‘The Acolyte’: Amandla Stenberg Confirmed to Lead ‘Star Wars’ Disney+ Series!!

Actor Amandla Stenberg has confirmed that they will be starring in Star Wars series The Acolyte, a brand-new series headed to Disney+ from Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland. Stenberg confirmed the news on Instagram, where they posed alongside a life-size model of R2-D2 while sporting a Darth Maul t-shirt. The news was also celebrated by the official Star Wars twitter account, which welcomed Stenberg to the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Back in December 2021, it was rumored that Stenberg was being eyed for a lead role in the series, which will be set 100 years before the events of the Prequel Trilogy. Fans of Star Wars books in particular will recognize that as being the era known as the High Republic, which is the current focus of a multi-media publishing initiative called, simply, Star Wars: The High Republic.

Described as a golden age of the Jedi, the High Republic sees the Jedi facing off against villains known as the Nihil, led by the dastardly (or dashing, depending on who you ask) Marchion Ro. While Stenberg‘s role in The Acolyte is currently unknown, comments from series director Headland seem to suggest that the Jedi will at least feature in the series, in a time before they became the “warrior monks” we see at the fall of the Republic.

For their part, Stenberg is known for a variety of roles, including a breakout turn in The Hunger Games in 2012. More recently they appeared in The Hate U Give, The Darkest Minds, The Eddy and Dear Evan Hansen. Their next film will be Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, which will also star Maria Bakalova, Lee Pace, and Pete Davidson.

The Acolyte is just one of many live-action Star Wars series created for Disney+ following the tremendous success of The Mandalorian. Earlier this year both The Book of Boba Fett, starring Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, which saw Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprise their roles from the Prequel Trilogy, were released to the streamer. Next up will be Andor, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, a role he first played in Rogue One alongside Genevieve O’Reilley as Mon Mothma. A third season of The Mandalorian is expected sometime later this year, with Ahsoka premiering in 2023.