The Acolyte: cast, plot and everything we know

Behind the scenes photo of Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae and Leslye Headland on set for The Acolyte
The first official behind-the-scenes photo of The Acolyte. (Image credit: Charlie Black)

The Acolyte is bringing the High Republic era to Disney Plus. 

Whilst we've been busy enjoying Andor, the wheels have been spinning up on The Acolyte, a Star Wars "mystery-thriller", that will break fresh ground for Star Wars as we've seen it on screen. 

Transporting us roughly a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte is set during a period when the Jedi Order is at its peak. However, there are still dark side forces waiting to upset the balance of the Force and threaten the galaxy all the same.

Here's what we know about The Acolyte so far. 

The Acolyte release date

So far, we don't have a confirmed release date for The Acolyte just yet, but we expect it's likely a way off as production only recently got underway in the UK. All know right now is that the series will obviously be a Disney Plus exclusive and it's expected to be eight episodes long.

Plus, the Star Wars release schedule already looks pretty crowded in 2023. The Mandalorian season 3 will finally arrive coming in February, plus we expect we'll be enjoying the second and final season of Andor (which has already been filmed) and Ahsoka are both expected to be coming along in 2023, too. So

Who's in The Acolyte cast?

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Hate U Give) was the first star attached to The Acolyte. They confirmed the news with a photo on Instagram alongside R2D2, writing: "Next stop: a galaxy far, far away... I am so excited to finally announce I'm joining Star Wars: The Acolyte. Honored is an understatement. May the Force be with you".

The rest of The Acolyte's main cast was revealed on November 7, and it features a great range of stars including Squid Game frontman Lee Jung-jae, Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Resurrections), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Russian Doll), Jodie Turner-Smith (After Yang), Dean-Charles Chapman (The Walk-In) and Russian Doll stars Charlie Barnett and Rebecca Henderson.

Image showing nine of the stars in The Acolyte cast (L-R): Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss

The Acolyte's key cast (Image credit: Lucasfilm)

Who's working on The Acolyte?

Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland is at the helm as showrunner, and she will also direct the series pilot. 

Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef are on board as executive producers, with Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson producing.

What's the plot?

The Acolyte is a prequel series that's telling a story set centuries before the events of The Phantom Menace. It's story takes place during the High Republic era, the period at which the Jedi Order was at its prime.

Disney's summary for The Acolyte reads: "The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.

For a crash course in the High Republic, you can head to the official Star Wars website to learn more about the potential characters and places we could be seeing in the new series. 

Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin is a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produces a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. 

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.