Will Palpatine Be in ‘The Acolyte’?

The Acolyte had its first look during the Star Wars Celebration event in London. In that regard, there are now fans excited about the possibility of seeing a fight between the light and dark sides of the Force in what will be one of the Star Wars shows that will be released in 2024. Of course, we can’t help but think about Darth Sidious or Emperor Palpatine when it comes to the dark side. So, will Palpatine be in The Acolyte?

It is unlikely that Palpatine will be in The Acolyte because the series takes place around a hundred years before the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Meanwhile, Palpatine was born 50 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. As such, it is unlikely that he will appear in the series.

When the title of The Acolyte was revealed, some believed it would feature Palpatine in a starring role and in what seems to be a prequel story about his life. However, the latest developments have revealed that the series takes place decades before Palpatine was even born. So, with that said, let’s talk more about the possibility of Palpatine appearing in The Acolyte.

When Does The Acolyte Take Place?

The Star Wars Celebration event in London allowed us to learn more about the upcoming The Acolyte series released in 2024. Of course, one of the most important things that fans should understand is that the plot of The Acolyte takes place well before the events of the Skywalker Saga and even Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

The Acolyte focuses on the story of a former Padawan and her former Jedi Master as they embark on a journey that would take them on a perilous quest to understand something mysterious that’s going on in the galaxy. And they never expected that the Sith Order had survived centuries after the Jedi proclaimed it extinct.

This Star Wars series also takes the audience farther back into the past than any other movies and series released on Disney+. That’s because The Acolyte occurred a hundred years before The Phantom Menace. The series’ events occur right around the end of the High Republic era, which is the most fruitful era for both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic.

In that regard, the storyline of The Acolyte is decades before the events of the entire Skywalker Saga. And this is where it gets interesting because it is said that this series focuses more on the bad guys, specifically the Sith Order.

When Was Palpatine Born?

When it comes to the Sith Order, the one name that stands out is Darth Sidious, which is the Sith name of Emperor Palpatine. We all know that Palpatine was the greatest threat to the Jedi and the galaxy because he was the main antagonist of the entire Skywalker Saga. And when it comes to him, his background story seems to be a bit mysterious as far as the current canon is concerned.

When The Acolyte was announced, some fans thought the series would be about Palpatine. After all, when we talk about the word “acolyte” in Star Wars, it is usually connected with the Sith. Most of the trainees that worked with Sith Lords are usually called acolytes, as Asajj Ventress was once called an acolyte herself when she was still learning the dark side under Count Dooku.

As such, it is perfectly understandable to think that Palpatine was going to be the “acolyte” in the storyline of The Acolyte. But Palpatine’s birth year would allow us to understand that he isn’t the central character of the storyline of The Acolyte, and that’s because Sheev Palpatine was born on 82 BBY.

The events of Star Wars Episode I happen on 32 BBY, which means that Palpatine was around 50 years old during the events of The Phantom Menace. On the other hand, we know that the events of The Acolyte take place a hundred years before Episode I.

Palpatine Probably Won’t Be in The Acolyte

Given that the events of The Acolyte take place around five decades before Palpatine was even born, the chances of Sheev appearing in the series are slim at best. As such, The Acolyte won’t be about Palpatine or won’t even feature him at all.

According to the first look of The Acolyte, the series will allow us to see how the Sith Order became influential despite hiding in the shadows for a very long time. Of course, it was only during the events of Episode I that the Jedi Order realized that the Sith was not extinct. That means that the Sith Order won’t completely come out of the shadow in The Acolyte but will only allow us to see what some of the Sith Lords did at that time to prepare for the eventual fall of the Jedi Order.

The first look allowed us to see a shadowy Sith assassin we weren’t familiar with. This figure could be one of the Sith Lords before Palpatine and his master, Darth Plagueis. Of course, this shadowy figure could be the Sith Lord that trained Plagueis or Plagueis’ master. And that means there is a direct correlation between Palpatine and the Sith Lords that will appear in The Acolyte.

So, while Palpatine may not be in The Acolyte, we know there will be a connection between him and the Sith Lords in the series. After all, there is a member of the Trade Federation at first look. We know that Darth Sidious influenced the Trade Federation during the Clone Wars. As such, it is more than possible that the Clone Wars’ foundations and the Jedi Order’s fall were already established as early as the events of The Acolyte. And that means that this series will probably allow us to see how the previous Sith Lords eventually paved the way for Palpatine to destroy the Jedi Order.