Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: amandla stenberg, disney, Leslye Headland, star wars, Star Wars: The Acolyte, The Acolyte

The Acolyte: Headland, Stenberg "Surprised" Opening Twist Didn't Leak

The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland and series star Amandla Stenberg on being surprised that several moments from the opener didn't leak.

While promoting the Star Wars series The Acolyte, the only details of Amandla Stenberg's role were that of Mae, the vengeful assassin who has an ax to grind against the Jedi. At this point, consider this "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" territory, so consider yourself warned. What creator Leslye Headland and Stenberg didn't expect the big reveal to be kept so secret – Mae is the twin sister of Osha (also played by Stenberg), a mechanic who's also Force sensible, living a far more noble life since their time in the Jedi Order and keeping her existence a secret. The two spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about their thoughts about being able to hold on to the secret despite already revealing that to Good Morning America on May 28th and Stenberg's fighting abilities in character.

The Acolyte: Showrunner Leslye Headland and Amandla Stenberg on Mae/Osha Origins

When asked about the meta instruction from Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) telling Padawans not to trust their eyes and holding on to the secret of the twins. "I totally thought it was going to leak earlier, like a lot earlier," Stenberg said, revealing both she and Headland were "surprised." "I also think that line could apply to the rest of the season as well, not just the promotional materials, which, yeah, it did work," Headland added. "That's also what you're so good at as a storyteller. It's challenging how people perceive things and challenging what they are from a front-facing view, and then delving deeper into what's behind it and how complex individuals are. So that's what that means to me," Stenberg said before Headland thanked her.

As far as Mae's fight with Carrie-Anne Moss's Jedi Master Indara, "Definitely, yes. Carrie-Anne Moss is just everything you would hope and expect Carrie-Anne Moss to be," Stenberg said. "She is such a spiritually grounded, compassionate, warm, kind person. She kind of took on a mom role with me while I, [as Mae], was trying to kill her, and that was really kind. She really lovingly guided me, and she gave me tricks and tips, not just physically, when it came to the choreography. I learned so much from just observing her, but also just about being in this industry and doing this kind of work over a long period of time and how you sustain yourself when you're doing this kind of work because that's a huge part of it, too."

For more including Stenberg's casting, fighting prowess, and Bruce Lee comparisons, you can check out the interview here. The first two episodes are available on Disney+, and new episodes of The Acolyte, which also stars Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, and Joonas Suotamo, stream on Tuesdays.

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