On Dec. 10, 2020, Kathleen Kennedy announced 10 Star Wars series as part of Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation. Some, like Andor and Ahsoka, actually managed to make it to the platform. Others, like Rangers of the New Republic and A Droid Story have been either canceled or indefinitely delayed. Some, like Lando, were transformed into future movies. Now, four years later, the last of these series is set to premiere — and it’s the most experimental and galvanizing of the lot.

Helmed by Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland, The Acolyte finally explores a previously unseen time period in the franchise: the High Republic, which is set a century before everything else we’ve seen in Star Wars canon.

The result is a noir-esque series that paints an entirely different light on the parts of Star Wars that seemingly had been unquestioned and redefines the very standards by which we define what makes Star Wars so good in the first place. It may be the last series in that presentation to come to fruition, but it’s the start of a new Star Wars era — and one that’s more than welcome.

Even after 200 hours with Elden Ring, setting foot into the Land of Shadow was enough to take my breath away. You enter the shadowy realm through a decrepit cocoon and your first sight is a visual feast of rolling black hills adorned with swarms of ghostly tombstones. Misty castles loom in the background, and a ghastly fiery beast stalks the ethereal cemetery. Three hours of playtime later it was clear that Shadow of the Erdtree is the biggest expansion FromSoftware has ever made. I’m also hopeful that it could be its best too.