Star Wars spin-off star says new series The Acolyte will “honor” but “challenge” ideas about the Force

The series calls back to George Lucas' The Phantom Menace

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Exciting news for Star Wars fans as the star ofDisneyPlus’ newest spin-off The Acolyte confirms the show will stay true to the original movies, whilst challenging ideas around the force.

In an interview withC Magazine, Amandla Stenberg spoke about the upcomingDisney Plusseries and how it links to previous movies in the franchise. “In the context of the Star Wars universe, it’s a time of great peace, theoretically,” saidThe Hunger Gamesstar. “It’s also a time of an institution, and it’s a time in which conceptions around the Force are very strict.”

As we know,The Acolyteis set at the end of the High Republic era before the events ofStar Wars: The Phantom Menace, released in 1999, and will focus on the darker side of the High Republic, as per the show’s mystery-thriller genre.

TheBodies bodies bodiesstar touched on this different look into the era: “I think what we’re trying to explore within our show is when an institution has a singular conception of how power can be used…we try to provide a lot of different perspectives and answers to that question. The idea is to kind of honor the ethos of Star Wars and ideas around the Force and also challenge them, hopefully harmoniously.”

According to the official synopsis, the show revolves around a former Padawan (Stenberg) who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes. However, when the forces they confront are more sinister than they anticipated, they must face up to the emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.

Alongside Stenberg, the cast also includes Squid Game’sLee Jung-jae as the Jedi Master,The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss, Jodie Turner-Smith, Manny Jacinto, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, and Dean-Charles Chapman.

The Acolyte, created by Leslye Headland, has no official trailer at this point but footage from the series was revealed atStar Wars Celebration Day 2023attended by GamesRadar+, and showed a snippet of the young Jedi in training. The show isreported to land on June 5, but this has not yet been confirmed.

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The Acolyte will be available to stream on Disney Plus sometime in 2024. For more, check out our list of thebest shows on Disney Plusavailable to stream right now, or keep up to date with all theupcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.

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