Amandla Stenberg Is 'Honored' To Join 'Star Wars' Series 'The Acolyte'

Actress Amandla Stenberg is officially joining the galaxy far, far away.

Although The Blast previously reported that she was in talks to join the franchise last December, the announcement was confirmed that she will be joining the cast of the latest Disney+ live-action series, "The Acolyte" during Comic Con.

To celebrate the announcement, “The Hunger Games” alum donned a Darth Maul jersey and posed alongside R2-D2 and Darth Vader at San Diego Comic-Con.

In the caption, she wrote, "Next stop: a galaxy far, far away… I am so excited to finally announce I’m joining Star Wars: #TheAcolyte ! Honored is an understatement. May the Force be with you."

Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy, commented, “Welcome Amandla. The galaxy is better with you in it. ❤️”

Lucasfilm commented, “Welcome to the galaxy!” Disney+ added, “🤩💫.”

Shortly after she posted the news on Instagram, the Star Wars Twitter account also shared the news, sharing a link to her Instagram post. "Join us in welcoming Amandla Stenberg to the Star Wars galaxy," they tweeted, adding the #TheAcolyte hashtag."

"Cool but WHY HAS ARTOO GOT A RESTRAINING BOLT ON LET HIM ROAM FREEEEEE," one fan commented.

"It's just a cosmetic choice. Artoo is cosplaying as himself in A New Hope while with the Jawas," they replied. "It is Comic-Con after all!"

"A Darth Maul stan??" another asked. They replied, "Isn't everyone?"

Many fans shared messages of support and excitement. "Welcome to the galaxy far, far away Amandla!" one fan tweeted. "#TheAcolyte is my most anticipated Star Wars show now that #ObiWan is over and I couldn't be more excited to see it. May the force be with you!"

As The Blast previously reported, the series is currently being developed by Leslye Headland, who will serve as the show’s writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Rayne Roberts is set to co-develop the series along with Headland.

During its announcement at Disney Investor Day in 2020, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy teased, “Leslye Headland, Emmy-nominated creator of the mind-bending series Russian Doll, is a boldly innovative filmmaker bringing her new Star Wars series to Disney+. The Acolyte is a mystery thriller that will take us into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging Dark Side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”

In “Star Wars” terminology, an acolyte is a novice Sith who has just begun their training under a Sith Lord, like what a Padawan would be to a Jedi. This story will take place prior to Sith Lord Darth Bane developing the infamous Rule of Two, which means that the story will take place in a new part of the “Star Wars” timeline that has never been covered by shows or films before.

As a quick reminder, the infamous “Rule of Two” is a rule that states that only two Sith can exist at one time: master and apprentice.

The High Republic era ended approximately fifty years before the events of “The Phantom Menace,” when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) found a young Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine. He took Anakin Skywalker in to be raised as a Jedi but found himself cut down by Sith Lord Darth Maul (Ray Park). In the next two films in the prequel series, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) is raised by Qui-Gon’s apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) before he becomes the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

So far, the only star attached to the project is Amandla. The 23-year-old talent, who identifies as non-binary and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, is best known to audiences for playing young Rue in the first film of “The Hunger Games” franchise, opposite Jennifer Lawrence. Since that time, Stenberg has gone on to star in “Where Hands Touch,” “The Darkest Minds,” “Everything, Everything,” and “The Hate U Give.”

Amandla was included on TIME’s Most Influential Teens list in both 2015 and 2016. Stenberg has also won several awards, including a Teen Choice Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for a Critics’ Choice Award and four Black Reel Awards.

Fans can't wait for more information about her character in a galaxy far, far away!