Star Wars eyes Hunger Games veteran for lead role in The Acolyte series

Disney is looking at Amandla Stenberg, best known for playing Rue in The Hunger Games, to star in its new Star Wars prequel series The Acolyte.

The Mandalorian was a hit on Disney+, and the studio has more Star Wars TV series on the way. A lot more. Off the top of my head, we have The Book of Boba Fett coming up later this month, and then an Obi-Wan Kenobi series, a show about Ahsoka Tano, one about Lando Calrissian, Andor, and more.

Then there’s The Acolyte, which for my money is the most interesting of the bunch because it’s not tied to any characters we already know. From Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland, The Acolyte is set some 50 years before The Phantom Menace, during the end of the High Republic period of the galaxy. We don’t know exactly what it will be about, but an “acolyte” usually refers to a Sith who has just begun their training in the Dark Side. Perhaps the main character will be a apprentice to a Sith lord?

As for who will play that character, Variety reports that Disney is eying Amandla Stenberg, best known for playing Rue in the first Hunger Games movie. Sternberg was quite young when that movie came out in 2012, and has since starred in films like The Hate U Give, The Darkest Minds, Everything, Everything, and most recently Dear Evan Hansen.

There’s no release date for The Acolyte yet, but The Book of Boba Fett premieres on December 29. Then we probably have several more Star Wars series to go before we get to The Acolyte.

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