The next few years are going to bring about many exciting Star Wars series to Disney+, including Ahsoka and further adventures for The Mandalorian and Andor. But one, in particular, announced in 2020, is The Acolyte.
In a wholesome video, Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, welcomes The Acolyte‘s Amandla Stenberg to the world of Star Wars. Christensen offers, “I just wanted to send you a quick message to say congratulations. And I’m very excited for the show, and wanted to wish you all the best and welcome you to our Star Wars family. Hopefully I’ll get to meet you soon, maybe at a Star Wars Celebration or something.” This is the kind of content we love to see.
Here’s everything we know about The Acolyte, a set a century before the events of the Skywalker Saga.
Title
The official title for the upcoming Lucasfilm Star Wars series is The Acolyte. Its official title may or may not wind up as Star Wars: The Acolyte.
The Acolyte’s Plot
The Acolyte‘s trailer gives us our first good look at the series, which cautions that even in times of peace, evil is always rising. A synopsis shared with the trailer reveals:
In “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….
When Disney officially announced the series back in December 2020, we got a slightly different description, which noted:
The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
We’ve also learned that the drama unfolds about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, during a time when the Sith were still in hiding, getting ready to make their move to take over the galaxy. Aside from canon novels, the High Republic is an era totally unexplored in any live-action or animated Star Wars projects.
Behind the Scenes
Leslye Headland is on board as writer and producer. Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). A release shares, “Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.”
The Acolyte’s Cast
The Acolyte‘s cast is turning out better than we could have imagined. Playing the lead role in the show is Amandla Stenberg, recently seen in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Joining Stenberg are Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joonas Suotamo. Suotamo is playing a Wookiee and Henderson will portray Vernestra Rwoh. This High Republic character was one of the youngest ever to become Jedi Knight. Of course, we’ll see her much older in this Star Wars series.
In The Acolyte, the green-skinned Jedi Master, played by Rebecca Henderson, is a cool 116 years old and lives in the temple on Coruscant. In an interview with Empire, series creator Leslye Headland affirms that Rwoh is the only character from that book series who will be in The Acolyte …at least, for now. Headland speaks more on the character’s personality, saying she’s been through a lot. “That has resulted in her going from this fun-seeking adventurer character [in the books], to a little bit closer to the [type of] Jedi that we see in The Phantom Menace.”
The Acolyte‘s Release Date
The Acolyte will release on June 4, 2024. It will premiere with its first two episodes.
Originally published on May 10, 2023.