Star Wars Meets ‘Shadow and Bone’ in Disney+’s Best Dark Fantasy Series

Published Aug 29, 2026, 7:36 PM EDT Julio is a Senior Author for Collider. He studied History and International Relations at university, but found his calling in cultural journalism. When he isn't writing, Julio also teaches English at a nearby school. He has lived in São Paulo most of his life, where he covers CCXP and other big events. Having loved movies, music, and TV from an early age, he prides himself in knowing every minute detail about the things he loves. When he is older, he dreams of owning a movie theater in a small countryside town. In pop culture, everyone is an orphan of something, especially short-lived series. There is always that lingering feeling of wasted potential in certain cancellations, something that usually gets stronger upon rewatches. In recent years, fans of dark fantasy have lost some great shows, including an unlikely one set within the Star Wars universe: The Acolyte. While still framed as a sci-fi mystery thriller within the space opera setting of the galaxy far, far away, this eight-episode, single-season series resonates a lot with the dark fantasy genre, particularly with series that have also gotten the ax way too soon, like Netflix's Shadow and Bone. Two years after its Disney+ release, The Acolyte remains one of Star Wars' best projects, and it's still the franchise's perfect fix for dark fantasy fans. ‘The Acolyte’ Has a Unique Setting Within the Star Wars Timeline Everything about The Acolyte is unique within Star Wars. It is the only live-action project set in the High Republic era, around a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, showing the Jedi Order as the dominating force when it comes to, well, the Force. To "keep the peace," the Jedi keep tight control over who may wield the Force and how, which sometimes leads to confrontation with other much smaller religious groups who simply want to do their own thing. Collider Exclusive · Star Wars Quiz Which Force UserAre You? Light Side · Dark Side · Or Somewhere Between The Force is not a binary. It is a spectrum — from the serene halls of the Jedi Temple to the shadowed corridors of Sith space. Ten questions will reveal where you truly fall. The Force has always known. Now you will too. 🔵Jedi Master 🟡Padawan 🔴Sith Lord ⚫Inquisitor ⚪Grey Jedi IGNITE YOUR SABER → 01 What is the Force to you? Your relationship with the Force defines everything else. AA living energy I must be worthy of — it is not mine to control. BSomething vast and mysterious I'm only beginning to understand. CNeither light nor dark — just a current I choose to ride. DPower. Pure and simple. The strong take it; the weak don't. NEXT QUESTION → 02 When you feel strong emotions — anger, grief, love — what do you do? The Jedi suppress. The Sith feed. Others choose differently. AAcknowledge them, then release them. Attachment leads to suffering. BFeel them fully, then decide what to do — they're not the enemy. CBury them. Emotion is a liability I can't afford to indulge. DUse them. Passion is the engine of the dark side for good reason. NEXT QUESTION → 03 The Jedi Council gives you an order you disagree with. You: How you handle authority reveals your alignment. AFollow it. The Council's wisdom surpasses my own perspective. BVoice my objection clearly, then defer to the decision. CComply outwardly while doing what I think is right. DIgnore it. The strong don't answer to committees. NEXT QUESTION → 04 You are offered forbidden knowledge that could give you enormous power. The cost is crossing a moral line. You: The dark side's pull is never more than a choice away. ARefuse without hesitation. There is no cost worth that price. BWeigh it carefully — sometimes darkness holds real answers. CFeel the pull but walk away — for now. DAccept it. Power justifies the method used to obtain it. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Your approach to training and learning is: A student's habits become a master's character. ADedicated but humble. There is always more to learn from my masters. BRigorous and patient. Mastery is earned through years of discipline. CEclectic — I draw from every tradition, not just one. DRelentless and brutal. Pain accelerates growth. Rest is weakness. NEXT QUESTION → 06 In a duel, your lightsaber fighting style reflects: Combat is the purest expression of a Force user's philosophy. ADefense and composure — I wait for my opponent to overcommit. BFast and instinctive — I trust the Force to guide my movements. CUnpredictable — I blend styles to keep enemies off-balance. DOverwhelming aggression — I end fights before they begin. NEXT QUESTION → 07 A defeated enemy lies at your feet, powerless. You: Mercy — or its absence — is the truest test of alignment. AStrike them down — compassion toward enemies is naïve and costly. BNeutralize them permanently. I can't afford loose ends. CSpare them if I can — but stay clear-eyed about the risks. DOffer them a chance to surrender. Every being deserves that. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The Jedi Code forbids attachment. Your honest view on love and bonds: The source of the greatest falls in the galaxy. AThe Code is right. Attachment clouds judgment and invites suffering. BLove is not a weakness — the Jedi Code got this one wrong. CI have no attachment — only loyalty to my master's mission. DI feel it deeply but struggle to reconcile it with my training. NEXT QUESTION → 09 Why do you use the Force at all? What's the point? Purpose is the difference between a knight and a weapon. ATo learn. I'm still figuring out what I'm capable of. BTo protect and serve. The Force is a responsibility, not a gift. CTo survive — and maybe carve out something worth having. DTo dominate. Strength demands to be expressed, not contained. NEXT QUESTION → 10 At the final moment — light side or dark side pulling at you — what wins? In the end, every Force user faces this moment. What does yours look like? AThe light. I choose peace, even when darkness would be easier. BNeither fully — I carve my own path through the middle. CWhoever I serve — my loyalty defines me more than my morality. DThe dark. Power is the only thing that's ever actually been real. REVEAL MY ALIGNMENT → Your Alignment Has Been Determined Your Place in the ForceThe scores below reveal how the Force sees you. Your highest number is your true alignment. Read on to understand what that means — and what it will cost you. 🔵 Jedi Master 🟡 Padawan 🔴 Sith Lord ⚫ Inquisitor ⚪ Grey Jedi Disciplined, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the living Force, you have walked the path long enough to understand its demands — and accept them. You lead not through authority alone, but through example. You have felt the pull of the dark side and chosen otherwise, every time. That is not certainty. That is courage. You are earnest, powerful, and brimming with potential — and you know it, which is both your greatest asset and your most dangerous flaw. You act before you think, trust your gut over your training, and sometimes confuse impatience for bravery. The Masters see something in you, though. The question isn't whether you have what it takes — it's whether you'll be patient enough to find out. You are not simply dangerous — you are certain, and that is worse. You have decided what the galaxy needs, and you have decided you are the one to deliver it. Your power is genuine and formidable, earned through sacrifice that would have broken lesser beings. But examine your victories carefully. Every Sith believed their cause was righteous. The dark side's cruelest trick is that it agrees with you. You were forged in fire and reshaped by those who found you at your lowest. You serve, because service gave you structure when you had none. Your allegiance is not to an ideology — it is to survival and to the master who gave you purpose. But there is something buried beneath the conditioning. The Jedi you hunt? You recognize them. Because you remember what it felt like before the choice was taken from you. You have looked at the Jedi Code and the Sith Code and found both of them incomplete. You walk the line not out of indecision but out of conviction — you genuinely believe both extremes miss something essential. The Jedi don't fully trust you. The Sith think you're wasting your potential. They're both partially right. But so are you. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ This policy quietly begins to cause problems for the Jedi Order when assassin Mae Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) starts targeting knights and masters connected to an incident with a coven of witches on the planet Brendok some years before. Mae isn't alone, however, and is guided by a mysterious master known as The Stranger, who has promised her the power she craves in the Dark Side of the Force. The challenge is simple: kill all the Jedi related to that incident without a weapon. Meanwhile, Mae's identical twin sister, Osha, is suddenly caught in the middle of this conundrum. Once a Jedi Padawan herself, Osha now has to confront her "failed" apprenticeship under Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and her relationship with her sister in order to help the Jedi Order make sense of Mae's killing spree and how to find her before she kills more Jedi. All this takes place at a time when the Jedi are at the height of their power, but are already under heavy scrutiny by the Galactic Senate of the Republic. ‘The Acolyte’ Sees Star Wars Dipping Its Toes Into the Dark Fantasy Genre Image via Disney+ One of the best things about Star Wars since its acquisition by Disney in 2012 is how Lucasfilm has made an active effort to branch out the franchise in different directions, including telling original stories in genres not so often associated with it. Dark fantasy is one of them, and although The Acolyte isn't officially a dark fantasy story, it does feature many of the genre's typical staples and tropes. It still has spaceships and some incredible lightsaber fights, but that's just not the focus. Instead, the story spends more time looking at the growing corruption inside the Jedi Order and whether there is enough room in the Force for different philosophies and religions. This gives The Acolyte a distinct fantasy-like quality similar to shows like Shadow and Bone, where the Grisha also have their own set of abilities and have their own history, culture and hierarchy. Like the Force, the Small Science can also be used for twisted purposes, depending on how one approaches it. Of course, the definition of "twisted" varies according to who's in charge. Institutional hubris and flawed protagonists are also constants in dark fantasy, and this is the first time Star Wars actively shows Jedi doing things they know they shouldn't to protect themselves. Power is always more interesting when those wielding it aren't easily categorized as heroes or villains. ‘The Acolyte’s Untimely Cancelation Is Unfortunately Not a First for Dark Fantasy on Streaming Great as they usually are, dark fantasy shows rarely get the time they deserve to tell their story. The Acolyte might be an excellent entry point for fans of the genre who might want to get into Star Wars, but, unfortunately, it didn't sit well with a rather small, yet loud segment of the fandom, resulting in its cancellation after just one season. Still, The Acolyte dares to break the mold for Star Wars stories and is unapologetic about it. All that considered, The Acolyte is the perfect fix not only for Shadow and Bone fans looking for their next favorite show, but also for anyone who enjoys dark fantasy in general. It might feel like it's too late, but who knows? Maybe the Power of Two — or the Power of Many, for that matter — could still get enough viewership to make someone reconsider the fates of these two gems. The Acolyte is available to stream on Disney+.