The Acolyte Promises Bad Times in the Old Republic
Leslye Headland gives us a Star Wars mystery-thriller.
Squid Game star and Emmy nominee Lee Jung-jae has in a galaxy far, far away. Read on for a more detailed cast list, what we know about the plot from the trailer, and when The Acolyte comes to streaming.
Who’s in The Acolyte?
Created by Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland, The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg as someone who is out here merking Jedis. Disney confirmed its main cast on November 7, adding The Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss to the docket. Hedland brought Russian Doll alum Carlie Barnett into the mix, along with Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Dean-Charles Chapman.
Production has begun on “The Acolyte,” an upcoming Original Star Wars series from Lucasfilm coming to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/g6apnGXSmr
— Star Wars (@starwars) November 7, 2022
The diverse-casting announcement came a few weeks after John Boyega revealed he would no longer be involved with Star Wars. He discussed not feeling supported by Disney when he began receiving racist backlash for his casting. Other Star Wars stars received similar racist comments. Moses Ingram received hundreds of hate comments, prompting her co-star Ewan McGregor to address the racism head-on in a video. Kelly Marie Tran was bullied off of Instagram in 2018. While the Star Wars universe continues to grow, it’s difficult to ignore the pattern of racist backlash that comes with casting.
Jedi vs. Witches?
Described as a “mystery-thriller” in “the final days of the High Republic era,” the next phase in the Star Wars saga will be spooky as hell. Stenberg plays a former padawan who now works against the Jedi. She appears to be in cahoots with Turner-Smith’s force-sensitive witch. Yeah, Star Wars has witches now.
The trailer promises another creepy masked guy in the Star Wars universe
The trailer, which dropped May the 4th 2024, ends with a Sith lord (peep the red lightsaber) wearing a helmet or mask that can only be described as “Jeff the Killer-esque.” We also get to see Carrie-Anne Moss wield a lightsaber, so that’s pretty cool.
When does The Acolyte hit streaming?
The Acolyte’s two-episode premiere comes to Disney+ June 4. The show will reportedly consist of eight episodes (per Discussing Film) which will drop weekly after that.
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