During a panel at Star Wars Celebration, we finally got new details on the upcoming series, The Acolyte.
Acolyte showrunner Lily Headland took to the stage at the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration, to discuss the upcoming series, citing some of the unpredictable inspirations behind the show.
“I really wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this whole world that I loved so much from the villains’ perspective,” said Headland. What I showed Kathleen [Kennedy] Frozen was meeting Kill Bill. Shockingly, you didn’t kick me off the building…that’s when the bad guys outnumbered me. They are the underdogs. I’m really excited that you guys are seeing things that you haven’t seen in live events yet.”
Set between the Old Republic and the prequels, The Acolyte is presented as “Frozen meets Kill Bill”. # Celebration of Star Wars pic.twitter.com/O62fN0la25
– IGN (@IGN) April 7, 2023
As Headland quipped, “She’s back with George [Lucas]She drew inspiration from martial arts films” when planning The Acolyte, and that she drew inspiration from Kurosawa’s films.
The Star Wars Celebration panel also hosted an exclusive segment from The Acolyte. The clip began with a voiceover: “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you.”
The teaser also featured Lee Jung-jae’s character saying, “Power is powerful. It’s a power we must respect.” We see Amandla Stenberg’s character in combat, aliens, Jung-jae leading a group of Jedi, and Jodie Turner-Smith’s character saying, “This isn’t good or bad. This is about the Force and who’s allowed to use it.” The teaser ends with no release date set, where It just says “2024”. Acolyte is still filming, but filming is scheduled to wrap next month.
Jung-jae shared his excitement at being a part of the Star Wars universe, and teased a little about his role.
“I play the Jedi Master,” Jung-jae said. “It was the first time I ever touched a lightsaber and I still shiver from the experience… I’m also a Star Wars fan and my heart is jumping because I’m with the Star Wars family with all of you today.”
Set during the final days of the High Republic Era, The Acolyte is set over a century before the events of The Phantom Menace. Squid Game stars Lee Jung-jae and Amandla Stenberg are set to helm the series.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with minor lines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.