The Acolyte Star Defends Controversial Opening Scene After Online Backlash

The premiere episode of The Acolyte on Disney+ featured an explosive opening scene involving a surprising death, but the star of the new series recently defended the bold decision and applauded showrunner Leslye Headland’s decision.

Per Variety, star of The AcolyteAmandla Stenberg defended the shocking twist involving the death of Carrie-Anne Moss’s character, Jedi Master Indara. In the show’s premiere, Mae (Stenberg) assassinates Indara in a riveting action sequence, which came as a shock to many fans. “I thought it was a good tone-setter for the show,” Stenberg said. “[It shows] that the Jedis are going to take some losses, and that the good guys and the bad guys are not always who you think they are.”

Moss was featured heavily in the trailers leading up to the show’s premiere, so many fans were taken by surprise when Indara was killed off so quickly. The opening to the first episode featuring Indara’s death, differed from many of the fight scenes synonymous with Star Wars, specifically the lack of lightsabers or blasters. It relied heavily on hand-to-hand combat, a trademark of The Matrix films starring Moss. Headland was especially keen on bringing in Moss, possibly for that reason. Headland revealed that Moss “needed to be involved with the project at any costs.” Despite the controversy the opening may have caused, Moss surely shines in the incredibly choreographed sequence and provided a memorable start to the show.

Stenberg Formed a ‘Close’ Relationship with Moss

While Moss’s time may have been short on the show, that didn’t deter the bond that was formed between both Stenberg and Moss. “We actually grew up in the same spiritual community,” Stenberg said of Moss. “And so in working in ‘Star Wars,’ which is very spiritual, there’s a lot of reflecting that I was doing— especially as I literally confronted myself as my soul was split into two people.” Moss, who is no stranger to starring in action-heavy franchises, acted as a shoulder to lean on for Stenberg throughout the process of making the show. “She just really offered me a guiding hand, and doubled down on the importance of taking care of yourself and staying grounded in the middle of this kind of work,” Stenberg said.

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How Star Wars: The Acolyte Sets Up the Fate of the High Republic Jedi

The two-episode premiere of The Acolyte shows the state of the Jedi establishment in the High Republic with subtlety.

The Acolyte has received some harsh reactions from fans, despite holding a 91% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. This has become somewhat of the norm with Disney’s newest Star Wars ventures, but that hasn’t deterred overall viewership as it was recently reported that 4.8 million people viewed the premiere, making it the largest debut for Disney+ in 2024. In addition to Moss and Stenberg, the show features a strong cast that includes Dafne Keen as Jecki Lon, Jodie Turner-Smith as Mother Aniseya, Lee Jung-jae as Master Sol, and Charlie Barnett aas Yord Fandar. The next episode will be available June 11, 2024.

The first two episodes of The Acolyte are available to stream on Disney+.

Source: Variety

The Acolyte

A Star Wars series that takes viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.

Release Date

June 4, 2024

Cast

Lee Jung-jae , Jodie Turner-Smith , Amandla Stenberg , Rebecca Henderson

Seasons

1

Franchise

Star Wars

Creator

Leslye Headland

Number of Episodes

8

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