The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland says Dafne Keen was cast in the new Star Wars series primarily because she “just wanted to see X23 with a lightsaber.”
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Headland discussed why she wanted to cast Keen, who previously played X23/Laura in the James Mangold-directed Logan movie from 2017, in The Acolyte.
“I was like, ‘We have to get Dafne, period,’” Headland said. “I just wanted to see X23 with a lightsaber in their hand. That has to happen.”
Headland also said of the forthcoming series, “I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith. That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote ‘extinct’ to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?”
Who else stars in The Acolyte?
Along with Keen, The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Headland serves as the showrunner for The Acolyte. She also executive produces the series alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim, and Rob Bredow serve as producers, while Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are co-executive producers.
“An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past,” the synopsis for the series reads. “As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…”
The first two episodes of The Acolyte will be released on Disney+ on June 4, 2024.
