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

The Acolyte Star Dafne Keen Discusses Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon (IMAGES)

Along with new images, The Acolyte star Dafne Keen offers new insights into Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon, the Jecki Lon/Master Sol dynamic & more.

On June 4th, Leslye Headland's (Russian Bride) Amandla Stenberg (The Eddy) & Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game)-starring Star Wars: The Acolyte takes us back to the beginning of how it all began – with the mystery-thriller taking viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan (Stenberg) reunites with her Jedi Master (Jung-jae) to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. Now, we're getting a better look at Dafne Keen's half-human, half-Theelin Jecki Lon, Padawan to Jedi Master Sol (Jung-jae) – with Keen sharing some insights into what viewers can expect.

Keen on Jecki Lon: "Well, I'm very excited that we know her name now, because it was secret for so long. And I'm very happy that I get to say that she's an alien and, that she's a Padawan, and that she's a Jedi. She's a mixed species — part Theelin, part human. She's very cool and I have some very cool fights I do with the lightsaber. I really love her. She's a great character and was really fun to play. I'm very excited that the trailer came out. I was buzzing for days."

Keen on Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon/Jedi Master Sol Dynamic: "I'd say she is a very dedicated Padawan. She's definitely in awe of him in a very kind of sweet way. She thinks the absolute world of him in a way that I think they have a very sweet relationship, but she's much more aware of the authority difference than, for example, Obi-Wan and Anakin. She's very much like, 'No, he's the master, and I'm the Padawan, and he's perfect. And everything he says, I have to follow to the T.'"

The Acolyte Honors/Challenges "Star Wars" Ethos: Amandla Stenberg

During an interview with C Magazine, Stenberg shared how Headland pitched to series to her. "All the artwork was conceptualized with my face, and Leslye was like, 'So I've been working on this for about three or four years for you. I don't know what I'm going to do if you don't do it. No pressure," Stenberg revealed. "So I was sent to the moon, of course."

Filmed mostly at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire, England, Stenberg found the experience quite different from past productions. "The crews are so hardcore, they're so hardworking, and it's very kind of hierarchical and competitive, and people work their asses off. It's very different, I think, than what I've experienced on most American sets," she explained. Another big difference between The Acolyte and Stenberg's previous work? "I have a really, really heavy load in this show, an abnormal load," she adds.

While she's understandably under strict "no spoilers" watch, Stenberg was able to discuss the show's thematic goals and the perspective that it's taking. "In the context of the Star Wars universe, it's a time of great peace, theoretically. It's also a time of an institution, and it's a time in which conceptions around the Force are very strict. And I think what we're trying to explore within our show is when an institution has a singular conception of how power can be used…we try to provide a lot of different perspectives and answers to that question," Stenberg explained. "The idea is to kind of honor the ethos of Star Wars and ideas around the Force and also challenge them, hopefully harmoniously."

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. Headland directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102) – with directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) rounding out the lineup of directors. 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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