‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ Visual Guide Review

Pablo Hidalgo’s visual guides have been staples of Star Wars publishing for years. From new character names to the expansion of planet-specific lore to an updated map of the galaxy, every new entry in the series has provided us Star Wars nerds with plenty of new, fascinating information about our favorite universe.

DK Publishing

The Acolyte Visual Guide continues that tradition, but in doing so, it does have a habit of making an already short show feel even smaller. Coming in at 128 pages, the book does a fantastic job of highlighting a plethora of details about the show’s surprisingly vast amount of background characters and information, but it is hard not to wonder how much more could have been added if the show’s story was given an opportunity to reach its full potential.

However, this is not a guide about hypothetical information, so it must therefore be examined based on the actual content it provides. The book begins with an updated version of the Star Wars Galaxy Map, and thanks to the show being set during the High Republic Era, we get a peek at a few fun additions for fans of the publishing initiative including the Stormwall from Phase III and a look at the relative size of Nihil Space.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised by how small the Stormwall was given its level of importance throughout The High Republic, but that’s part of what makes these books so much fun.

DK Publishing

But once you’re through your introduction to the larger galaxy, the book’s organization locks in and guides you through the series by arc. Each chapter showcases the characters introduced through each episode of the show, and a somewhat staggering amount of Hidalgo’s trademark descriptions are littered throughout the pages.

Nearly every background character is given a name - one of my personal favorite Star Wars traditions - and each addition to the world gives The Acolyte a deeper sense of purpose and belonging in the larger galaxy. We learn about the various configurations for Osha’s Pip droid, we find out how old Jecki and Yord are (although not Vernestra curiously – perhaps a lack of specificity due to her earlier appearance in The High Republic books), and there’s even a few splashes of classic Star Wars humor like when we discover that Ki-Adi-Mundi “prefers the longer cut of temple tabards”.

There’s some bar trivia for the future if I’ve ever seen it.

DK Publishing

While the book obviously features spoilers for the series, it does so in a pretty respectable manner. It’s not extremely likely that new viewers of The Acolyte will pick up this guide and follow along, but if they do, they will meet characters like Qimir without spoiling some of his…later story evolutions.

In a similar vein, the book does not reveal any key elements that were not present in the series. The planet on which we first see Darth Plagueis remains unnamed, Senator Rayencourt’s desire to investigate the Jedi is still mentioned as merely an idea, and the book ends somewhat abruptly with the same shot of Yoda that closes out the series.

In these ways, this Visual Guide mirrors The Acolyte almost too perfectly, because there are still plenty of questions that we know would’ve had answers in future installments that will likely not ever see the light of day. The Acolyte’s story is done, this guide does all it can to flesh out the pieces that were put on the board, but you can’t help but wish that Leslye Headland would’ve been given time to complete the entire puzzle.

Star Wars: The Acolyte Visual Guide is available now!

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