Star Wars fans are drawing a parallel between the enigmatic antagonist of The Acolyte, who appears in the trailer for the series, and a creature from the extended universe. A theory with a name: Abeloth.
It's a scene that only lasts a brief moment, but it was enough to agitate fans of Star Wars over the weekend. Lucasfilm released a second trailer for its future series on Saturday May 4, 2024. The Acolyte, which is scheduled for release at the beginning of June. An expected trailer, since May 4 is the day of celebration of Star Wars.
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However, since then, the final sequence of this video has caused a lot of talk. For some fans, it indeed contains a visual clue which would not have been placed there by chance. This would be a reference to a particular character from the old extended universe, which Disney put aside in 2012, to develop a new one.
The following contains spoilers.
A mysterious Sith warrior in The Acolyte
At the very end of the video, therefore, we see an enigmatic and very threatening character. He doesn't say a word, but we are made to understand that he is hostile: he refuses to reveal his identity and, while he seems to be facing Jedi Master Sol (played by actor Lee Jung-jae), he draws his weapon and attacks him. At least that’s what the editing suggests.
Obviously, everything makes us think of a Sith: the red lightsaber, the outfit as black as the dark side of the Force, the distressing music, the attitude of the protagonist towards Sol and the scene in the darkness . And then, there is this famous helmet that hides his face. A fractured helmet like Kylo Ren's.
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But it is not this detail that caught the attention: it is the strange teeth which seem to be engraved on the antagonist's helmet, at the height where his mouth should be. This row of teeth is also visible on a poster distributed by Lucasfilm on May 4. On Reddit, an Internet user took care to zoom in on it to reveal details.
It is not uncommon for villains in Star Wars to wear a helmet: Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Revan, Nihilus are well-known examples. More recently, we could also mention Marrok who appears in the series Ahsoka. Each time, the designs change, but always remain terrifying to look at. The Acolyte villain doesn't cut it.
The Abeloth theory in The Acolyte
However, this stylized jaw would have – according to this theory supported by some fans – a link with a character from Legends (which is the new name of the old extended universe). And that character would be Abeloth. “ Acolyte brought Abeloth into the official Star Wars canon “, analysis like Levon226 on Reddit.
He's not the only one thinking. In other Reddit threads, Abeloth's name came up — here, therebut also in this thread And In this one. Same thing on X (formerly Twitter): many Internet users also do the connection between this character from the extended universe and that of The Acolytewith teeth as a common point.
In the old Expanded Universe, Abeloth is a character belonging to the dark side of the Force — more specifically, she is a creature who feeds on it. His story is told in the literary saga The Destiny of the Jediwhich has nine volumes and takes place four decades after the Battle of Yavin.
One of Abeloth's peculiarities is his immense age. The entity would be at least a hundred thousand years old. Another feature turns out to be…his jaw. The reference encyclopedias that are HoloNet And Wookiepedia also insist on Abeloth's face. Pieces chosen from the two sites to understand what we are talking about:
“ Abeloth materialized as a semi-ethereal ghostly creature with a mouth full of sharp teeth. », says HoloNet. ” EShe had a long cascade of hair (…) that reached down to the ground and a large, full-lipped mouth that extended from ear to ear and contained needle-shaped teeth. », relates Wookiepedia.
Abeloth is therefore a hostile creature whose jaw has strongly attracted the attention of readers of the Destiny of the Jedi. Moreover, one of the most common visual representations of this monstrosity places emphasis on this mouth filled with fangs, which practically goes from one ear to the other.
It seems unlikely that the character we see in this trailer is actually Abeloth. Perhaps it is some devotee who acts on his behalf. Some even suggest that The Acolyte could thus lay solid storyline foundations to involve Abeloth later in Star Warsamong the future projects in the saga.
The hypothesis is all the more plausible as we know that Disney allows itself to draw from the old extended universe to feed the official Star Wars canon. In addition, filmmaker Leslye Headland, who had the mission of creating, scripting and directing The Acolyteis presented as someone with a special affection for the extended universe.
This is all highly speculative at this stage. However, it's a little music that we've been hearing for several months: fans are betting on the idea that it could be a question of Abeloth from season 2 ofAhsokagiven what happens at the very end of season 1 and what has already been mentioned and shown on this creature.
Given the immense age of this creature, this avenue is in any case viable. It also resolves a chronological problem, since The Acolyte And Ahsoka are two series separated by decades. But if it is viable, will it be fair? For fans, the answer will at least have the merit of arriving quickly: The Acolyte will be released in early June.
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