Amandla Stenberg Talks About 'The Acolyte' In New Interview

Star Wars

Feb 29

In an interview with C Magazine, Amandla Stenberg teases the central theme of the upcoming Star Wars project, The Acolyte. Details surrounding the High Republic era series are very strict, with Stenberg joking that, “They’re already hacking into my phone right now. They’re listening.”

What Stenberg does reveal is this. “In the context of the Star Wars universe, it’s a time of great peace, theoretically. It’s also a time of an institution, and it’s a time in which conceptions around the Force are very strict. And 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.”

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Leslye Headland, the creator of the series, had Stenberg in mind for the lead of The Acolyte. Reminiscing on when the concept was pitched to her, “All the artwork was conceptualized with my face, and Leslye was like, ‘So I’ve been working on this for about three or four years for you. I don’t know what I’m going to do if you don’t do it. No pressure.’ So I was sent to the moon, of course.”

Coming into the Star Wars universe will see Stenberg enter a world of online toxicity, which she has encountered before. Back when she was launched into stardom as a 12-year-old competing in The Hunger Games alongside Jennifer Lawrence-portrayed Katniss Everdeen, racist opinions were shared about her casting. “I think already, at age 12, I was like, Yeah, people are racist. Why are y’all surprised?” Stenberg revealed. “When I reflect on it, I don’t remember being very upset about it.” With the Star Wars universe, the fandom is larger, so she “definitely have been feeling a little more trepidation than I thought,” with The Acolyte.

This next live-action Disney+ Star Wars is supposedly arriving this year during the summer. Described as a mystery-thriller, the premise sees a former Padawan reuniting with her master to investigate a series of crimes. What they encounter are forces more sinister than they had ever anticipated.

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