Charlie Barnett, best known for his role in Netflix’s Russian Doll, is reportedly in talks to appear in Star Wars: The Acolyte, Amandla Stenberg’s upcoming Disney+ series. As with basically any character in a high-profile franchise series like this, details on the character are under wraps, with The Hollywood Reporter saying only that it’s a supporting role.
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The Acolyte hails from showrunner Leslye Headland, who is the co-creator of Russian Doll. During a recent interview, Headland described the series as a mystery thriller set in a prosperous and seemingly peaceful era. She also confirmed that the series is set roughly 100 years before the events of The Phantom Menace.
“A lot of those characters haven’t even been born yet,” Headland explained. “We’re taking a look at the political and personal and spiritual things that came up in a time period that we don’t know much about. My question when watching The Phantom Menace was always like, ‘Well, how did things get to this point?’ How did we get to a point where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? Like, what went wrong? What are the scenarios that led us to this moment?’”
Squid Game breakout star Lee Jung-jae, Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) also star in The Acolyte.
In addition to his role on Russian Doll, fans likely remember Barnett from his brief stint on Arrow, in which he played an older version of John Diggle, Jr. Had Green Arrow and the Canaries gone to series, he would have been a series regular on that show.
The Acolyte, described as “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,” and a new series codenamed Grammar Rodeo are also further off. Riffing on a title from an episode of The Simpsons, “Grammar Rodeo” is set to center on four young people growing up in the years following Return of the Jedi, and will strive for an ’80s Amblin feel. Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) will oversee. Russian Doll‘s Leslye Headland will serve as showrunner for The Acolyte.
Star Wars: Andor is coming soon, and other upcoming Star Wars TV projects include Season 3 of The Mandalorian; Star Wars: Ahsoka, and Star Wars: Lando.
