Star Wars: The Acolyte

The Acolyte, also known as Star Wars: The Acolyte, is an American science fiction television series created by Leslye Headland for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, set at the end of the High Republic era before the events of the Skywalker Saga, and follows a Jedi investigation into a series of crimes.

Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, Margarita Levieva, Lauren Brady, Leah Brady, Harry Trevaldwyn, and David Harewood star in the series. Headland expressed interest in working on the Star Wars franchise by the end of 2019, and was developing a new series for Lucasfilm by April 2020. She wanted to explore the franchise from the perspective of the villains. The title was announced in December 2020. Filming took place at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire from October 2022 to June 2023, with location filming in Wales and Portugal.

The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ with its first two episodes on June 4, 2024. The other six episodes were released weekly through July 16. Reviews by critics were generally favorable. The series, which divided fans of the franchise, became the subject of a review bombing campaign and received lower viewership than previous Star Wars series. It was canceled in August 2024 due to low viewership and going over budget. The series received several accolades including a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award nomination.

Premise

The Acolyte is set at the end of the Star Wars franchise's High Republic era, approximately 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). It sees a respected Jedi Master investigating a series of crimes that bring him into contact with a former Padawan learner and reveal sinister forces.

Cast and characters

Main

• Amandla Stenberg as Verosha "Osha" and Mae-ho "Mae" Aniseya:
  Twin sisters who were separated by a tragedy when they were young. Osha is the former Padawan learner of Sol who left the Jedi Order due to "internal turmoil" she has regarding her connection to the Force. Mae is presumed dead until she re-emerges as a dangerous warrior using the dark side of the Force. Stenberg studied the Star Wars films and the online encyclopedia Wookieepedia in preparation for the series, and she wrote backstories for both her characters. She compared them to the concept of yin and yang: Mae represents the yin, with Stenberg describing her as intuitive and acting based on emotion; Osha represents the yang, with a more "masculine" façade hiding her fragility. Shanice Archer was Stenberg's performance double for scenes in which both Osha and Mae appear, with different techniques used to achieve the final effect.
  • Lauren Brady as young Osha
  • Leah Brady as young Mae
• Lee Jung-jae as Sol:
  A respected Jedi Master. Lee was surprised that creator Leslye Headland wanted him for the character based on his performance in Squid Game as Seong Gi-hun, feeling the two characters were very different. The series is Lee's first English language role, and he worked with two dialect coaches starting four months ahead of filming to be able to perform his lines. He took inspiration from previous Jedi Masters in the franchise, particularly Liam Neeson's performance as Qui-Gon Jinn, and worked with Headland to be specific about the character's emotions in each scene due to Sol having to balance a Jedi's control of emotions with his complicated feelings about Osha and Mae.
• Charlie Barnett as Yord Fandar: A by-the-book Jedi Knight who aids Sol and Jecki
• Dafne Keen as Jecki Lon: Sol's current young Padawan. Jecki is half-human, half-Theelin just like Rystáll Sant, a background character from the 1997 special edition of the film Return of the Jedi (1983).
• Rebecca Henderson as Vernestra Rwoh: A senior member of the Jedi Order who rose to prominence as a young prodigy
• Jodie Turner-Smith as Mother Aniseya: The leader of a coven of Force witches who created Osha and Mae using the Force
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Indara:
  A Jedi Master proficient in "Force-fu" fighting, who is killed by Mae at the start of the series. Headland wanted the audience to immediately feel that Indara was "the most powerful Jedi in the room". She was inspired by Moss's portrayal of Trinity in The Matrix film series when creating the character and intended for audiences to see Indara as "Trinity with a lightsaber". Headland felt the character's death set the tone for the series, established that Jedi can be killed, and indicated that audience assumptions about who is good and bad could be wrong. Moss bonded with Stenberg on set over their shared spiritual background.
• Manny Jacinto as the Stranger:
  Mae's Sith master who initially disguises himself as a smuggler and apothecary named "Qimir". He was inspired by the character Drunken Cat from the film Come Drink with Me (1966). The first-season finale reveals that he was previously the Jedi Padawan of Vernestra. Headland said the character's true name would have been revealed in a potential second season and confirmed that he is now the apprentice of the Sith lord Darth Plagueis. The production referred to the Stranger as "Frank", named after the figure in a "grotesque" rabbit costume from the film Donnie Darko (2001); that costume inspired the "toothy" smile on the Stranger's mask. The mask includes elements from previous Star Wars villains Darth Vader and Darth Maul, and has a similar shape to the helmet of Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. After noticing this, Headland felt there could be a connection between the two characters and leaned into this with the storytelling, including by using music that evokes Kylo Ren's theme from the films. Since Plagueis goes on to have a different apprentice, Palpatine, in later Star Wars stories, Headland felt it could make sense if the Stranger was eventually revealed to be the first Knight of Ren rather than an actual Sith, potentially with a name that includes "Ren".
• Dean-Charles Chapman as Torbin: A scarred Jedi Master who took the Barash Vow, floating in a silent state of Force meditation for over a decade. This vow was introduced in the Star Wars: Darth Vader comic book (2017).
• Joonas Suotamo as Kelnacca: A Wookiee Jedi who lives a solitary life
• Margarita Levieva as Mother Koril: A Zabrak witch who carried Osha and Mae
• Harry Trevaldwyn as Mog Adana: A Jedi padawan who aids Vernestra
• David Harewood as Rayencourt: A Republic senator who mistrusts the Jedi Order

Guest

• Thara Schöön as Tasi Lowa: Yord Fandar's Padawan
• Derek Arnold as Ki-Adi-Mundi: a Cerean Jedi Master
• Hassan Taj as Bazil: a Tynnan tracker who helps the Jedi. The Tynnans were introduced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU) novel Han Solo's Revenge (1979).

The season finale features brief cameo appearances from Jedi Master Yoda—portrayed using a puppet—and the Sith lord Darth Plagueis. Plagueis was first referenced in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and further explored in EU works, but this series is the character's first on-screen appearance. The character is depicted to be a Muun, the species that he was established as in the EU.

Episodes

Production

Development

At the premiere of the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), television writer Leslye Headland was asked about her interest in the Star Wars franchise and revealed that she was a big fan with many ideas for Star Wars films that she wanted to make if she was asked to by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Headland contacted Lucasfilm to discuss her ideas after completing work on her television series Russian Doll (2019–2022), and pitched a new Star Wars television series with a first-season outline and full series bible. Kennedy agreed to begin work on the series during that initial pitch meeting. In April 2020, Headland was publicly revealed to be writing and showrunning a new female-centric Star Wars series for the streaming service Disney+. Staffing for the series had begun and it was expected to be set in a different part of the franchise's timeline from previous Star Wars projects.