Ahead of the show's premiere a little over a month from now, Disney+ and Lucasfilm have shared some new stills from Star Wars: The Acolyte. Highlighting the show's lead characters, they offer a better idea of what to expect from this trip into the Galaxy Far, Far Away's distant past.
Total Film (via SFFGazette.com) also sat down with showrunner Leslye Headland and learned more about her ambitious plans for a story which promises to take the Jedi Order to new and exciting places roughly 100 years before we first saw them in action in The Phantom Menace.
"The Acolyte is a mystery," she explains. "It’s similar to Russian Doll, which was really about giving the audience information episode by episode, this spiral of storytelling."
"This is a much larger landscape, but it similarly tackles the idea of, 'Your eyes can deceive you.' You’re going to think the show is one thing, but then it’s going to gearshift into something else, and then do it again."
As for how The Acolyte will respect the franchise's history (and Star Wars creator George Lucas' work), Headland adds, "It’s a show packed with everything I wanted to explore: I wanted EU [Expanded Universe] stuff in there, references to the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace, the Disney sequels...it’s absolutely packed. Because you never know, you may not get the chance again."
"[Cinematographer] Chris [Teague] and I talked a lot about honoring George Lucas’ camera moves," she continues. "I would say the original trilogy became our touchpoint for how to craft the world, while the Episode I-ness of the show is a bit more thematic."
Some of the stills below are brand new, while others were recently published in various magazines and are now presented without annoying watermarks.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems...
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers, and Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson are producing.
The next Star Wars TV series will premiere on Disney+ on June 4.