Star Wars: The Acolyte has a new featurette out, which highlights the many “generations” of Star Wars fans the franchise continues to inspire – with this latest TV series being no exception.
The new featurette for The Acolyte features principal cast members Amandla Stenberg (former padawan Mae), Manny Jacinto (ex-smuggler Qimir), Dafne Keen (padawan Jecki Lon), Charlie Barnett (Jedi Knight Yord Fandar) and Carrie Anne-Moss (Jedi Master Indara) all sitting down and sharing their reflections on the production.
Keen shared how “Star Wars has always been a big part of my life,” with Moss (a veteran of big franchises like The Matrix) echoing that “I’m pretty honored to be a part of something that’s impacted so many people.”
Stenberg got profound, talking about how “I’ve always loved spending time in these universes. And the concepts that Star Wars explores feel like some of the most vital ones.”
In The Acolyte, The Jedi are a galaxy-spanning force in the prime of their strength. However, The Jedi do not realize (as any math-trained viewer will) that they are standing on the precipice of disastrous collapse, as the long-forgotten threat of the Sith begins again – a dark resurgence that will finally destroy the Jedi and Republic, a century later.
Even without knowing more about the details of the story, it’s already clear that The Acolyte will be a timely metaphoric warning for how conflicting views on power and politics can allow darker ideologies to take hold, and push a society onto the pathway toward ruin. Everything to keep in mind in a major election year.
On a lighter note, Moss addressed the thrill of filming the action sequences of The Acolyte – a part of the series that showrunner Leslye Headland and the stunt team are already getting critical praise for delivering on.
Jacinto spoke on the longevity of Star Wars being due to its “incredible characters” who “every generation just sees themselves in them.”
Why Is Star Wars: The Acolyte Set In The High Republic Era?
(Photo: Lucasfilm)
The Acolyte takes place during “The High Republic” era of Star Wars, when f The Jedi’s power and ranks are at their respective strongest, after the Jedi-Sith War. No Sith appear in that High Republic span of 350-200 years before The Phantom Menace; but as showrunner Leslye Headland tells it, The Acolyte will track how the Sith threat secretly rebuilt itself in the final part of that era, 100 years before the Skywalker Saga begins:
“I think The High Republic is just a place where the Jedi find themselves almost a little too safe,” Headland explained. “They’re almost in this place where they can’t imagine a threat coming at them. So I think what Mae starts with them is something that really ruffles their feathers. They definitely were not expecting someone to come at them straight-on.”
“We’re taking place in a part of the timeline where the Jedi have no reason to think that anybody would mess with them,” Headland added. “And therefore I think you see the characters sinking into different versions of their own comfort.”
Star Wars: The Acolyte begins streaming on June 4th on Disney+.
