Summary

• The Acolyte
  is a new Star Wars series set in the High Republic era, exploring a darker side of the Jedi and the galaxy’s threats.
• This series introduces unique characters like Qimir, a former smuggler, and focuses on the complexity and humanity of the Jedi.
• Actors like Dafne Keen bring a fresh take to Jedi training, merging the discipline of combat with Star Wars’ unique philosophy.

The Acolyte is set at the end of the High Republic era, generations before the Skywalker Saga when the galaxy was prosperous and the Jedi were at the height of their power. A former Padawan and her Jedi Master are drawn back together when a new threat puts the entire galaxy in danger. As they begin to uncover the truth about this threat, they will learn that the forces at play are much darker and more insidious than they thought possible.

Although the High Republic has been a major part of the publishing side of Star Wars, The Acolyte will be the first time it is shown on screen. Exploring this new era of Star Wars shows the Jedi in a new light, as they are the peacekeepers that Obi-Wan once described them as. Creator Leslye Headland is able to bring a new genre into the Star Wars franchise with The Acolyte leaning into a mystery thriller-focused story with martial arts-inspired stunts.

Screen Rant interviewed The Acolyte stars Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, and Manny Jacinto about their new Star Wars series. Keen discussed finding the balance between her character’s human and Theelin sides as well as the stunt training to play a Jedi. Barnett explained how The Acolyte explores the humanity of the Jedi and Jacinto teased how his character toes the line between light and dark.

Manny Jacinto Teases That Qimir Is A Former Smuggler Focused On “His Own Path”

The Acolyte introduces a new smuggler into the world of Star Wars, but unlike many in the Skywalker Saga who grew into heroes, like Han Solo, Qimir toes the line between the light and dark side. Jacinto teased his character’s relationship with Mae and why Qimir is more focused on his own path.

Manny Jacinto: First of all, Qimir’s a former smuggler. He’s definitely toeing the line between light and dark. Definitely a selfish character who uses people to his advantage, whether that be the Jedi or Mae. At the end of the day, it’s just about his own path as opposed to the light side or the dark side. His relationship with Mae is very much a brother-sister relationship. They hate each other, but they need each other to survive.

Dafne, tell me a little bit about how you blended Jecki Lon’s human side with her Theelin side. Are there times when part of her heritage shines through?

Dafne Keen: That’s a really lovely question. Thank you so much for that. I think a lot of Jecki was her Theelin side, and it was a huge honor to get to play her because this was something that Leslye picked out specifically because she loves the Theelin species, and she loved the Theelin performer in the cantina.

It was so fun to kind of play with that alienness that she has. But also, she’s such a human! I had a lot of conversations with Pablo, the Star Wars expert, who we had on set. I went to Pablo all the time with questions, and we figured out that she was probably mostly human She was probably 90% human and 10% Theelin, which is interesting.

But a lot of how I broke her down was trying to figure out how young she was taken into the Order, to see how much of that she might’ve inherited. And then what that does to a child, ripping them away from their planet and away from their family and [educating them] in a place where you are just at school all the time. That’s kind of what it is. It’s like a boarding school for two decades of your life, but it’s almost a religion.

There’s something so fascinating to me about the Jedi that I really had such a fun time sinking my teeth into it, and finding how much of her essence would’ve remained after having spent such a long time surrounded by just Jedi.

Charlie Barnett Talks “Seeing The Raw Edges” Of A Jedi’s Humanity

Yord Fandar is a newly minted Jedi Knight focused on doing his best to honor the Order. Barnett broke down what drives Yord and how The Acolyte explores the humanity of the Jedi stripping away the idea that the “Jedi are gods.”

Charlie Barnett: Yord’s driving force is… I was going to say success, but I don’t think any Jedi is necessarily driven by success. But he is driven by balance and finding peace within the galaxy. He is a hundred percent committed to the Jedi Order and to The Republic, and to the advancement of all peoples and species through this movement.

It’s like that moment when you realize that your parents aren’t gods, do you know what I’m saying? That kind of mysticism plays out, and I think Yord is stuck in and committed to being in the “Jedi are gods” statement. He is a Jedi Knight, and he’s fairly new to the position too, so he is very excited to do it right.

I think [that’s] the glory of Leslye’s writing. I’ve had a lot of fun being able to play him because every time I watched Jedi growing up, they were perfect. It was like, “These are gods!” But seeing the raw edges of their humanity, even going back to some of the movies and seeing Anakin struggle with these things, and Obi-wan talking to him and expressing the same kind of feelings? I love those blended, human dynamics. Those are the parts of Yord that I really had fun exploring.

Dafne Keen Compares The Acolyte’s Jecki To Logan’s X-23

The Jedi Order has always used lightsabers, with their battles taken from Samurai. But in this, we also take from Eastern fighting styles with more hand-to-hand combat that we don’t usually see in Star Wars. Dafne, how did your Logan training differ from being a Jedi?

Dafne Keen: It was completely different. And like you said, Laura’s goal in Logan was to kill, and that was what you wanted to get to. However, you had to do that, whether that was chopping heads off or stabbing them multiple times. In Star Wars, it’s the complete opposite. A Jedi doesn’t want to kill; the last thing they will do is kill. It’s all about deflecting and protecting yourself.

And also, it’s about the form, which I wasn’t used to. I was used to it just [being] messy and feral, and you were like an animal that was unleashed. Going to the stunt training, I had a lot of the stunt [team] having to tell me to just calm down. Instinctually, because that was most of the stunts I’d done, I would scream when I was hitting people.

And they were like, “No, this is a meditation.” It was really interesting to learn to approach it from a meditation standpoint, using breathwork and finding the beauty and the movement and the circularity of it all. As opposed to just the violence, which is where I came from.

About The Acolyte

A mystery-thriller that explores a new era in Star Wars, the end of the prosperous High Republic era. As shadowy secrets and dark side powers begin to emerge a former Padawan will reunite with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes. However, they soon learn that the forces they are up against are more sinister than anyone could have expected.

Check out our other The Acolyte interviews here:

The Acolyte

debuts on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere on June 4.

Source: Screen Rant Plus