Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) joins the cast of the upcoming Star Wars television series The Acolyte. Stenberg began their career as a child actor in the film Colombiana, starring as a younger version of Zoe Saldaña’s character. However, it was their breakout role as Rue in The Hunger Games that cemented their place in Hollywood. They have since starred in prominent films such as Everything, Everything, The Darkest Minds, and The Hate U Give.
Set during the end of the High Republic era, an age of enlightenment hundreds of years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the series is described as a mystery-thriller and will feature the Jedi in a way previously unseen in Star Wars television or film. Writer and showrunner Leslie Headland previously explained that she drew much of her inspiration for the series from the Star Wars prequel trilogy of films. In December 2021, Stenberg was widely rumored to have been cast as the lead in the Star Wars prequel series.
Now, via a post from Star Wars‘ official Twitter account, Stenberg has been confirmed as part of the cast for Star Wars: The Acolyte. The post welcomes the actor into the Star Wars Galaxy with an image of Stenberg sporting a Darth Maul shirt and standing next to R2-D2. Check out the image below.
Click here to view the original post on Twitter.
Although Stenberg has been rumored to be attached to the new Star Wars project since last year, details of their role in the upcoming series have been kept tightly under wraps. But due to the fact that they are the lead character of the series, the actor will more than likely portray a Jedi. With little information delivered to the public about The Acolyte, such as casting calls for new characters, fans can only speculate as to what Stenberg’s role entails.
With the show set 100 years prior to the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Stenberg and The Acolyte have an excellent opportunity to imagine a kind of Jedi never before seen in the massive Star Wars franchise. With Headland previously describing the Jedi uniforms as pristine in white and gold, due to the fact that the Jedi are not as engaged in much combat, Stenberg has a chance to embody a more reserved and thoughtful Jedi in an era described as a Jedi Renaissance. With The Acolyte still far off, audiences may have to wait for next year’s Star Wars Celebration for future details.
Source: Star Wars