Posted in: Disney+, Preview, Star Wars, streaming, TV | Tagged: disney, lucasfilm, star wars, The Acolyte

The Acolyte: Leslye Headland on Exploring New Star Wars Ground & More

Lucasfilm & Disney+'s The Acolyte Showrunner Leslye Headland on exploring new "Star Wars" ground; Manny Jacinto offers more character details.

While a lot of the attention lately has been focused on Jon Favreau & Dave Flioni's "Mandalorian" universe (now that we know a big-screen team-up is planned), it's Lucasfilm, Disney+ & series creator Leslye Headland's (Russian Bride) Star Wars: The Acolyte that has the top spot on our "Star Wars" radar. Set for 2024, the streaming series is highlighting a very different period in the timeline – when the Jedi ruled the day. But guess what? They're not exactly the "bastions of righteousness" that they've been portrayed to be. Speaking with Empire for its special "Star Wars" issue, Headland explains what one of their goals was when exploring new franchise terrain. But first, Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) offers a few more details on his character.

Looking to not give too much away, Jacinto described his character as "just a regular guy, trying to have a good time, who gets swept up into the High Republic world and the Jedi – whether he likes it or not." But for those of you wondering? Sorry, Jacinto doesn't get in any serious lightsaber time. And as for whatever it is that viewers take away from the streaming series, Headland hopes it's an experience that's new to them. "When you're doing something completely original like we are, you want to question the status quo of the era that you live in," Headland explained. "What I think is so interesting right now is that everybody thinks they're right! The Jedi really think they're right – and George [Lucas] tells us that they're wrong in 'Phantom.' They missed a huge aspect of the dark side rising. That just felt like fertile ground to look into what's going on for all of us right now."

Disney+, Lucasfilm, and Headland's The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung Jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (Nine Perfect Strangers), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Margarita Levieva (Revenge, The Deuce), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), and Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo as the Wookie Jedi Kel Naka. The mystery-thriller is set to take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. Along with Headland, Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef will executive produce (with Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson set to produce).

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