Amandla Stenberg Praises The Diversity In 'Star Wars' Series 'The Acolyte'

Actress Amandla Stenberg is proud to take part in the "Star Wars" series "The Acolyte."

The show, created by Leslye Headland, features an all-star cast of Amandla Stenberg, who is gay and non-binary, Jodie Turner-Smith, who is Black, “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, who is Korean, Manny Jacinto, who is of Filipino-Chinese descent, Dafne Keen, who was born in Spain, Charlie Barnett, who is Black and gay, and Rebecca Henderson, who is gay and married to the showrunner.

The diversity is like nothing fans have ever seen in a single "Star Wars" show or movie before, and the actors are glad that many fans will finally get to see themselves represented on screen in a positive way.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on their Dagobah Dispatch podcast, Stenberg said that it was “really exciting” to see the diversity in the new series. “You see the progress that Star Wars is making across the board in all of the streaming series," she said, noting that fans have also noticed the lack of diversity on-screen and felt underrepresented in a galaxy far, far away.

"When it comes to the world of fantasy and sci-fi in general, it hasn't felt like a safe space always for people of color," Stenberg explained. "And it's been a world that I've always deeply loved and been invested in. So to be in any way, shape, or form a part of the wave that is ushering in inclusion and safety for Black nerds, it's my dream come true."

This was true for her cast members as well. Jodie Turner-Smith said that the diversity was "definitely something I noticed and was really excited about, and was one of the reasons that I chose to step into the world."

Spanish-born actress Dafne Keen noted the different perspectives that everyone brought to the series with their different backgrounds. "That was definitely a conversation we've had on set," Keen said. "It's really refreshing to walk onto a set as diverse as this one in every sense. We've all come from different corners of the world and it's really great to get so many different people from different backgrounds to create this thing together."

Charlie Barnett, who is Black and gay, said, “I don’t think I could have ever imagined myself as a Jedi,” before adding, "Because I was not reflected for so many times throughout these films in the past. So to see such a diverse group now, I think it's going be really impactful. It's gonna be [a] cool moment for me for sure, I can tell you that."

Lee Jung-jae, who they referred to as JJ on set, talked about how it was not only interesting to learn how to use the Force, but also learn the English language at the same time. Manny Jacinto said that Lee’s casting actually represents a “breakthrough” for the franchise. "If I'm being candid, this is the first time you're getting to see an Asian Jedi," Jacinto said. "It's a pretty big responsibility. Getting to see him inspire a new generation of Asian kids to like take up the lightsaber — it's pretty incredible."

Jodie Turner-Smith also went on to praise how “woman-centered” the new series is. "I also really loved that our show was much more woman-centered than what I have previously seen in the Star Wars world," she said.

"Just from the fact that our incredible showrunner Leslye is a genius woman, and the female producers and having Amandla be the person who's leading our cast — it was a very cool way into this universe, and a way that I feel that people have never necessarily seen before, other than they're going see Rosario in an amazing woman-centered show as well,” she continued, referring to Rosario Dawson, who stars in “Ahsoka.”

With “Ahsoka” hitting Disney+ in August 2023 and “The Acolyte” hitting the streamer in 2024, Turner-Smith is proud to be part of a new wave of diversity for the franchise."I feel like we are part of a wave of more inclusive and beautifully represented Star Wars shows. So that felt really cool,” she said.

“And I felt the importance of that, especially in some of the stuff that I got to where everyone really was excited about what they were seeing and what that would maybe mean for different fans — fans that don't necessarily look like what you normally think the traditional Star Wars fan looks like," she continued. "Because if there's anything that I learned from this show, it's that the Star Wars fan is varied."