New trailer for upcoming Star Wars TV show The Acolyte may have revealed the big bad – and a new poster all but confirms it

A new trailer for The Acolyte has arrived – and it might've revealed the show's main villain.

Towards the end of the clip, which can be viewed above, a mysterious Sith lord, bearing a helmet similar to Kylo Ren's but with zippers, appears in a dark forest. He draws his red lightsaber, prompting Sol (Lee Jung-jae) to ask, "What are you?" The Sith lunges at Sol in response. Earlier in the trailer, we learn that Jedi are being hunted – and it's likely that this may be the hunter in question. He or she is also featured on the official poster for the upcoming series ((which features the main core characters) so, uh, we'd venture to say that they're probably pretty important. 

Some fans have theorized that the man behind the mask is none other than Darth Tenebrous, as he's the only Sith lord that seems to fit The Acolyte's timeline. The series is set at the end of the High Republic, approximately 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Since Darth Tenebrous bears that creepy, alien-skull helmet, it's likely that the mysterious Sith is a brand new villain – and that we're in for quite the ride.

The Acolyte

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

The newest show in the Star Wars universe sees a former Padawan reunite with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes...but the forces they confront are more sinister than they could ever imagine. Manny Jacinto, Carrie-Annie Moss, Dafne Keen, Amandla Stenberg, and Jodi Turner-Smith also star.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is set to hit Disney Plus on June 4 in the US, arriving on June 5 in the UK. For more from a galaxy far, far away, check out our guide to all the new Star Wars movies on the way and our breakdown of the Star Wars timeline.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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