Star Wars' The Acolyte turns a critical eye toward the Jedi

If you've been feeling tired of the ever-expanding Star Wars universe, it might be time to jump back in with The Acolyte.

Set 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, the Disney+ series centers on Sol, a Jedi master played by Squid Game actor Lee Jung-jae, and notably the first Asian Jedi master to have a lead role in a Star Wars title.

Culture writer Laura Sirikul joins guest host Amil Niazi to review the show and how it redefines what a Star Wars story can be.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Amil: We're so used to thinking of the Jedi as the heroes of the story, but what this is trying to do is contextualize when they had power and how maybe their history is a bit more complicated than just the good guys.

Laura: 100 per cent. It takes a really good critical look at the Jedi, because obviously whenever an institution is in power, and especially if it's strict and very stringent like the Jedi who are very stuck in their ways, there's going to be people who are oppressed. Everyone has had this idea of the Jedi are good no matter what. But this series takes on the gray area of the Jedi — what it takes to stay in power, who is being oppressed — and it gives us a different insight. Did they have to do something a little bit shady in the gray area to get to where they are in power? Who are these people who are oppressed? Did they create the Sith, this powerful being that wanted to be against the Jedi that we thought were bad? Maybe there's a gray area to it.

Amil: It's super interesting. I've always heard Star Wars compared to some of the classic Westerns, and certainly George Lucas says he was inspired by those as well. But he has also said he's been heavily inspired by East Asia, and we're finally starting to see a little bit of that pop up in this. He's been widely criticized for not featuring more Asian actors in this series, given some of his influences that he's drawing on. How do you think this works in that context?

Laura: What's beautiful about this is, Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland is following George Lucas' vision of being inspired by East Asia wuxia films. Leslye really focused on a lot of the East Asian aspects of the Jedi culture … so it's beautiful to see Lee Jung-jae be cast, and then Manny Jacinto be cast. It's great to see more Asian faces in a series and films that are inspired by Asian culture.

Amil: How do you think they do right by this character played by Lee Jung-jae? Is he everything that we've been waiting for in terms of finally having an Asian lead play a Jedi?

Laura: Oh, my God, he's perfect, actually. It's not just because he's Lee Jung-jae and he's just an incredible actor, with his history and career. But he breaks the stereotypes of what typically Asians and Jedis are on screen. We always see they're strict, follow the rules, they have no emotions. It's funny because people would compare Jedi, if you look at the Star Trek universe, to Vulcans because they suppress their emotions.

With Lee Jung-jae's Master Sol, he has levity. He has kindness. He cares, and there's a charismatic tone to his behavior and the way he approaches things, which is very [far] from what we typically see of Asian men who are in power. They're usually the strict ones. So what the series does right is giving this Asian character some personality that's beyond the Jedi and beyond what Asian stereotypes have been given to us in the past. It's such a refreshing spin that you introduce us to the first Asian Jedi and he is filled with kindness, and he's a gentle master. It's not only refreshing to watch as a Star Wars fan, but just as a person watching and knowing the history of Asians in Western media.

Amil: It sounds amazing. Laura, Star Wars often falls into a trap of paying dues to the fans and sort of leaving the story behind. Do you think this show falls into that same trap?

Laura: No. Oh, my God, it's so refreshing because there's not a lot of history to do Easter eggs [with] because it's set way in the past, way before Anakin's family was around. And so it has room to breathe; it has room to create its own folklore and mythology. Fan service is great and all, but it can overtake a series. Like Ahsoka and Andor, there's always Easter eggs, but that's because it's based on a story that's already continuous. But with this one, what's great is that they do have Easter eggs from the Star Wars history books or canon books, but it allows us to see a fresh take on the Jedi and create its own lore.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Laura Sirikul produced by Jane van Koeverden.