Guess What Famous Face Is Joining The New 'Star Wars' Series 'The Acolyte'

The upcoming Star Wars series "The Acolyte" has a new cast member attached to the project!

Although "The Hunger Games" star Amandla Stenberg has been confirmed to be playing the lead, not much is known about the new series created 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.

However, it's been reported that a new actress is currently in talks with Disney to be the next star to appear in the project.

The 36-year-old British actress and model, Jodie Turner-Smith, is reportedly the next actress in talks to join the highly-anticipated Disney+ live-action series. The actress, who has been married to “Fringe” actor Joshua Jackson since 2019, has also appeared in “The Last Ship,” “Nightflyers” and 2021’s “Anne Boleyn.”

Jodie Turner-Smith recently appeared alongside Adam Driver in the film, "White Noise," which kicked off the 2022 Venice Film Festival. Driver starred as Kylo Ren and the redeemed Ben Solo in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, which started with 2015's "The Force Awakens" and ended with 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker," which is still the last Star Wars film to hit theaters.

The news of her casting, which was reported by Deadline on Tuesday night, confirmed what sources have previously told The Blast, that the show is expected to begin production this fall in London. However, details about what character she will play have not yet been revealed.

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.”

As fans might already know, in “Star Wars” terminology, an acolyte is a novice Sith who has just begun their training under a Sith Lord. This is similar to 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.

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, which played an important part in the prequel trilogy.

The High Republic era ended approximately fifty years before the events of the first film in the prequel trilogy, 1999's “The Phantom Menace,” when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) found a young Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine. Qui-Gon took Anakin Skywalker in to be raised as a Jedi but found himself cut down by Sith Lord Darth Maul (Ray Park) at the end of the film.

In the next two films in the prequel trilogy, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) is raised by Qui-Gon’s apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) before he becomes the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Their relationship was further explored in the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" which finished up its six-episode run earlier this year. The show has not yet been confirmed for a second season.

During San Diego Comic-Con, “The Hunger Games” alum Amandla Stenberg donned a Darth Maul jersey and posed alongside iconic characters Darth Vader and R2-D2 to reveal that she would be joining a galaxy far, far away.

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!” while Disney+ added, “🤩💫.”

Shortly after she posted the news on Instagram, the official Star Wars Twitter account also shared the news, sharing a link to her Instagram post. They tweeted, "Join us in welcoming Amandla Stenberg to the Star Wars galaxy." Her casting was met with an enthusiastic reception from fans.

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

In both 2015 and 2016, Stenberg was included on TIME’s Most Influential Teens list and 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 are eagerly awaiting the release of "The Acolyte," which is expected to appear on Disney+ in late 2023.