The Acolyte Is Actively in Development: A Deep Dive into Conspiracies

The Acolyte and Lucasfilm’s push for High Republic content in spite of market analysis suggesting likely failure ahead is all a-go. We have the documents and the insider information… and we’re ready to deliver it to you.

I would like to thank fellow That Park Place contributor Valliant Renegade for his previous research on this subject. It was critical to the writing of this article. Please note as you read this article that we have meticulously taken notes and records to back up the following claims.

On Day One of Star Wars Celebration, attendees were treated to a trailer for The Acolyte, a show that was first rumored by Variety back in 2020 and announced later that year. Bob Iger, when speaking to conference attendees at a Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom, conference stated (without being asked) that he had seen footage from the Acolyte and found it to be “brilliant.” The audio of this conference is still available on the Walt Disney Company Investor Relations page.

Celebration also included cast interviews for those involved in the production of the Acolyte including Squid Game star Lee Jung-Jae. While the event was livestreamed, there were rumors that press kits were being made available for attendees with highlighted information. When a representative from That Park Place reached out to obtain press materials, he discovered that Star Wars Celebration had decided not to include media passes or traditional press in the event. In fact, not only did Star Wars Celebration not include media passes or traditional press packets like in the past, there was ostensibly no budget for this at all.

Here’s the full information: pic.twitter.com/o4MsMjHUE2

— Peter Sciretta (@PeterSciretta) June 27, 2022

While some had speculated that we might get very costly Kathleen Kennedy retirement packets, that simply didn’t materialize. Neither did any of the same sort for The Acolyte. Yet though that marketing strategy shift would have been a major development known by anyone following the behind-the-scenes planning for Star Wars Celebration, it shouldn’t be construed as a sign that Lucasfilm and/or Disney are any less committed to The Acolyte. It’s simply a major development in how Lucasfilm approached marketing all aspects of Star Wars Celebration — one that reduced their overall expenses for Celebration 2023.

There are other aspects of the production of the Acolyte that are legitimately not full of fanfare…

Earlier this year, former Acolyte producer Karyn McCarthy filed suit in Los Angeles against Lucasfilm and Blue Stockings, the production entity for The Acolyte over Lucasfilm’s allegedly abrupt and insulting hiring and firing of McCarthy. Production entities are standard practice in Hollywood as it affords each production a degree of legal and financial separation from the overall production company. In this case, the production entity Blue Stockings consists of at least two corporations. The first is the American entity Blue Stockings Inc.

Blue Stockings (US) Inc. was formed in March of 2021. Their mailing address is 500 S Buena Vista Street which is the same as the Walt Disney Company’s Burbank offices and their executive offices are at One Letterman Drive (aka the Lucasfilm offices in Presidio, CA).

Officers of the company include:

• CEO – James Kapenstein (Associate General Counsel & Senior VP at the Walt Disney Company)
• Secretary – Chakira H Gavazzi (VP, Governance Counsel & Asst. Secretary at TWDC)
• CFO – Carlos Gomez (Senior VP & Treasurer, TWDC)
• Rhonda Hjort (Senior VP, LucasFilm Ltd.)

It is notable that almost all of these people are direct Walt Disney Company employees and some of them are Officers of the TWDC itself, meaning that the highest levels of the company are involved, at least on paper, in the legal filings for Blue Stockings (US) Incorporated. It is also notable that neither Kathleen Kennedy or Leslye Headland are directly involved in the creation of this entity from a legal standpoint. It’s key in understanding just how well-supported The Acolyte is throughout the company’s infrastructure. A rogue project this is not. And though some might wish for this to be a project held only by those in Kennedy’s closest circle, the truth is that Disney’s biggest and most powerful players are involved.

The second entity is the California-based entity’s UK equivalent: Blue Stockings (UK) Ltd.

According to filings, this entity was formed on March 24, 2021 the directors of that entity are:

• Financial Controller – Tracy Bermingham (The Walt Disney Company Ltd.)
• Business Exec. – Chakira H Gavazzi (VP, Governance Counsel & Asst. Secretary at TWDC)
• Solicitor – Russel Haywood (Assistant Regional Counsel, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Business Exec. – Rhonda Hjort (Senior VP, LucasFilm Ltd.)
• Business Exec. – Nicholas Rush (Senior VP, Studio Distribution, TWDC EMEA)

Again, we see that all of these executives are high level Walt Disney Company employees and none of them are Leslye Headland or Kathleen Kennedy. What’s wonderful about UK entities is the robust amount of information that is present for UK taxpayers and therefore anyone in the world. For instance, Chakira Gavazzi has 87 different appointments across Disney entities in the UK. She’s seemingly less prolific as the other directors have more than 100 appointments across Disney entities.

Another point of interest for anyone looking to free themselves from the burden of conspiracy theories: Blue Stockings (UK) Ltd. has only one shareholder listed: LFL Production Limited. This entity has existed in the UK since at least 1995, putting it well before The Phantom Menace’s 1999 release. This company is wholly owned by Lucasfilm, which is wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company. According to the UK government documents, there is no intermediary shell company between LFL and Blue Stockings — The Acolyte is directly controlled by Disney and Lucasfilm.

Then there’s the issue of a certain major Hollywood executive who is suing Lucasfilm over a termination she believes was done erroneously and is deserving of restitution. That particular lawsuit is revealing more information about the financial and corporate backing of The Acolyte.

Even though the bulk of filming is being done in the UK, Karyn McCarthy’s lawsuit specifically names the California entity as the defendant. McCarthy, though represented by UTA at the time of her negotiations and brief work with Lucasfilm is the plaintiff, not UTA. McCarthy is being represented by Glaser Weil, the same law firm that is representing Victoria Alonso in potential litigation against Marvel, another Disney subsidiary.

Noted Patreon blogger Kamran Pasha stated to his subscribers on April 5 that a lawyer from Glaser Weil by the name of Robert Allen had reached out to him that day to ask for his assistance in providing any additional information. This has led to interesting speculations across a number of internet domains… and even to the point of claims that a Lucasfilm insider named “Sparrow” could be used in some way to reveal information about what is going on.

However, as part of our investigative journalism, I found the facts of the situation to be far less salacious.

Mr. Robert Allen was kind enough to call me while he was working remotely from home on Wednesday, April 12th of 2023. We had a very pleasant conversation. I greatly appreciated him giving me his time and allowing me to get to the bottom of these very incredible claims. Although the sound of dogs barking in the background created some interesting punctuation in the conversation, he corroborated that he had spoken with someone on the day of April 5th but he could not recall if the person was Kamran Pasha. He said he didn’t remember that name. He did not corroborate that he had “reached out” or called anyone on April 5th in the way suggested by reporting from the Patreon account. According to Pasha, the conversation was very noteworthy, so I was surprised he didn’t remember Pasha’s name:

“Mr. Allen said that if what my Disney sources are claiming is true that this show is nothing more than a glorified sizzle reel being put together on a shoestring budget — it would be the biggest scandal in Hollywood.”

Surely Mr. Allen would recall the person giving him info that would constitute “the biggest scandal in Hollywood”!

I read this quote to Mr. Allen verbatim and asked him to confirm if it was accurate. Mr. Allen stated that he would not have said that and does not remember saying anything that could be construed in such a way.

It appears that some aspects of Kamran’s statements might be true while others seem less accurate. Robert Allen did say to me “nothing makes sense” during the course of our conversation, regarding a completely different type of question I had for him (this being a phrase that Mr. Pasha also cited in his report). But that might be a phrase which Mr. Allen uses commonly in conversation.

As to the question of whether Blue Stockings (UK) Ltd. is still an active entity, the answer is “yes”. We have been watching filings for the entity and can confirm that on March 23 someone filed an extension by changing the accounting period for the company from March 31, 2022 to September 24, 2022. By that date, it will be very easy to determine exactly how much has been spent by Lucasfilm on the UK production of The Acolyte.

Other productions UK entities, like that of Rogue Squadron were terminated when production stalled, so there are indications that a change of accounting procedure for Blue Stockings may be due to legitimate changes in the funding of the Acolyte.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this very in-depth explanation of why we believe The Acolyte is a fully-funded, fully-supported property in development by Disney. That’s not to say we support The Acolyte or think it will be good. We simply believe in telling the truth — and sometimes digging very deeply to get the truth when alternative claims are being made.

It should also be noted that no person who contributes to That Park Place receives any compensation from The Walt Disney Company or its subsidiaries in any way for our work either on this website or on YouTube. In fact, if you read the bottom of every article on That Park Place, you will find that same statement. It has always been there since the site was developed. There are no secret deals — we’re simply practicing good journalism every day for you. Claims to the contrary are patently false.

For all the latest news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts!