Potentially huge story spoilers follow for Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Star Wars: The Acolyte is less than two weeks away from debuting on Disney Plus, but it seems one of its biggest plot twists has been ruined already.
Over the weekend (May 18-19), a new teaser for The Acolyte, one of the shows I'm most excited for in mid-2024, was released on Star Wars and Disney Plus' various social media channels. On the surface, the teaser appeared to be nothing more than a new trailer to promote the series – and further excite Star Wars' diehard fanbase – prior to The Acolyte's June 4 release. Indeed, despite its brief runtime, there's plenty of new footage to pore over, including confirming that fan-favorite Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh's lightsaber whip will appear.
That crowd-pleasing reveal, though, is massively overshadowed by a potentially massive story twist that might have been ruined ahead of time – and it's all thanks to the subtitles that accompanied The Acolyte's newest trailer. I'm about to discuss those spoilers after the trailer below, so turn back now if you don't want anything ruined prior to the show's release.
So, what have Lucasfilm and Disney accidentally given away? It seems that Mae, the character played by Amandla Stenberg – who was cast as The Acolyte's lead star in December 2022 – is playing twins, with Mae's sibling being known as Osha.
Why is that such a big deal? For one, The Acolyte's trailers and marketing material have only confirmed that Stenberg is playing Mae. She appears to be a member of the Dark Side who's going around murdering Jedi under the orders of her unidentified Sith Lord. So far, the show's various trailers, including the one above, have suggested that Mae is a former Padawan of Jedi Master Sol (played by Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae). This leads Sol to embark on a quest to track down his former student to stop her from killing wielders of the Light Side of the Force. So far, so easy to follow.
The latest teaser, however, suggest that this isn't the case. It seems that Sol has mistaken Mae for Osha and believes that his actual former apprentice – Osha – is guilty of committing these heinous crimes. In short: Osha is getting framed for murder by her devilish twin sister, who nobody seems to know exists.
Oh shit this reveals a lot! The winter confrontation with Mae already seems super interesting! And the twin sister theories are rising! #TheAcolyte https://t.co/z66VzdyORbMay 12, 2024
Now, if you've watched the latest teaser in the past 12 hours (at the time of writing) and/or got to this point in the article, you're likely to be confused. If you watch the above trailer with the subtitles on now, there's no mention of a character named Osha. So, where am I getting my information from? This Star Wars Leaks Reddit thread, which has a screenshot of Osha's name being mentioned when Stenberg's character is confronted by Sol and says "I didn't do it! Believe me!"
There's also a prevailing fan theory that Mae has a twin sister who's being falsely pursued by the Jedi for said sibling's transgressions. That rumor began to spread after prominent industry insider DanielRPK posted the intriguing snippet of information on his Patreon page (thanks to GameRant for the spot) in December 2023, and it's only gained more traction in the weeks and months since.
Indeed, as X/Twitter user @HarrisHarrisev9 (see above) notes, other teasers have dropped hints about this particular story twist, too. Oh, and let's not forget that showrunner Leslye Headland said that her pitch for a Star Wars show was "Frozen meets Kill Bill" (per The Hollywood Reporter) – the influence of the former's sibling-based tale lending further weight to The Acolyte's most notable fan theory.
What's most revealing about this potential plot spoiler is the fact that Lucasfilm and Disney have gone on to remove any mention of Osha from the teaser's subtitles. If that's not a dead giveaway for "we messed up, nothing to see here, folks", I don't know what is. Let's just hope there are more shocking plot twists to come as part of The Acolyte's narrative. While we wait for it to arrive, why not read my breakdown of Star Wars: The Acolyte's main trailer to learn more about what to expect from the first live-action Star War series that's set during The High Republic era.
