We haven’t known much of what to expect from Star Wars: The Acolyte—the Disney+ series from Leslye Headland (Russian Doll)—other than it’s set at the end of the High Republic era around 100 years before The Phantom Menace, will explore the Dark Side, and has a ridiculously talented cast. At Star Wars Celebration Europe, we learned more about this intriguing project, and saw the first footage which revealed a 2024 release.
Headland arrived on stage at Celebration accompanied by a Wookiee Jedi. High Republic fans like us quickly speculated it could be Burryaga Agaburry, however, it is not. It’s a new character, with a name that sounds like Kel Naka, and he’s played by Joonas Suotamo, who previously took over the role of Chewbacca from the late Peter Mayhew.
The reason Headland came out with the Wookiee Jedi, besides the amazingness of that statement, was that her show just has a lot of Jedi in it due to its time period. It’s a period of prosperity for the good guy Jedi and the dark side users are few and far between. The show is told from the perspective of one of those characters though and when Headland originally pitched it to Lucasfilm, it was described as Frozen meets Kill Bill.
To do that, Headland assembled a cast that includes Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), and Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), all of whom were on hand, with the exception of Moss.
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Right now, you can get The Hair Revitalizing Complex Full Set for the price of the Refill. That’s just $98 for a 30-day supply, and $32 off the supplement’s normal price. This supplement is proven to deliver results. Augustinus Bader performed a six-month double blind trial that found those on the supplement had increased their hair count by 56%, hair shine by 100%, and saw a 98% reduction in hair damage compared to those who took a placebo.
Each could be seen in the brief footage shown in the room only. It began with a group of younglings, all types of humans and aliens, being trained by a Jedi Master in bright white robes played by Lee Jung-jae. “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you. We must not trust them.” He says this as we see new footage of a very run-down, busy village. There, a hooded figure walks down the streets who we follow from behind. “The Force is powerful. It’s a power we must respect,” the Jedi master’s speech continues. Inside a bar, a Jedi is sitting, and they’re played by Carrie-Anne Moss. Somehow the Jedi and this hooded figure, the character played by Stenberg, begin to fight. Stenberg’s character looks like a ninja, complete with a black mask covering the bottom of their face.
The rest of the footage plays in mostly a montage. We see footage inside what looks like a Jedi temple. Several younger Jedi (Keen and Barnett) sneak through tight spaces. Someone is scaling up the side of a temple. There’s a scene in the snow. A Neimoidian appears. And finally, Stenberg’s character says over the montage “This isn’t about good or bad. This is about power. And who is allowed to use it.” The final shot is about eight Jedi standing in the woods, with Jung-jae’s character in the middle. He lights up his lightsaber, and then all the other Jedi join him, igniting their own blades of all different colors. The vibes we got were sort of a samurai movie mixed with a heist movie, just with a lot of Jedi.
The footage ended with the reveal that the show, which is in production for another few weeks, will be premiering in 2024.
Additional reporting by Germain Lussier.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
We haven’t known much of what to expect from Star Wars: The Acolyte—the Disney+ series from Leslye Headland (Russian Doll)—other than it’s set at the end of the High Republic era around 100 years before The Phantom Menace, will explore the Dark Side, and has a ridiculously talented cast. At Star Wars Celebration Europe, we learned more about this intriguing project, and saw the first footage which revealed a 2024 release.
Headland arrived on stage at Celebration accompanied by a Wookiee Jedi. High Republic fans like us quickly speculated it could be Burryaga Agaburry, however, it is not. It’s a new character, with a name that sounds like Kel Naka, and he’s played by Joonas Suotamo, who previously took over the role of Chewbacca from the late Peter Mayhew.
The reason Headland came out with the Wookiee Jedi, besides the amazingness of that statement, was that her show just has a lot of Jedi in it due to its time period. It’s a period of prosperity for the good guy Jedi and the dark side users are few and far between. The show is told from the perspective of one of those characters though and when Headland originally pitched it to Lucasfilm, it was described as Frozen meets Kill Bill.
To do that, Headland assembled a cast that includes Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), and Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), all of whom were on hand, with the exception of Moss.
G/O Media may get a commission
$32 off
The Hair Revitalizing Complex Full Set
Fight hair loss with science
Right now, you can get The Hair Revitalizing Complex Full Set for the price of the Refill. That’s just $98 for a 30-day supply, and $32 off the supplement’s normal price. This supplement is proven to deliver results. Augustinus Bader performed a six-month double blind trial that found those on the supplement had increased their hair count by 56%, hair shine by 100%, and saw a 98% reduction in hair damage compared to those who took a placebo.
Each could be seen in the brief footage shown in the room only. It began with a group of younglings, all types of humans and aliens, being trained by a Jedi Master in bright white robes played by Lee Jung-jae. “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you. We must not trust them.” He says this as we see new footage of a very run-down, busy village. There, a hooded figure walks down the streets who we follow from behind. “The Force is powerful. It’s a power we must respect,” the Jedi master’s speech continues. Inside a bar, a Jedi is sitting, and they’re played by Carrie-Anne Moss. Somehow the Jedi and this hooded figure, the character played by Stenberg, begin to fight. Stenberg’s character looks like a ninja, complete with a black mask covering the bottom of their face.
The rest of the footage plays in mostly a montage. We see footage inside what looks like a Jedi temple. Several younger Jedi (Keen and Barnett) sneak through tight spaces. Someone is scaling up the side of a temple. There’s a scene in the snow. A Neimoidian appears. And finally, Stenberg’s character says over the montage “This isn’t about good or bad. This is about power. And who is allowed to use it.” The final shot is about eight Jedi standing in the woods, with Jung-jae’s character in the middle. He lights up his lightsaber, and then all the other Jedi join him, igniting their own blades of all different colors. The vibes we got were sort of a samurai movie mixed with a heist movie, just with a lot of Jedi.
The footage ended with the reveal that the show, which is in production for another few weeks, will be premiering in 2024.
Additional reporting by Germain Lussier.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.