Amandla Stenberg is in talks to join the upcoming Disney Plus series “The Acolyte,” the live-action “Star Wars” series that hails from Leslye Headland.
Details on the character Stenberg would play are being kept under tight wraps, but an acolyte in the “Star Wars” universe has typically referred to a Sith who has just begun their training under an experienced Sith Lord. This, of course, was prior to Sith Lord Darth Bane instituting the Rule of Two, under which there are only ever two Sith in existence at a time — one master and one apprentice.
Reps for Stenberg and Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Disney and Lucasfilm previously confirmed that “The Acolyte” will take place in the final days of the High Republic era of the “Star Wars” timeline and will focus on the emergence of secretive dark side powers. For context, the High Republic era is said to have ended about 50 years prior to the events of “The Phantom Menace.”
Stenberg, who identifies as non-binary, broke out in the role of Rue in the 2012 feature adaptation of “The Hunger Games.” They have since gone on to star in films like “The Hate U Give,” “The Darkest Minds,” “Everything, Everything,” and the recent feature version of “Dear Evan Hansen,” playing Alana Beck. Stenberg has also appeared on television shows such as “Sleepy Hollow,” “The Eddy,” as “Mr. Robinson.” Their potential involvement in “The Acolyte” was first reported by The Illuminerdi.
They are repped by UTA and Del Shaw Moonves.
Headland serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on “The Acolyte,” which Variety exclusively reported on back in April 2020. Disney and Lucasfilm officially confirmed the project on May 4 of that year. The show is slated to begin production in mid-2022.
This is the latest live-action “Star Wars” news in recent weeks. The Ahsoka Tano series starring Rosario Dawson has also begun to build out its cast, with both Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Ivanna Sakhno signing onto that series. Up next in the franchise is “The Book of Boba Fett,” which will debut on Disney Plus on Dec. 29. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor and the Cassian Andor series staring Diego Luna are both expected to debut in 2022 as well, with more series currently in development.