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Tag: The Acolyte

  • ‘The Acolyte’ to Explore the Rise of the Sith During the High Republic

    ‘The Acolyte’ to Explore the Rise of the Sith During the High Republic

    Russian Doll‘s Leslye Headland will head into a galaxy far far away with the new Star Wars series Acolyte. We’ve learned that the series takes place long before the prequel trilogy with around 100 years stated. Now, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Headland offered some more details on how the storyline will explore how the Sith grew in power before the events of the Prequels. Headland highlights a quote from Mace Windu that inspired her to take on the story:

    In the prequels, Mace Windu says: ‘There’s no way that the Sith could have reemerged without us knowing about it.’ And Yoda says, ‘Hard to see, the dark side is. He acknowledges that this is a part of the Force that has been dormant, or at least hidden from them, for so long. What I immediately wondered about this particular period was: Who is practicing it

    Leslye Headland

    She also teases that the title has many significant references to where the story heads, such as pointing to someone that is closer to the dark side of the Force. So, we may be seeing the rise of the Sith, with Amandla Stenberg set to play the leading role. Though the wording also hints at someone who assists a religious leader in a ritual. So, we might see the padawan that supported Palpatine’s rise to power. Many also hope that perhaps we meet Darth Sidious, who has been teased briefly in an iconic sequence from the prequels.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • ‘The Acolyte’ Takes Place Long Before the Prequel Trilogy

    ‘The Acolyte’ Takes Place Long Before the Prequel Trilogy

    With the Star Wars Celebration on the horizon, a new piece by Vanity Fair has given us a plethora of information on what the future has in store for Star Wars fans, most notably updates on the mysterious The Acolyte Disney+ series. Showrunner Leslye Headland offered a tease of what and when the series will take place.

    In the Vanity Fair interview, she reveals that The Acolyte takes place around 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. So, it looks like we’re about to enter a new era that hasn’t been explored yet in a live-action adaptation so far.

    A lot of those characters haven’t even been born yet. We’re taking a look at the political and personal and spiritual things that came up in a time period that we don’t know much about. My question when watching The Phantom Menace was always like, ‘Well, how did things get to this point?’ How did we get to a point where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? Like, what went wrong? What are the scenarios that led us to this moment?”

    Leslye Headland

    She goes on to highlight the series as a mystery thriller during what seems like a “peaceful era,” which she coins as the “Age of Enlightenment.”

    We actually use the term the Renaissance, or the Age of Enlightenment. The Jedi uniforms are gold and white, and it’s almost like they would never get dirty. They would never be out and about. “The idea is that they could have these types of uniforms because that’s how little they’re getting into skirmishes.

    Leslye Headland

    It definitely sounds like we’re going to explore an era similar to the High Republic but one that is in the middle of shifting into a new era that has a dark foreboding future for the Jedi.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Lucasfilm Eyeing Amandla Stenberg to Lead Disney+’s ‘The Acolyte’

    Lucasfilm Eyeing Amandla Stenberg to Lead Disney+’s ‘The Acolyte’

    We’ve been hearing quite a bit more from Star Wars‘ upcoming Disney+ series, especially their The Mandalorian spinoff, Ahsoka. Well, it looks like a bit more has been happening with their other project, The Acolyte. We know very little about this upcoming project outside of the fact it is eyeing an early 2022 production start. There have been a few rumors surrounding the project led by Leslye Headland. Luckily, The Illuminerdi might have gotten their hands on something interesting.

    According to them, Lucasfilm has already set its eyes on its potential leading star. For a while, they’ve been focused on hiring a woman of color in their late teens. It seems that they might have decided that The Hunger Games‘ Amandla Stenberg would be perfect for the role. Stenberg, who identifies as non-binary, has gone on to star in The Hate U Give, Where Hands Touch, and they recently appeared in Dear Evan Hansen.

    UPDATE: Variety has confirmed Stenberg is in talks to star in The Acolyte. Per the outlet, details regarding their role are not known.

    Source: Illuminerdi

  • Report: Production on Lucasfilm’s D+ Series, ‘The Acolyte’ On Track for Early 2022 Start

    Report: Production on Lucasfilm’s D+ Series, ‘The Acolyte’ On Track for Early 2022 Start

    Production on Lucasfilm’s upcoming Disney+ exclusive series, The Acolyte seems to be on track. According to the Bespin Bulletin, the series will indeed begin shooting in the UK in February 2022, at Pinewood Studios. This fits with a previous report, and even though it’s now new information, it does bode well towards the expected 2023 release as everything seems to be on schedule.

    The London setting is seemingly justified by the tremendous success of shooting The Mandalorian with the help of StageCraft technology in Los Angeles. Something that lead Lucasfilm to later announce that three new StageCraft stages were being built around the world. A new one in California, one in Australia (used while shooting Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder), and another one in London, at Pinewood. This means that even though production might move to the UK, audiences can be assured of the same production value.

    The Acolyte will be led by Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who will serve as showrunner, producer, and writer on the show. Details regarding casting are as of yet unknown, something that will probably change in the upcoming months as principal photography nears. Back in May 2021, production was searching for a female POC as the lead, as the series has been described as a “female-driven action thriller with martial arts elements”. The show will be set during the late High Republic era something that could mean that the events of the series might be set a mere 50 years before The Phantom Menace, making it possible for several characters known to be alive at this time to make an appearance.

    Source: Bespin Bulletin

  • REPORT: ‘Star Wars’ Disney+ Series ‘The Acolyte’ Eyeing February Production Start

    REPORT: ‘Star Wars’ Disney+ Series ‘The Acolyte’ Eyeing February Production Start

    It looks like the Star Wars live-action series are revving up, as Discussing Film has shared some interesting news regarding the upcoming The Acolyte Disney+ series. It seems it is eyeing a production start in February of 2022. They will film in London’s The Volume, which has been popularized by the streaming platforms’ first galactic entry The Mandalorian. It currently is being used by Peyton Reed for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. They also revealed that casting has already started. Lucasfilm is currently eyeing a young woman of color to tackle the lead role. Leslye Headland is serving as the show’s showrunner after her success with Netflix’s Russian Doll.

    Details have been quite sparse on the project. It’s uncertain if the multitude of shows might build up to a specific storyline. The various shows that are spin-offs from Mandalorian‘s second season might potentially build to a crossover event. Now, there are some series that explore the different timelines such as Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the above-mentioned Acolyte. There is a chance these series will act as their own independent property that can spin off into other various shows that explore that specific era.

    Andor is all bout the beginning of the Rebellion, while Kenobi explores the fallout from Order 66. It could even connect into the currently running The Bad Batch series that is exploring a similar timeline. It’s not the first time we’ve seen animated characters find their way into live-action. So, the franchise is certainly not restricted in how it expands. Here’s hoping we get more information on what the future holds for Star Wars in the near future.

    Source: Discussing Film

  • The Acolyte

    The Acolyte

    Premiere: June 4, 2024

    Variety reported in April 2020 that a new Star Wars live-action series was in development by Emmy-nominated writer Leslye Headland. Headland will serve as showrunner, producer, and writer on the show.

    During the Disney Investor Day on December 10, 2020, we got confirmation of the title of the show, The Acolyte, and that it will be set during the late High Republic era. This could mean that the events of the series might be set a mere 50 years before The Phantom Menace, making it possible for several characters known to be alive at this time to make an appearance.

    Production will be eyeing a February 2022 start, making it a fair assumption to expect a late 2023 release, even if nothing has been officially confirmed on that front. In June 2021 a trade report revealed that writer Matthew Robinson was working on the project as well as the fact that it was eyeing a December 2023 release.

    In a Vanity Fair interview in May 2022, Leslye Headland confirmed a couple of interesting details about the show: It will take inspiration from martial arts films and it will explore the rise of the Sith during the High Republic era.

    Following some speculation in December 2021 regarding Amandla Stenberg joining the show’s cast, there was official confirmation of exactly that on July 2022 with the actress signing on to play an, as of then, undisclosed role. Further names were added to the feature’s cast in September 2022, with Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen and Slim), Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), and Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll) all signing on.

    Cast

    • Amandla Stenberg as Mae
    • Dafne Keen as Jedi Padawn Jecki Lon
    • Jodie Turner-Smith as Mother Aniseya
    • Lee Jung-Jae as Jedi Master Sol
    • Manny Jacinto as Qimir
    • Charlie Barnett as Jedi Knight Yord Fandar
    • Carrie-Anne Moss as Jedi Master Indara
    • Joonas Suotamo as Jedi Master Kelnacca
    • Dean Charles Chapman as Jedi Master Torbin
    • Rebecca Henderson as Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh
    • Margarita Levieva in an unknown role