The Acolyte has been a much-debated show among Star Wars fans. Some have come to like it for its unique take on the Jedi and its strong finale, but it's also been criticized for its pacing, writing, and not making good use of its setting. Watching the show, some fans couldn't help but wonder about how much else there is to explore in the Star Wars galaxy on TV.
So what are some ideas for Star Wars ideas Disney could use to make a new Star Wars show, since they're clearly interested? Here are good ones:
Knights of the Old Republic
For two decades, fans have loved this Star Wars video game, arguably the best ever. This award-winning RPG remains an incredible experience, set 4000 years before the movies and showcasing a war between the Republic and the Sith. It's packed with amazing characters like the psychotic droid HK-47 and a twist on par with Luke learning Vader is his father.
A TV show could easily adapt the game over multiple seasons. It could also tell an original story set during the same time period. Either way, Star Wars fans would go wild for a Knights of the Old Republic show, and the creators would have the freedom to craft original stories set a long time ago. That blank slate represents a ton of potential that Lucasfilm should explore.
Young Palpatine
Who was Emperor Palpatine before his rise to power? That's still a great mystery in Star Wars lore. How Palpatine was born, his childhood and how he ran into Darth Sidious; all of this would be intriguing to explore onscreen. Was Palpatine once more innocent, or was always interested in the Dark Side?
The show could also look into how Palpatine began plotting, scheming and murdering his way into becoming a Senator of Naboo, and then his long-term plan for control of the galaxy. Get the right actor and this would be a fascinating take on whether evil is born or made and the origins of Star Wars' greatest villain.
Darth Maul
The end of the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story revealed that Darth Maul had risen up to become the boss of the Crimson Dawn crime empire. The Rebels animated series picked up with an older and broken Maul. That leaves a lot of time in between to see how Maul rose and fell, and the idea of Maul as an intergalactic mob boss is too good to pass up.
Ray Park may be too old to play the role now, but others can step in. There can also be flashbacks to Maul's training under Darth Sidious, giving us more of this fantastic Sith warrior.
The Rule of Two
The ancient war between the Jedi and the Sith is terrific fodder for a TV show. The Jedi seemingly won this war, but the Sith lived on. A series could center around the surviving Sith Lord Darth Bane. Going into hiding, he created "The Rule of Two," under which there can only be one Master and one Apprentice to keep the Sith going.
There have been books about this idea, but a TV show could take it to another level. With The Acolyte focusing so much on the Sith in hiding, showing how they got started is a good idea.
Doctor Aphra
One of the most popular original characters in the Star Wars comics, Chelli Lona Aphra would be a wonderful star of her own show. A supposed archaeologist by trade, Aphra is also a con artist and thief who pledges allegiances to no one but herself. She's also a charming rogue with a wicked sense of humor, supported by two droids who are basically the evil R2-D2 and C-3PO. They're always getting into misadventures.
A TV series would follow Aphra as she bounces around the galaxy, running afoul of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance and still coming out on top. Finding the right actress for the role would be a challenge, but land her and this fan-favorite character could easily be a TV star.
Rogue Squadron
Disney keeps having trouble getting a Rogue Squadron movie off the ground. So why not just make it a TV show? A Star Wars take on Top Gun is easy money. It can be set during the time of the original trilogy or while the Resistance is trying to rebuild.
The effects crew would have to work hard to sell the dogfighting, and the right cast could give us winning characters we want to root for. It's past time Rogue Squadron shines onscreen.
Quinlan Vos
A fan favorite since appearing in the Clone Wars comics, Quinlan Vos is more of a "gray" Jedi with a serious edge who often bucks tradition. That makes him a very compelling character. An unmade Clone Wars storyline would have had him teaming up with former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress. Obi-Wan revealed Quinlan survived Order 66 and so deserves his own show.
This series could explore what happened to Quinlan after Order 66 and pick up with him as he's still fighting the good fight. Maybe it can finally tell that story about him and Ventress, another character who fans would love to see in live-action.
The Guardians of the Whills
If Cassian Andor can get his own TV show, then two of his Rogue One costars can too. There's so much left unexplored in the backstory of Donnie Yen's blind warrior Chirrut and Jiang Wen's broken mercenary Baze. How they met, why Chirrut remains so devoted to the ways of the Force while Baze is more broken, what brought them to Jedha...there's a ton to look into. Not to mention, a series about them could put a spotlight on the long-discussed yet never-detailed history of the Guardians of the Whills and their connection to the Jedi.
Yen and Wen had fantastic chemistry in Rogue One. That could easily carry over to a series, with a little de-aging CGI to show them in younger times. We know how their story ends, but seeing how it began could enrich their stories the way Andor has enriched Cassian's.
Underworld
The new Star Wars Outlaws video game finally picks up ideas developers have tried to explore for years, ideas about the underworld of the Star Wars universe. There's plenty more to eplore about how these criminal empires operated under the Empire. A series could be a fascinating intergalactic Godfather saga, looking at everything from the Hutts and other powerful gangs to some up-and-comer guys wanting to make a mark.
Maybe Emilia Clarke could reprise her Solo role of Qi'ra and serve as our main character. The politics of how the criminals handle the Empire and Rebellion would be very interesting. The show could also showcase lots of alien species. For anyone who'd like to root for the bad guys, an underworld tale is the way to go.
Yoda
With a lifespan of 800 years, there's so much history to explore for the revered Jedi Master. A TV show could pick up with him as a younger man, showing how he developed his unique attitude and give us a glimpse at the Jedi in different time periods. A mix of CGI and puppet work can bring Yoda to life like never before.
A Yoda TV show would give producers a chance to explore his relationship with a young Count Dooku, Mace Windu or other Jedi, and perhaps his early suspicions that the Sith had returned. If any Star Wars character deserves a spotlight, it's Yoda.
The Unknown Regions
As the name implies, this area of the Star Wars universe has long gone mostly unexplored. It was where Luke went in his exile, and home to the Chiss, the race of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Yet there are a lot of mysteries here, including the origins of the Sith. It's fertile ground for a TV show.
The show could follow a ship somehow traveling into this far distant galaxy. They run into a dark threat as they try to find their way back home. The show could introduce new types of aliens and bring in fresh and exciting ideas, something the Star Wars universe can definitely use more of.
"Lower Decks"
Star Trek: Lower Decks has been a hit animated show examining how the rank and file of the Star Trek universe clean up after the bigger names. A Star Wars take can be just as fun, whether it's set in the Empire or in the Rebel Alliance. Image a show where stormtroopers jockey for rank and try to impress Darth Vader.
A show set within the Rebel Alliance could revolve around the grunts and show how some feel more passionate about the cause than others. Star Wars seen from the viewpoint of "the extras" is a long-overdue idea and lends itself nicely to a TV show.
Fallen Order
The Fallen Order video game and its sequel are the best Star Wars games in years. They have a great lead character in Cal Kestis, a Padawan who survived Order 66 and now fights the Empire. A TV show taking place after the games with Cal continuing on his quest would be great, especially if there was a rematch with Vader.
Cameron Monaghan could easily play the role in live-action and showcase more of the Star Wars galaxy the movies don't explore. Seeing Cal interact with the nascent Rebel Alliance and maybe run into some familiar characters would also be fun. Fallen Order could work as much more than just a game.
Star Wars post-Rise of Skywalker
If Disney is serious about a new movie series focusing on Rey years after The Rise of Skywalker, consider turning it into a TV show. It could finally give Finn the spotlight many feel he deserves as he rises up as a true Resistance leader and tries to rebuild the Republic. The sequels suggested Finn might be Force-sensitive. The could pick up where up they left off.
It can also answer the nagging questions on how the galaxy moves on, the fate of the First Order remnants and Rey starting to put together a new Jedi Order. The sequel trilogy has its detractors, but it still deserves a follow-up.
Jar Jar Binks
Hear us out. The takes on Jar Jar Binks have, of course, been horrible over the last 25 years. Yet Ahmed Best's recent cameo in The Mandalorian was great. There is some potential in exploring just what happened to Jar Jar when the Empire took over in no small part thanks to him giving Palpatine emergency powers.
Did he return to Naboo and try to recover? Did he wander the galaxy? Did he bungle into more misadventures or did he find some sort of happy ending? If nothing else, it would be good for this long-loathed character to finally get some redemption after a quarter of a century. He needs a second chance to win audiences over.
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