While the details around Star Wars’ female-centric mystery thriller The Acolyte remain scarce, we have gotten some casting news this month. In addition to finding out that Jodie Turner-Smith has joined the show’s lead, Amandla Stenberg on the series, we’ve also found out some of the dudes who will be on the show (or, in one dude’s case, is in talks to be on the show).
Deadline broke the news earlier this month that Squid Game (pictured above) star Lee Jung-Jae will take on the male lead role in the series. This week, we also found out that The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto has been cast on the show, and that Russian Doll actor Charlie Barnett is close to signing on to play a supporting role.
If Barnett does sign on, it will be a reunion for him and showrunner (and writer, and director) Leslye Headland, as Headland was one of the co-creators of the Netflix time loop series (that’s about so much more), Russian Doll.
These are all great actors, but what the show will actually be about remains largely a mystery. The biggest clue we have so far is that the word “acolyte” in Star Wars parlance refers to the mentees of the Sith (in other words, the Dark Side’s version of the Jedi’s padawans). We also know that it will take place at the end of the High Republic, which is roughly fifty years before the events of The Phantom Menace.
No news yet on when we’ll see The Acolyte on Disney+. If you’re looking for more Star Wars sooner rather than later, however, Andor—which has received high praise online from those who’ve seen it already—premieres on Disney+ on September 21, 2022.
