Star Wars fans will be getting a brand new Disney+ show alongside the already stacked roster set for release, this time from the High Republic era: The Acolyte, which will feature a brand new perspective on the dark side of the Force. Throughout Star Wars history since the first release in 1977, the core conflict of the Star Wars universe has always been between the Jedi and the Sith with the terms often appearing almost synonymous with the light side and the dark side of the force respectively. This conflict is known in canon to stretch back thousands of years, long before the events of the prequel trilogy began with Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace.
The three Star Wars film trilogies released thus far take place across 67 years in the canonical timeline, with each taking place in a differently named era. The prequel trilogy was set during the so-called Age of Republic. The original trilogy took place in the Age of Rebellion and the sequels were set during the Age of Resistance. Both the prequels and originals featured the Sith, and therefore the dark side, primarily through the eyes of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, with the sequels doing so through the latter, alongside newcomer Kylo Ren.
While the Sith were featured to some capacity in all 3 eras of Star Wars canon so far, there is an era yet to be explored in a live-action show/film: The High Republic, the time that came before the Age of Republic and The Phantom Menace. With Disney+'s The Acolyte being announced on May 4th, 2020, Lucasfilm promises to delve into this very era, with a significant twist in comparison to usual Star Wars projects. While all previous eras featured the Sith to an extent, the dark side has always been seen through the eyes of the Jedi, or Jedi being tempted by the dark side, rarely being explored in the same depth as the Jedi Order or the light side of the Force. With the High Republic era, however, The Acolyte will change how fans see the dark side altogether for several different reasons.
While Anakin Skywalker can be argued to be the protagonist of the prequel trilogy, all 3 of those films feature more of an ensemble cast, heavily featuring a lot of different characters and their viewpoints. This means that Anakin's tragic fall to the dark side is often explored from perspectives outside of the dark side meaning that it can never be given the same exploration as the light. With The Acolyte, Star Wars promises to change this trend. Following the announcement of the show in May 2020, Disney revealed The Acolyte will take place in the final days of The High Republic era and focus on the emergence of dark side powers. With a title like The Acolyte, the term used for a Sith apprentice, it is clear this emergence of Sith power will be seen through the eyes of an assistant or follower of the Sith, something that has never been done before in live-action Star Wars. By showing how the High Republic era lead into The Phantom Menace through the acolyte's viewpoint of emerging dark side powers, Star Wars will provide the first in-depth perspective of the dark side that has never been shown in live-action, with the series' protagonist being directly involved in the Sith ways throughout the shows run.
While The High Republic was first introduced in a book series starting in 2021, The Acolyte will feature the era's first on-screen canon appearance. This, therefore, allows the dark side to be viewed in an era not yet featured in live-action Star Wars. While the prequel trilogy featured the Sith operating behind the scenes, it was never exactly a secret that Emperor Palpatine was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious from the onset of that trilogy. This meant that the prequels featured a view of the Sith from the biased, often blinded point-of-view of the Jedi, never truly exploring Palpatine's shrouded scheming. With The High Republic era and the promise of a focus on the dark side powers of that time, this will no longer be the case. The High Republic may feature the Sith still operating in the shadows of the Jedi Order, but this era will allow for a more focused look on the schemes and plans of the dark side users due to the blank slate of the timeline at this point with no canon stories already taking place here. In turn, this will remove many obstacles for the writers, with them not having to fit into the established stories of the main Star Wars franchise aside from setting up the prequels, and thus allowing more freedom for The Acolyte to truly explore the dark side of the Force in the High Republic.
Not only has Star Wars always shown the dark side from the outside in, it has also only shown dark side force users who, like Darth Sidious, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and Darth Tyrannus at least claim to obey the Sith Rule of Two, being either the master or apprentice. With the High Republic and The Acolyte, however, this will not be the case. With the protagonist being a dark side user, fans will see firsthand how the Sith regime operates. Rather than seeing this from the eyes of an all-powerful Sith lord, The Acolyte will instead feature a mere follower of Sith teachings which can give a fresh perspective on the ways of the dark side despite the general concept having been explored for decades at this point.
The Sith and the dark side of the Force have been mainstays in Star Wars storytelling since the beginning of George Lucas's original trilogy of films. Being the main antagonistic driving force of the series, the dark side has corrupted, twisted, and interfered with Star Wars' most iconic heroes, directly or more discreetly, in every major installment in the franchise. While this may be the case, the announcement of the High Republic era being brought to live-action storytelling with The Acolyte on Disney+ promises to showcase such a malevolent force in a way fans of the series have never seen before. With Star Wars being one of the most famous, iconic franchises in film history, a fresh perspective and new take on something so ingrained with its identity is rare to behold and is something that fans should be extremely excited about. Not only will fans get to discover more secrets of the Sith, but they will get to do so by traveling back in time to the waning days of the High Republic, witnessing firsthand the shroud of the dark side secretly enveloping a galaxy far far away.
