'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-Jae has been cast as the male lead in Disney Plus' 'Star Wars' series 'The Acolyte'.
According to Variety, 'Russian Doll' co-creator Leslye Headland is shown running the series, with Amandla Stenberg ('The Hate U Give') set to star in the leading woman role.
'The Acolyte' is set a century before the events of 'Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace,' putting it further in the past than any other live-action "Star Wars" film. In the series, the galaxy will be seen at its height during the High Republic, when the Jedi were at their most potent and it was thought that the Sith had been exterminated from the galaxy.
Lee's inclusion in 'The Acolyte' series is his first significant role following the success of 'Squid Game,' the Netflix blockbuster drama that made him a household name. As the first non-English language programme to ever be nominated for top drama, Lee and the 'Squid Game' team will attend the Emmys on Monday.
Headland is drawing at least partly from Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: The High Republic" publishing effort for her inspiration on "The Acolyte." Announced in February 2020 and launched throughout 2021, the "High Republic" series spans comic books, audio dramas, web series and novels. They have acted as a sort of R&D unit for the direction Lucasfilm might take the 'Star Wars' tale in the future.
'The Acolyte' is a mystery-thriller that will immerse viewers in a galaxy of eerie secrets and developing Dark Side abilities in the closing days of the High Republic era, according to Disney+'s announcement of the project in December 2020. Acolytes are people with Force powers who learn from more seasoned Sith Lords in the Star Wars universe.
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