When does “The Acolyte” take place in the Star Wars timeline?

A long, long time ago...

Christian Black/Lucasfilm Ltd. Amandla Stenberg in 'The Acolyte'

Star Wars: The Acolyte is the latest addition in the extensive Star Wars saga. With more than a dozen movies and animated shows, as well as several new series released on Disney+, the timeline of the world created by George Lucas is continuously growing. For newcomers, it can appear overwhelming.

There's the prequel, original, and sequel trilogies, collectively known as the "Skywalker Saga." Then the animated series, which include Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch. Since its launch in late 2019, Disney+ has also rolled out a number of spinoff shows: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, and The Acolyte.

The Acolyte is set during what's known as the High Republic era, which has never been depicted before on screen.

But don't worry; no homework is needed to watch the show. Believe it or not, The Acolyte is the perfect starting point to jump into the Star Wars saga. Why? The High Republic predates everything.

When does The Acolyte take place?

Lucasfilm Ltd. 'The Acolyte'

Not only is the series set in a galaxy far, far away, but The Acolyte takes place at a time long, long ago. It predates the events of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace by a century. That's long before Anakin Skywalker was born, and in an era where numerous Jedi were around.

The first episode opens up with the series' signature blue-texted prologue stating, “A hundred years before the rise of the Empire, it is a time of peace. The Jedi Order and Galactic Republic have prospered for centuries without war. But in the dark corners of the galaxy, a powerful few learn to use the Force in secret. One of them, a lone assassin, risks discovery to seek revenge.”

On EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast from 2023, showrunner Leslye Headland expressed that The Acolyte "stands out because it is the earliest in the Star Wars timeline that we have ever been in live-action."

"We are toward the end of the High Republic, leading into George's prequels, so we are looking at a time period where the Jedi are at the height of their power," she continued.

What is the High Republic era?

Lucasfilm Ltd. Charlie Barnett, Amandla Stenberg, Dafne Keen, and Lewis Young in 'The Acolyte'

The High Republic is the Jedi’s golden age that spanned hundreds of years. At this point in Star Wars history, the Jedi wasn’t a motley crew of a few members; it had a widened roster. The Jedi Order were in a powerful position and spread across the galaxy. The Order had ambitions to explore the “Outer Rim” — reaches of space that no lightsaber wielder had ever traversed before — to promote a peaceful, unified galaxy.

The Acolyte is set right at the era’s tail end, as it’s meant to elaborate on the domino effect of the dark side and how it wound up within the senate at the time of The Phantom Menace.

Will Any Star Wars characters from The Skywalker Saga appear in The Acolyte?

Mary Evans/LUCASFILMS/Ronald Grant/Everett Yoda in 'The Phantom Menace'

Don't expect any familiar faces from the Skywalker Saga in The Acolyte. This includes Yoda, who was alive and kicking on the Jedi Council during the High Republic era. But, according to Headland in a Comicbook.com interview, they did not have carte blanche to include him in the series. "Can you imagine? Can you imagine if they were like, 'No problem. You can use Yoda. Not a big deal. Go for it,'” Headland explained. “No, there is not [a Yoda cameo]. We are pulling characters from the High Republic, and characters from EU [Expanded Universe]. That's it."

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