Star Wars has a number of compelling new projects heading to Disney Plus, but one has drawn excitement and speculation ever since Disney Investor Day 2020. The Acolyte is a new Star Wars Disney Plus series being helmed by Leslye Headland, who serves as showrunner and writer for the upcoming series. The Acolyte will be exploring a yet untouched era in Star Wars, specifically the end of the High Republic era.
Star Wars has been developing the High Republic through an ongoing series of novels and comic books, but so far, the focus has been on this era at the height of its power and prosperity. The Acolyte will instead be set during the final days of the High Republic era and dig into the emergence of The Dark Side.
The new series is still shrouded in mystery, aside from it taking place roughly 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. This likely means it will focus on new characters and dynamics like the High Republic novels and comics have, other than Yoda. And with the series being a mystery thriller, which will reportedly include martial arts elements, it already stands out from much of the upcoming Star Wars projects in more ways than one.
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Not much is known about the lead role for The Acolyte. It has been revealed that they have been searching for a woman of color in her late teens early twenties, athletic, who is able to handle the physical demands of this role as it will include martial arts. But how the character relates to the still mysterious plot of the series is being kept under wraps, many have speculated that she herself is the Acolyte, a term used to refer to Sith apprentices.
LUCASFILM LTD. INTERESTED IN AMANDLA STENBERG TO TAKE ON LEAD ROLE IN THE ACOLYTE
We at The Illuminerdi previously revealed that the lead character’s name is Aura in The Acolyte, although it is possible that it’s a code name. Now, we’ve learned some even more intriguing new information about The Acolyte’s lead role. According to our sources, Lucasfilm Ltd. is in talks with Amandla Stenberg to take on the lead role in the mysterious new Star Wars Disney Plus series, The Acolyte.
Amandla Stenberg’s break out role came with her second feature role, as Rue, in the 2012 film adaptation of The Hunger Games. Stenberg has since starred in a number of other films including romantic drama Everything, Everything, the drama The Hate U Give, and WWII drama Where Hands Touch. Amandla Stenberg most recently played Alana Beck in Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen in which she collaborated with the original Broadway show’s composers, Pasek and Paul, to create an original new song for her character.
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While much of The Acolyte’s lead is still a mystery, many have speculated that she will be a Sith apprentice or Acolyte. If this is true then “Aura” could prove to be an extremely complicated and dynamic character. It’s an opportunity to explore The Dark Side in a way never before seen on screen, as it insidiously infiltrates the rest of the galaxy at the end of the prosperous High Republic era.
With The Acolyte expected to explore the rise of The Dark Side Amandla Stenberg could be an intriguing actress to take on the lead role. She’s proven her ability to play vastly different characters, but her experience in Hunger Games and The Hate U Give shows off what makes her a great fit to take on The Acolyte’s lead role.
Production is scheduled to begin in late spring, early summer for The Acolyte in London and it looks like the series will consist of 8 episodes. Quite a bit of mystery still surrounds this new series, but the fact that it is exploring this previously untouched era in the Star Wars timeline is extremely exciting.
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And the possibility of exploring The Dark Side, The Force, and the complex struggle between The Light and The Dark Side like never before makes The Acolyte stand out as a truly unique Star Wars experience. Given the truly amazing series that are coming with The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Obi–Wan Kenobi, Andor, Lando, and the third season of the critically acclaimed series The Mandalorian, Star Wars fans have a lot of exciting content to look forward to.
Do you think Amandla Stenberg would be a good fit for the lead role in The Acolyte? What are you hoping to see in The Acolyte? Are you a fan of the High Republic era? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more Star Wars and The Acolyte news.
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