Details you might have missed in 'Star Wars: The Acolyte'

• "The Acolyte" is set 100 years before "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace."

• It follows a Jedi Master who investigates the deaths of other Jedi knights.

• The show has some subtle references to other stories in the "Star Wars" franchise.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Wars: The Acolyte."

"The Acolyte" is a prequel series set in the High Republic era around 100 years before the events of "Episode I - The Phantom Menace," meaning it's the earliest live-action project in the "Star Wars" timeline to date.

This means the events of the Star Wars sequels from the last 40 years — which are some of the most popular movies and TV shows of all time, grossing over $10 billion according to The Numbers — don't restrain it.

The series mainly revolves around a brand new group of characters, including Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and his former apprentice, Osha (Amandla Stenberg). They work together to find the mysterious murderer who has killed several members of the Jedi order.

Although "The Acolyte" is incredibly accessible to new audiences because of its place in the timeline, there are still several references to the wider "Star Wars" universe that you might have missed.

1. Neimoidians

When audiences first meet Osha, she's working as a mechanic on a ship owned by the Trade Federation.

That's the same shipping company that invades the planet of Naboo in "The Phantom Menace."

The ship is captained by several Nemoidians, the alien race that also appears throughout the prequel trilogy.

2. Vernestra Rwoh

Master Sol is tasked by Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) to find the person responsible for killing Master Indara (Carrie Anne-Moss).

Vernestra is one of the main characters in the High Republic era of the franchise, which has been explored through books and comics since 2021. She first appeared in Charles Soule's 2021 book, "Light of the Jedi."

In April 2024, showrunner Leslye Headland told Empire that Vernestra has "been through some shit," in the time between the books and "The Acolyte."

Fun fact: Vernestra is played by Headland's wife, Rebecca Henderson.

3. The Force connection between Mae and Osha

The first episode quickly establishes that Stenberg is playing twins, Mae and Osha, who are both Force-sensitive. The twist is that Osha and Master Sol believed Mae had died several years before the events of "The Acolyte."

Osha discovers that Mae might still be alive when a vision of her sister appears to her after the prison ship crash lands on an ice planet.

It seems that Osha and Mae have a bond through the Force, similar to the Force dyad that connects trainee Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley) and villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in the sequel trilogy.

4. "I have a bad feeling about this."

While the Jedi monitor the apothecary in an attempt to find Mae, Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) says: "I have a bad feeling about this."

The line was first said in "Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope" and has become a running joke in the franchise, appearing in some form in every film, and some of the TV shows.

4. The Hutts

When Master Sol asks Qimir (Manny Jacinto) how he knows Mae, he says he used to make money by "gun-running for the Hutts."

The Hutts are a race of alien gangsters who mostly run criminal operations.

The most notable is Jabba the Hutt, who appeared in the prequels and the original trilogy. He was killed by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in "Episode VI—Return of the Jedi."

June 5, 2024: This story was updated to remove a comparison of the words "absolute" and "absolution."

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