While the primary goal for any show is for it to be an engaging, well-made journey for the audience and the characters who inhabit it the involvement of a diverse cast and crew is every bit as important, and speaking with the Dagobah Dispatch the cast of 2024’s The Acolyte discussed just how varied the makers of the highly anticipated show are.
It is the most inclusive and diverse live-action Star Wars project ever. Not only is the show’s lead, Amandla Stenberg, a gay, non-binary, Black intersectional feminist, but they are joined in the cast by Queen & Slim star Jodie Turner-Smith (who is also Black), South Korean Lee Jung-jae of Squid Game fame, The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto (of Filipino-Chinese descent), the Spanish-born Dafne Keen (Logan), Chicago Fire’s Charlie Barnett (who is Black and gay), and Rebecca Henderson of Russian Doll, who is gay and married to showrunner Leslye Headland.
“When it comes to the world of fantasy and sci-fi in general, it hasn’t felt like a safe space always for people of color,” Stenberg says. “And it’s been a world that I’ve always deeply loved and been invested in. So to be in any way, shape, or form a part of the wave that is ushering in inclusion and safety for Black nerds, it’s my dream come true.”
Keen notes that the actors were well aware of the variety of perspectives at play. “That was definitely a conversation we’ve had on set,” Keen says. “It’s really refreshing to walk onto a set as diverse as this one in every sense. We’ve all come from different corners of the world and it’s really great to get so many different people from different backgrounds to create this thing together.”
Roll on 2024 and – pending any delays caused by the ongoing strikes – the release of The Acolyte when we can view, discuss and enjoy its place in the wider canon of the Star Wars story.
