Star Wars: The Acolyte Will Feature The Talents Of An Incredible (And Unlikely) Director
Welcome to a new era of "Star Wars," in more ways than one. Today's newly-released trailer for "The Acolyte" has been a long time coming, promising to delve into an older and more unknown period of history in the galaxy far, far away. Set over a century before the prequel movies during the epoch known as The High Republic, the upcoming Disney+ series will cover wholly new ground that fans have never seen before — at least, those who haven't been keeping up with the various official tie-in novels released over the last few years. But filling in lore gaps in the canon isn't the only reason why this exciting new story should be on our radar, however. The talent involved in this series both in front of and behind the camera immediately sets it apart from any other to this point (outside of "Andor," perhaps), although one name stands tall above the rest.
According to Disney (and as previously reported here), no less a filmmaker than Kogonada will direct two installments of this eight-episode debut season. Among those of us who completely forgot that this collaboration was even happening in the first place, that sound you hear is film nerds everywhere rejoicing over the fact that one of the most thrilling and idiosyncratic artists around will be putting his stamp on one of our most popular ongoing franchises. The trailer footage confirmed a more complex, challenging, and even morally ambiguous spin on the typical "Star Wars" brand. But should everything live up to its sky-high expectations upon release, "The Acolyte" might very well carve out a niche of its own as a bold new direction for this franchise.
We'd bet the house on Kogonada playing an integral role in helping get it there.
An unlikely choice
Quick, off the top of your head: How many "Star Wars" directors can you name who originally got their start making intensive video essays about the form and craft of storytelling? South Korean filmmaker Kogonada made a name for himself several years ago through his explorations into topics such as neorealism, perspective, sound, and thematic interests linking together the works of our greatest artists. (You can find these videos here on his official website.) To nobody's surprise, he then went on to put this wealth of knowledge into action and quickly established himself as one of our most thoughtful, introspective, and visually acute directors around.
Need further convincing? There aren't many out there who can claim they made their feature debut with a one-two punch as formidable as 2017's "Columbus" and 2021's "After Yang." Although completely different in terms of genre — the former is a mood piece centered on two grieving individuals bonding over architecture, while the latter takes place in a sci-fi future in which a family struggles to deal with the breakdown of their android caretaker — both feel perfectly of a piece with one another, coming together to embody the auteur's interests in loss, reflection, and beauty hidden in plain sight. No, there isn't a hint of whiz-bang action or an epic sense of scale to be found in these efforts, and that's the entire point.
Neither of these quiet and restrained character studies would seem to put Kogonada on a shortlist for "Star Wars" in the way that, say, "Monsters" and "Godzilla" made Gareth Edwards an obvious candidate for "Rogue One," but the unlikelihood of it all only makes "The Acolyte" seem that much more interesting ... and, more importantly, completely different from the likes of "Ahsoka" or "The Mandalorian."
A taste of things to come
Could the Kogonada influence already be seen from the trailer alone? Fans of the acclaimed filmmaker might balk at the fact that, where he took a hands-on role in his prior two directing duties and took on the roles of writer/director/editor, his journeyman work on "The Acolyte" will almost certainly be restricted to directing alone. That said, taking his cues from a showrunner (in this case, "Russian Doll" co-creator Leslye Headland) won't be anything new, as he did much the same on the recent Apple TV+ series "Pachinko" and managed to add plenty of his own personality to a much broader work. The buzz-saw of the "Star Wars" machine is a very different set of circumstances, as big-name talents like Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Colin Trevorrow, Damon Lindelof, and many more can attest to. But based on the brief amount of the series we've already seen, "The Acolyte" sure seems to be putting a premium on visual storytelling.
While the opening narration ironically makes a point to say not to trust one's eyes alone, the carefully edited footage tells a very different story. We're introduced to several main characters portrayed by Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss, and others through an emphasis on silhouette and iconography. The stark use of lighting and shadows evokes an aesthetic far different from the "house style" encouraged by the use of the Volume technology. Even the snippets of dialogue we receive about something beyond simple good vs. evil hint at a more self-reflective approach to the franchise ... though, admittedly, this is a lot to presume based on an initial trailer.
Still, we'll take whatever teases of the Kogonada influence that we can get. We'll find out for sure once "The Acolyte" comes to Disney+ starting on June 4, 2024.