The two-episode premiere of Lucsfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, The Acolyte, is now less than a week away and despite fans and press having seen multiple episodes of the show, spoilers remain hard to come by. That makes it all the more interesting that Disney may have intentionally revealed one of the most tantalizing tidbits so far via an official production brief.
Set in the High Republic era, The Acolyte “is a mystery thriller that invites audiences into the gray areas of universal themes, such as power, right and wrong, light and dark, and is designed to make audiences really engage in the struggle to balance the duality,” according to the show’s creator, Leslye Headland. At the center of that mystery is Mae, “a mysterious young woman with a tragic past,” played by Amandla Stenberg. Given that Mae’s identity is pivotal to the noir-inspired series and Lucasfilm’s strong track record of keeping secrets, it’s a bit shocking that they may have let at least part of the cat out of the bag.
The Big Reveal
In an official press release, Stenberg’s character is referred to as “Mae Aniseya.” Until now, the character had only been referred to as Mae and is listed as such in the StarWars.com databank. The revelation of Mae’s last name is notable as it reveals a connection to another mysterious new character fans will meet in The Acolyte, Mother Aniseya.
Played by Jodie Turner-Smith, Mother Aniseya is the leader of a coven of Witches who live on the planet Brendock. Witches are nothing new to the galaxy far, far away as fans are already familiar with the Dathomirian Nightsisters. Like the Nightsisters, the Witches of The Acolyte are “people who are Force-sensitive, but are not necessarily part of the Jedi Order,” according to Headland. However, the Brendock Witches are not Nightsisters and, according to Turner-Smith, Mother Aniseya “has abilities that are beyond anything that any of them have ever seen.”
What’s the Connection?
Though the information might at first seem to indicate that Mae is the daughter of Mother Aniseya, that might not necessarily be the case. As seen in the trailer, the Jedi, led by Master Sol, visit Brendok to meet with Mother Aniseya (according to the production brief, this occurs in Episode 3) and, presumably, dig up some information about Mae. While it is entirely possible that Mother Aniseya is the birth mother of Mae, it’s also possible that Mae met Mother Aniseya at a young age and was raised by her and her coven of Witches where she learned some of “the arcane ways of the Force.” Whatever the case, it’s clear that the two share a key connection that will certainly play a large role in the central mystery of the series.
The Acolyte begins streaming on Disney Plus on June 4th.
About Star Wars: The Acolyte
In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie TurnerSmith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). 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.
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