One of the things that makes the upcoming Star Wars seriesThe Acolyte so fresh and exciting is the fact that it’s set in a previously unexplored time period. The story takes place roughly 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. And while director James Mangold has said that he’d also like to use his planned movie to explore a point that’s very early on the imaginary Star Wars timeline, The Acolytebreaks new ground with regard to live-action interpretation of what’s known as the High Republic era. The Jedi are flourishing. The Empire isn’t yet a thing. And this means that one OG character – Master Yoda – could be somewhere in the action.
As far as we know, Yoda would be the only character from the original Star Wars movies that could be alive in this time period. Per the information Website Wookiepedia:
Born in 896 BBY, Yoda served the Jedi Order for centuries, becoming Jedi Grand Master and helping to teach many younglings. During the High Republic Era, in 382 BBY, Yoda helped bring an end to a devastating battle between the Jedi and the anti-Jedi Path of the Open Hand cult. After the battle, which became known as the Night of Sorrow, he decided to keep the living weapons against Force-sensitives the Path had used, the Nameless, out of the Jedi Archives to protect the order. Over a century later, he took a sabbatical from the Jedi High Council to train Padawans aboard the Star Hopper, leading them and other Jedi in fighting the Nihil pirate organization in 232 BBY.
There are mentions of the Jedi High Council throughout The Acolyte, with key characters from the show serving on the political body. But when we interviewed cast members and asked if Yoda would be part of The Acolyte as the story unfolded, we were told by Rebecca Henderson:
You do not, unfortunately. But I don’t know, maybe in the second season? Third season. You do not, though, in the first season. No.
Henderson would know. She plays the highly respected Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh on The Acolyte, a Star Wars show that’s already receiving proper raves from those who have seen the first few episodes. And as I mentioned, a big part of the reason why I appreciated the story being told in The Acolyte is that it didn’t pack a burden of having to connect to existing Star Wars stories, as is often the case (see Andor, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan Kenobi as recent examples). Branching off into new territories might also help Star Wars: Skeleton Crew when we finally see it. But have no fear, dedicated Star Wars fans, as The Mandalorian is getting his own movie, as will Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker.
So, you won’t see Yoda in Season 1 of The Acolyte, but there are plenty of other reasons why you need to tune into the show once it begins streaming on Disney+ beginning Tuesday, June 4.