Star Wars: The Acolyte is all set to use one of Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s most contentious narrative devices, but it can make the show all the more compelling. The Acolyte is set during the tail end of the High Republic era, approximately 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Though the High Republic era is, for the most part, a time of prosperity for the Jedi and the Republic, the show will deal with the emerging threat of the dark side as sinister forces begin to surround the Jedi Order.
The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland has previously confirmed that the show will focus on those who use the dark side, but that’s not all. Interestingly, The Acolyte will feature the perspective of those who channel the dark side, as well. This isn’t a simple good versus evil story – The Acolyte is prepared to unravel the temptation of the dark side and how the Jedi’s enemies managed to remain hidden in the shadows for so long. The lines between light and darkness will be blurred, and Headland will cleverly utilize one popular cinematic narrative device to portray this division in the show.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Leslye Headland spoke about the movies and shows that influenced The Acolyte’s storytelling. One of the main examples that was mentioned was the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa:
Rashomon popularized an important cinematic storytelling device: the idea of an unreliable narrator. What is now colloquially known as the “Rashomon Effect” describes how one single event can be interpreted in wholly different ways by different people, depending on their cultural, situational, and social circumstances. Essentially, it explains how a person’s subjectivity can taint how they remember certain events. The more narrators or witnesses there are of a single event, the harder it is to ascertain the truth of what happened.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi made use of the Rashomon Effect as well. Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker describe one of their most defining moments in entirely different ways. Ben Solo was convinced that his uncle was going to kill him, forcing him to defend himself. In Kylo’s memory, Luke looks unrecognizably angry and ready to strike. Luke, on the other hand, remembers that he had a fleeting moment in which he allowed his fear to control him, and realized too late that he couldn’t allow his emotions to dictate his actions. Ben “misinterpreted” his uncle’s presence, and the galaxy suffered for it.
At the time (and admittedly still), The Last Jedi’s use of the Rashomon Effect was incredibly divisive. Those who disliked Rian Johnson’s use of this unreliable narrator device saw it as a betrayal of Luke’s character and all he stood for. Luke Skywalker would never attack his nephew out of fear, they argued. He would never even consider it. To those who didn’t enjoy Rian Johnson’s use of this storytelling device, Luke’s actions were abhorrent in both scenarios. It didn’t matter whose perspective was the real one – to them, neither could ever be true.
Those who did appreciate Johnson’s use of the Rashomon Effect maintained that acting out of fear, even for such a fleeting moment, was a big part of Luke Skywalker’s character arc. Yes, he may be Star Wars’ ultimate hero, but Luke and Kylo’s conflicting memories prove that even a hero as brave as Luke wasn’t infallible. Kylo’s sense of betrayal became so overwhelming that he could only see his uncle as violent towards him, and Luke’s regret tainted everything he did after. Luke’s journey is at the heart of Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s ongoing debate and Rashomon’s narrative device is a big reason why.
Whether you’re a fan of The Last Jedi or not, The Acolyte using a similar narrative device is undeniably exciting. Though one might not agree with how the Rashomon Effect was used in The Last Jedi, if you believe that it irrevocably changed Luke Skywalker’s legacy, its use will be different in The Acolyte. This isn’t a familial dispute – The Acolyte’s Rashomon-like story will be applied on a much grander scale. This is about light versus the dark, the central conflict of the Star Wars franchise.
In The Acolyte, viewers will see both the Jedi’s point of view as they slowly begin to uncover the forces of darkness that surround them, as well as Mae’s (Amandla Stenberg) perspective, a character who is reportedly a former Jedi – one who straddles the divide between the light and the dark. The show has previously promised to explore the perspective of the dark side, as well. Altogether, these points of view will interweave to form a biased yet complete narrative, one which is perhaps more complicated than any Star Wars story that has come before.
Why is Mae hunting down the Jedi? Who are they working for, and why? What was promised in return? Viewers may never uncover the real, objective truth, and that’s incredibly intriguing. This show will go beyond the simple good versus bad binary. The Jedi might not be the heroes they purport themselves to be, and those who use the dark side might not be as evil as they’re always assumed to be. Viewers will have a difficult time choosing a side. Star Wars: The Acolyte has a chance to explore the franchise’s core concepts with more depth than ever before, and that is a very exciting prospect.