‘The Acolyte’: Amandla Stenberg Confirms Role in Upcoming Disney Plus ‘Star Wars’ Series
Seven months after The Illuminerdi and Variety reported that Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games, Sleepy Hollow) would be joining the upcoming series The Acolyte, the actor confirmed the news on Instagram:
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The original reports said Stenberg would be playing the lead role, and since they are the first actor to confirm the news, it seems that will be the case. Details on the character are unknown, but the series will reportedly have a heavy Dark-Side presence, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the lead character will be a Dark-Side user. In December 2020 when the series was officially announced, Kathleen Kennedy said it would be “a mystery thriller that will take us into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging Dark Side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”
Stenberg is now the first non-binary actor to join a Star Wars production in a major role. No additional piece of casting has transpired yet, with reports saying the series will be starting production in November, in the U.K. The series wasn’t brought up at Star Wars Celebration this past May, but if it is filming in November, it is possible Lucasfilm will announce more details during their presentation at D23, on September 10th. Russian Doll showrunner Leslye Headland is steering the ship for The Acolyte, which has been in the works for a couple of years now.
The next live-action Star Wars series in line is Andor, which will release its first two episodes on August 31th. The Mandalorian is currently in post-production, aiming for a February 2023 release, and Ahsoka and reportedly Skeleton Crew are currently filming in Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more news on the upcoming Star Wars slate of Disney Plus shows.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
