Wow, this takes us back! Who would have thought it would be The Acolyte to remind us of times past? Remember what online internet movie news used to be like? Before goodie bags and junkets and sell-outs and “pwesents”. Before the websites became wholly owned, directly or through favors and access, tools of the studios?
Last Movie Outpost remembers. It was a heady time. A giddy mess of leaks and rumors, of spies and bannings. Blacklists, and not caring about blacklists. Hurridly snatched set photos, or just plain made-up bullshit (here’s looking at you, SuperShadow). Back then, we really were all part of something amazing. Studios had no power in the face of the insanity. We did, and we used it.
The driver of most of the creation of most of the online movie news movement? Star Wars. When the prequels were announced, millions of us fired up our dial-up modems and typed “movie rumors” into Yahoo where we found the world of Corona Coming Attractions, Dark Horizons, and Ain’t It Cool News. Only one of those remains with any real presence today. Back then, the absolute pinnacle was a trailer leak, captured illicitly in a special screening for cast, crew, or studio execs.
These days trailers are revealed at various conventions, and we suspect this is where this came from. D23, Star Wars Celebration. One of those. Wherever it comes from, it appears to be genuine. Captured on a cellphone from several different angles, complete with people in front for authenticity it was posted a few hours ago on a Star Wars fan group on Facebook.
You can see this hooky trailer right here.
There is something evocative and nostalgic about watching an illicit Star Wars trailer, I can’t deny it. As far as we can tell, it is a genuine leak.
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
The Acolyte is expected to appear on Disney+ around March 2024.
