The Acolyte showrunner reveals first details about the new Star Wars prequel

Star Wars The Phantom Menace
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

New plot details on the upcoming Star Wars show The Acolyte have been revealed.  

A new report from Vanity Fair has revealed that the show is set a century before The Phantom Menace, the first prequel film. "A lot of those characters haven't even been born yet," showrunner Leslye Headland said. 

"We're taking a look at the political and personal and spiritual things that came up in a time period that we don't know much about," she continued. "My question when watching The Phantom Menace was always like, 'Well, how did things get to this point?' How did we get to a point where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? Like, what went wrong? What are the scenarios that led us to this moment?"

Headland also explained that the show takes place in a bright era for the galaxy. "We actually use the term the Renaissance, or the Age of Enlightenment," she said. 

"The Jedi uniforms are gold and white, and it's almost like they would never get dirty. They would never be out and about," Headland added. "The idea is that they could have these types of uniforms because that's how little they're getting into skirmishes."

There's no release date for The Acolyte just yet, but the next Star Wars shows to hit Disney Plus will be Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, The Mandalorian season 3, and Ahsoka. 

While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows coming soon from the galaxy far, far away.

TOPICS
Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

Read more
James Mangold at Star Wars Celebration
James Mangold's Star Wars movie is set thousands of years in the past because he's "not interested in being handcuffed" by the massive canon
The Rise of Skywalker
New Rey movie screenwriter reveals what his vision might have in common with Star Wars creator George Lucas
Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Every new Star Wars movie and TV show currently in the works
Star Wars: Eclipse screenshot shows two lightsabers with an advancing army in the background
Star Wars Eclipse: Everything we know so far
Diego Luna in Andor
It looks like a key Star Wars event mentioned in Rebels will be shown in Andor season 2
Star Wars timeline: a screenshot of The Empire Strikes Back.
Star Wars timeline: Every major event in chronological order
Latest in Sci-Fi Shows
Alien Earth teaser
New Alien: Earth teaser introduces us to new cast members and the cutest little cat – and if a Xenomorph eats it, I will be furious
The Last of Us
The Last of Us season 2 is giving a game character the Bill and Frank treatment – and he's so deep-cut you might barely remember him
The Last of Us season 2 first look
Pedro Pascal says "beautiful" scene that made him want to join The Last of Us got cut, but it’ll thankfully appear in season 2: "He was like, ‘That’s half the reason I’m here!’"
Diego Luna in Andor
It looks like a key Star Wars event mentioned in Rebels will be shown in Andor season 2
Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who season 2
Doctor Who fans think they've spotted a tease for surprise villains in new season 2 trailer
The Xenomorph in Alien: Earth
New look at Alien: Earth has fans theorizing over whether they can hear a Predator in the background
Latest in News
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Starfield
Bethesda breaks silence as Starfield fans hope for an update: "We have a lot of exciting things planned for the game this year"
The Last of Us 2
Naughty Dog has done it: it's remastered the PS5 controller with a Last of Us-themed DualSense announcement 24 hours after Neil Druckmann dashed our hopes for The Last of Us 3
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows reverses roles to show off Naoe's combat and Yasuke's stealth, and I'm suddenly sold on playing Yasuke like a clumsy Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3
Alien Earth teaser
New Alien: Earth teaser introduces us to new cast members and the cutest little cat – and if a Xenomorph eats it, I will be furious
Three RTX 5070 gaming PCs on a purple background
I'm surprised to see some RTX 5070 gaming PCs under $2,000 - these are the three prebuilds I'd buy this week