movie and picked up Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. I remember seeing the first trailer for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and I even more clearly recall tearing up when I heard Han say "Chewie, we're home" in the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Wars has had some great trailers, but I don't think it will ever be possible for one to tug on my heartstrings more than that one. But this comes close.

The best trailers tell a story, and Star Wars' "Evolve" trailer pulls this off so very well. It feels as much like a horror movie as anything else - opening with ragged, desperate breathing, dialogue discussing a Jedi killer, and a shadowy Sith Lord unmasked. This time, the trailer promises, Star Wars is exploring the dark side of the Force. The characters of The Acolyte will be faced with the Sith, discovering their true nature at last.

Even the little text tells a story. "Before the Menace," the trailer tells us, and that's all we really need to know to plunge into this new era. This is before The Phantom Menace, the prequel to the prequels, inspired by aspects of that story and recontextualizing them in tried-and-true Star Wars fashion. Notice it's not "Before the PHANTOM Menace," which rather amuses me. It seems to imply that all Baneite Sith are phantoms, but Palpatine is the menace, a neat way of underscoring his importance and promising this won't undermine the canon.

Related Star Wars: The Acolyte - Cast, Story Details & Everything We Know The upcoming Star Wars show The Acolyte will take the franchise into the grand High Republic era, but what mysteries await in the Jedi’s golden age?

Why I've Never Been More Invested In A Star Wars TV Show

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It helps, of course, that I couldn't be much more invested in The Acolyte. As much as I love Star Wars, the franchise has a habit of overplaying the nostalgia card; it's been there from the start, when the Bantam era books recycled lines of dialogue from the movies with a knowing wink to readers, and it's become even more noticeable in the Disney era. But The Acolyte is something fresh and new, inspired by the reflections of lifelong fan Leslye Headland, dipping its toe in the waters of a time period we've never seen on-screen before.

The fight choreography is stunning, with the trailers and clips so far focusing on breathtaking martial arts and stuntwork; there's a reason the athletic Dafne Keen, who was phenomenal as X-23 in Logan, is part of this. Even more exciting, though, is the sense of mystery surrounding The Acolyte; Leslye Headland is renowned for a tricky writing style where every episode features a surprising twist, and I can't wait to see that approach brought to life in the Star Wars galaxy.

What's great, though, is that The Acolyte's marketing is hiding so much. Yes, there have been leaks - unfortunate ones, that I kind of wish I hadn't seen. But those feel like episode 1 leaks rather than final twists, meaning there are still so many unknowns. Meanwhile, The Acolyte trailers are deliberately concealing far more of the story than they reveal, focusing on stunning action and beautiful cinematography rather than spilling the major details. That above trailer is the perfect example - but there's one detail that really stands out.

We don't know much about The Acolyte's mysterious Sith Lord. Is it Palpatine's mentor, Darth Plagueis? Is it Darth Tenebrous, the Legends Sith Master of Plagueis, who's been name-dropped in canon a couple of times? Or is something else going on? Whatever the truth may be, that trailer shows his helmet discarded, and it feels like a promise. Now, the mask of the Sith will be cast away, and their true face will be seen. Personally, I couldn't be more excited... especially after this trailer.