‘The Acolyte’ brings lesbian space witches to the ‘Star Wars’ franchise

*The Acolyte spoilers. 

Thanks to The Acolyte, the Star Wars franchise just got a lot gayer. 

Disney+’s latest Star Wars project, The Acolyte, is taking the internet by storm with its latest episode. The Acolyte, which takes place a century before 1999’s Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, brings audiences back into the world of the magically-imbued space knights called the Jedi before the rise of Darth Vader. And now we get further insight into the world of the Jedi.

The Acolyte chronicles the story of twins Mae and Osha (both played by Amandla Stenberg). Mae goes on a murderous quest to take down several Jedi, including The Matrix alum Carrie-Ann Moss who plays The Acolyte’s powerful Indara. While former Jedi-in-training (aka padawan) Osha teams up with her former Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) to investigate this string of murders, only to discover her twin sister is behind them. 

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While the two come face to face in episode two, episode three gives us the backstory of the sisters. The twins were born via the Force, a mysterious energy field within the galaxy that Jedi, Sith, and other Force-sensitive beings harness to use extraordinary powers, to a coven of space witches called the Force Witches of Brendok. Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), who leads the coven, uses the Force to give life to two embryos carried by her partner and fellow witch Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva).

Meaning that Mae and Osha are the daughters of lesbian space witches and Star Wars just got gayer. But it doesn’t stop there, as The Acolyte has plenty of LGBTQ+ talent involved. Stenberg is gay and nonbinary, Charlie Barnett (who plays the yellow-lightsaber wielding Jedi Yord) is gay, showrunner Leslye Headland (the series’ showrunner) and her wife appear on the show, as does trans actress Abigail Thorn, with trans writer Jen Richards as one of the show’s screenwriters. 

The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday. 

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