Disney+ Star Wars show The Acolyte presents a darker take on the franchise’s galaxy far, far away. So, what age rating is The Acolyte, and is it appropriate for younger viewers?
The Acolyte’s Age Rating, Explained
The Acolyte is rated TV-14. As such, any fans younger than 14 should watch the show’s eight-episode run with a grown-up present. The Acolyte is nevertheless pretty tame overall. Sure, there are several intense fight scenes ā at least one of which ends in a murder ā and there’s an ominous tone to proceedings, but The Acolyte‘s certification aligns with the wider Disney+ Star Wars slate.
The Mandalorian Seasons 1-3, Andor Season 1, Ahsoka Season 1, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi all carried a TV-14 rating as well. That said, Andor came close to landing a stronger rating. The gritty Rogue One: A Star Wars Story spinoff very nearly included Star Wars‘ first-ever F-bomb, however, Disney ultimately forced showrunner Tony Gilroy and his crew to cut it.
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With The Acolyte, series creator and showrunner Leslye Headland pushed the envelope in other, less obvious ways. Notably, the new series presents a decidedly unflattering take on the Jedi Order, as a way of flipping the Star Wars saga’s established moral dichotomy.
“If Star Wars is about the underdog versus the institution, [in The Acolyte] the Jedi are the institution,” Headland told StarWars.com in March 2024. “I was so interested in a storyline where the Jedi were at the height of their power ā and I don’t mean [like in 1999 movie] The Phantom Menace, because at that point, there’s a Sith Lord in the Senate that they’re not picking up on.”
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Headland added that The Acolyte‘s more ambiguous tone also allowed her to explore how the Jedi Order’s gradual decline started. “What went wrong?ā Headland mused. “And if the bad guys are actually the underdog, it just seemed like a cool reversal.”
None of this was enough to nudge The Acolyte fully to the Dark Side (or rather, a TV-MA certificate), but it certainly deserves its TV-14 rating!
The Acolyte Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.
