‘The Acolyte’: When is Vernestra Rwoh’s First Appearance in The High Republic Books?

By Angela Tricarico
Published May 30, 2024, 1:23 p.m. ET
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The Acolyte

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The age of the High Republic is finally coming to Star Wars live-action with the premiere of The Acolyte on June 4.

This canon era of the Star Wars timeline, set roughly between 500 BBY (before the Battle of Yavin) and 100 BBY, has been explored in over 30 comics and novels for readers of all ages, but it has never actually appeared in a Star Wars live-action film or series before. For more timeline context, The Phantom Menace is set in 32 BBY, while A New Hope is 0 BBY — the Battle of Yavin is set during that film and all subsequent films are set in ABY years.

RELATED: The Acolyte Could Save Star Wars by Ignoring Star Wars

Anyway, the High Republic is a golden age for the Galactic Republic and a time of widespread growth in the Jedi Order — and we’ve never seen it brought to life before. That all changes with The Acolyte, which is set during the tail end of the era (about 100 years before The Phantom Menace), and in addition to bringing new characters into the galaxy, a well-established character from the novels will be making her live-action debut.

How to Watch The Acolyte:

The Acolyte is streaming exclusively on Disney+. Disney+ starts at $7.99/month with ads, but you can upgrade to the ad-free plan for $13.99/month. On either of these plans, you can stream all things Star Wars, including The Acolyte.

Disney also offers a few bundle options to stream more for less. For $9.99/month, you can get Disney+ and Hulu both with ads and for just $1 more than ad-free Disney+ on its own, you’ll also get access to ad-free Hulu. There’s also a trio option with ESPN+ — with ads, it’s $14.99/month while going ad-free will cost $24.99/month total.

Get ready to meet Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) and her lightwhip. Vernestra has starred in a number of High Republic novels, so if you want to catch up on her journey before the events of The Acolyte, we’ve broken down her main appearances in reading order (along with where to buy them), plus some more books where she plays a more minor role.

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Writer/Reporter for Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, how to watch your favorite sports teams and movies on each streaming service and the very best in tech, like soundbars, to enhance your viewing experience. Not only does Angela test and compare the services, devices and merch she writes about, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews. 

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