Star Wars: The Acolyte: Amandla Stenberg Describes Thrill of Using the Force on Set

When Star Wars: The Acolyte arrives on Disney+ next month, it is expected to play with the conventions of the galaxy far, far away. Set during the franchise’s High Republic era, The Acolyte will explore a dark conspiracy among early Force users, including Mae (Amandla Stenberg). In an exclusive interview with ComicBook about Star Wars: The Acolyte, Stenberg spoke about showcasing her Force powers in an unconventional physical way.

“It is the coolest thing ever,” Stenberg said in our interview, which you can check out above. “And there’s so many things to think about when you think about Force wielding, because we almost get a lot of creative freedom, particularly with this character, around what that looks like for her, because she’s not a Jedi and she’s not strictly a Sith. So I thought a lot about my hand positioning, I talked about [it] a lot with my master Lou who taught me all my stunt choreography. For me, I thought it would be more interesting… This movement is utilized often and it’s the way you’re maintaining chi and balance. But I thought for Mae, having it be a little crooked, a little more twisted, would make more sense for her.”

When Is Star Wars: The Acolyte Set?

Star Wars: The Acolyte is set at the very tail end of the High Republic era, decades prior to the events of the Prequel and Original trilogies. The Acolyte marks the first time that the time period has been portrayed in live-action, after it has already been brought to life in novels, comics, and in the animated series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.

“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,” Headland explained in a previous interview. “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?’”

“We actually use the term the Renaissance, or the Age of Enlightenment,” Headland added. “The Jedi uniforms are gold and white, and it’s almost like they would never get dirty. They would never be out and about,” Headland says. “The idea is that they could have these types of uniforms because that’s how little they’re getting into skirmishes.”

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.

Star Wars: The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner- Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers. 

The first two episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte will debut exclusively on Disney+ on June 4th at 6pm PST. If you haven’t checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

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