A new report claims that Lucasfilm and Leslye Headland’s upcoming Star Wars series, The Acolyte, will arrive on Disney+ this summer.
(L-R): Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae and Director Leslye Headland on the set of Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
This new report comes from Collider’s Arezou Amin who detailed, “Collider has learned that the live-action High Republic-set series from creator Leslye Headland is set to release on Disney+ this summer.”
Not only did the report provide a release window, but it appeared to share new details about the series claiming it “will follow a former Jedi Padawan, and her one-time Master as they fall into an investigation of sinister crimes in an ever-changing galaxy.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: The cast of The Acolyte (L-R) Lee Jung-Jae, Charlie Barnett, Rebecca Henderson, Dafne Keen, Amandla Stenberg, Leslye Headland, Manny Jacinto, Dean-Charles Chapman, Jodie Turner-Smith and Joonas Suotamo attend the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
Interestingly, this report comes in the wake of Headland being named in Gina Carano’s lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm.
Specifically, the lawsuit accuses Headland of partaking in the harassment of Carano via backing a GoFundMe campaign. She was also set to partake in a struggle session being led by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
Gina Carano is Cara Dune in THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+.
It also comes in the wake of The Walt Disney Company’s first quarter earnings report webcast where Disney CEO Bob Iger only indicated the show was coming to Disney+ in the future. He did not specify a time frame.
He said, “Looking ahead we have an exciting slate of originals coming to Disney+ including Agatha from Marvel Studios, Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte from Lucasfilm, Win or Lose from Pixar, and much more.
Bob Iger via New York Times Events YouTube
As for what we previously knew about the series, showrunner Headland told Entertainment Weekly last year, “We are looking at a timeline where there is peace throughout the galaxy. And it was very challenging and interesting to make a Star Wars with no war in it. So the question became, ‘Well, what should the show be about if it’s not going to be about galactic conflict?’”
“And I think that what makes this show different and interesting is that it’s from the perspective of the bad guys or the villains of Star Wars,” she answered her own question. “These are people who are using the Force in their own way, dipping into the darker sides of the Force and are doing it without being sanctioned by the larger institution, which, in this case, is the Jedi.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Leslye Headland onstage during the Acolyte studio panel at the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
Headland then shared, “I think that Star Wars is always about some version of the underdog versus the institution. And I just thought it was very interesting to do a show about the bad guys and to set that during that time period made the most sense. So I think that’s what sets it apart. It’s kind of almost flipped. We have more Jedi than you’ve seen in any of the of the Star Wars content, but at the same time, I think you see more morally ambiguous characters than you’ve seen in other Star Wars content.”
She concluded, “And I think I can say this pretty confidently, I don’t think you’re going to see action in other shows the way that you see it used and utilized in our show.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Leslye Headland onstage during the Acolyte studio panel at the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
READ: Star Wars Acolyte Lawsuit Could Air Lucasfilm’s’s Dirty Laundry in Public
Actress Jodie Turner-Smith, who stars in the series also informed Entertainment Weekly the series is “part of a wave of more inclusive and beautifully represented Star Wars shows. So that felt really cool. And I felt the importance of that, especially in some of the stuff that I got to where everyone really was excited about what they were seeing and what that would maybe mean for different fans — fans that don’t necessarily look like what you normally think the traditional Star Wars fan looks like. Because if there’s anything that I learned from this show, it’s that the Star Wars fan is varied.”
Turner-Smith was not the only one to use identity politics to promote the series. Charlie Barnett also detailed to Entertainment Weekly, “I don’t think I could have ever imagined myself as a Jedi. Yes, one, because I was not reflected for so many times throughout these films in the past. But it was also something that didn’t equate in my mind. I don’t know about you guys as well.”
He added, “So to see such a diverse group played out now, I know that it’s going be a healthy reflection on so many other young people and old people. No ageism allowed in this. It’s Star Wars we can all fit. I think it’s going to be a really impactful. It’s gonna be a cool moment for me for sure, I can tell you that.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Dafne Keen Fernández, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean Charles Chapman, and Joonas Suotamo onstage during the studio panel at the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
What do you make of this new report?
