Warning: Spoilers follow for the first two episodes of The Acolyte.
Star Wars fans were left reeling by the opening scene of The Acolyte, but series creator Leslye Headland has explained why she wanted it to play out that way.
The first episode of The Acolyte, Lost / Found, launched straight into action as a mysterious assassin (Amandla Stenberg) — later revealed to be Osha's twin sister Mae — enters a bar to confront Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss). Mae challenges Indara to "attack her" with all her strength and then forces her into a duel.
Mae ends up striking Indara down during the choreographed combat scene, resulting in her death, which some fans felt was premature for a screen legend like Moss. Headland told GamesRadar that as brutal as it was, it was essential for the show to throw down the gauntlet and highlight the threats faced by the Jedi.
"From a filmmaker perspective, I just felt like with the cold open, especially with a new story, that you just have to go hard," Headland explained. "You have to say the Jedi are going to take some Ls; you're not going to know who the good guys and the bad guys are. And it's going to feel very visceral."
"Even if you already know it's going to happen, it doesn't have to be a big gotcha moment," she added. "It just has to be a moment where the emotional and the physical – meaning the fights – melt together. Carrie-Anne, not just being an action legend, is also a phenomenal actress. She was able to play all those beats within the fight as well as, of course, her death scene."
Fans took to X/Twitter to express their shock over Moss not surviving the first five minutes of the opening episode. Some people were unhappy with the actor's short-lived appearance, feeling the character did not get enough screen time. Others criticized her heavy inclusion in promotional materials, only to be cut early on.
Why yall make Carrie-Anne Moss get out of bed if you’re just gonna waste her like that #theacolyte pic.twitter.com/d58TJbacI1
— Boka ?s Beef (@BokaLaBoca) June 5, 2024
Cannot BELIEVE that disney suckered me into watching this show by telling me Carrie-Anne Moss would be in it and then she dies fewer than five minutes in.
— Lifelong LA Knight Riders Fan (@WishboneUlysses) June 5, 2024
I swear if you hyped up a Carrie Anne moss Jedi only for her role to be THAT small, imma force choke someone
— nik (@NikLinenberger) June 5, 2024
So…just so I’m clear…Carrie Ann Moss features PROMINENTLY in the teasers and commercials for the Acolyte, and she’s just dead in the first 2 minutes of the show. If she doesn’t come back as some kind of ass kicking force ghost I’m gonna be pissed.
— b—b (@BryanByczek) June 6, 2024
The Acolyte is so unserious.. how do you get Carrie-Anne Moss only for one episode after using her for promo this entire time?? SICK IM SICK
— Gabs (@GabsCMR) June 5, 2024
The Acolyte seems like it's off to a good start, but I am miffed that we only got about 15 minutes of Carrie Anne Moss as a Jedi. The trailers made it seem like she'd have a pretty major role in the show.
— Shrutarshi Basu ?? (@basus) June 6, 2024
Carrie-Anne Moss pic.twitter.com/1Buo7AdDBW
— Matt Palmer (@mattpalmer1978) June 5, 2024
With six episodes of The Acolyte still to stream, there is a glimmer of hope that it might not be the last we have seen of Moss. It is plausible that she will appear in flashbacks to fill out the backstory involving the Jedi, who were seemingly present on the same planet where Mae and Osha's family tragically died in a blaze.
Fans should also hopefully see more of Osha's pocket-sized pal Pip, which became an instant fan-favorite with droid enthusiasts, while at some point discovering the identity of the mysterious masked villain overseeing Mae's murderous mission — some people, however, think they have already figured that out.
IGN has a spoiler-free review of the premiere, plus a full-blown critical analysis with a 6/10 rating. "The first two episodes of The Acolyte make an exciting live-action introduction to The High Republic, but they don't quite capture the vibe of classic Star Wars," it notes, adding that it sometimes feels "tonally and visually off."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
