With Andor coming to a close soon, it’s hard to imagine a recent time when people have been more excited for Disney to actually carry on with what it’s doing with the franchise. The next new step in that process is the upcoming Disney+ show Star Wars: The Acolyte, which Disney announced has begun production today, alongside revealing a slew of new cast members who will be joining the already known Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae in the show.
New cast additions to Star Wars: The Acolyte include Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix). That’s quite a few big names in there for a show we know very little about. What we do know is that, much like Andor, the series will focus on the seedy underbelly of the Star Wars universe, though this time it will involve Jedi. Described as a mystery thriller, the show takes place right before the fall of the High Republic as a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi master in order to solve a series of crimes. What they stumble into involves the emerging powers of the Dark Side and a mystery that’s far bigger than they thought.
Production has begun on “The Acolyte,” an upcoming Original Star Wars series from Lucasfilm coming to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/g6apnGXSmr
— Star Wars (@starwars) November 7, 2022
It will be exciting to see the franchise dive into an earnest mystery thriller. There’s always been a hint of noir here and there, especially in The Clone Wars, but this seems to go full tilt. Hopefully, Lucasfilm has learned something from Andor and will keep the magic Jedi stuff to a minimum while diving deep into the kind of world and character-building that show does so well.
The Acolyte is looking to be another winner for Disney+, which has revitalized the franchise after Disney made a series of lackluster Star Wars films and decided to put all movies on hold for a bit. That has meant the only place to find Star Wars is on the streamer, and it has, for the most part, delivered as promised. The Mandalorian has been a major hit, animated series are popular, and Andor might be some of the best television ever made. That doesn’t mean, however, that there will never be another Star Wars film again as Disney has multiple films in the works.
