The Acolyte, Star Wars’ most exciting upcoming TV show, has reportedly welcomed a new cast member – His Dark Materials’ Dafne Keen (via Above the Line). While The Acolyte was first announced in December 2020, not much has been revealed about the show other than it will take place in the final years of the High Republic. Compared to Andor, which was also announced in December 2020 and is currently airing, The Acolyte seems to be moving much slower – though recent casting reports such as Keen’s suggest that the High Republic Star Wars show might soon start shooting.
Audiences may recognize Dafne Keen as Laura, Wolverine’s daughter in Logan. Considering how Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier were already well-known by audiences all over the world by the time Logan premiered, it would be no exaggeration to say that Dafne Keen’s Laura was Logan’s biggest surprise. Stealing the show in a movie where both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart gave career-defining performances is no easy feat, which goes to show how exciting it would be to have Dafne Keen in a Star Wars show. Since Logan, Keen has led His Dark Materials as Lyra, meaning that Star Wars' “fantasy meets sci-fi” approach will be nothing new for the actor. With so few updates on The Acolyte, promising casting reports are the next best news.
The Acolyte's Cast Just Keeps Getting Better
The first major update on The Acolyte was the reveal that Amandla Stenberg, who has recently starred in Bodies Bodies Bodies, would be the show’s lead. Jodie Turner-Smith, recently seen in Without Remorse, was also one of the first actors to join The Acolyte’s cast. More recently, The Good Place’s Many Jacinto, Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae, and Russian Doll's Charlie Bennett have also joined The Acolyte’s cast. As of now, no The Acolyte characters have been revealed, though it is expected that most of them will be original Star Wars characters. Such an inspired, diverse cast of up-and-coming actors who have recently starred in hit series or movies makes The Acolyte one of the most interesting Star Wars projects in years.
Why The Acolyte Is So Important For Star Wars
Given how most of the Disney+ Star Wars shows have been set in familiar periods, that is, the Age of the Empire or the post-Return of the Jedi timeline, the fact that The Acolyte takes place 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace could not be more exciting. More than a timeline issue, the Star Wars shows on Disney+ are all thematically connected with either the Star Wars prequels and Clone Wars or the original trilogy. There is not something truly new being done in Star Wars TV, except perhaps for the non-canon anthology series Star Wars: Visions. That is why The Acolyte is so important to Star Wars.
The High Republic and the mysteries of the dark side of the Force before the events of The Phantom Menace are elements that Star Wars novels and comics have already explored on some level. However, when it comes to movies and shows, the furthest back Star Wars ever went in the timeline was Tales of the Jedi’s “Justice”, which took place around two decades before The Phantom Menace. From the unique timeline to the inspired cast, it is safe to say The Acolyte is Star Wars’ most promising upcoming show.