Yesterday was an interesting news for Star Wars fans after they discovered the Taika Waititi movie nobody seems to be asking for had survived Lucasfilm’s latest purge at the expense of the projects being spearheaded by Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins, but Lucasfilm has now been rocked by another major disturbance in the Force relating to The Acolyte.
Former executive producer Karyn McCarthy has filed legal action against the Disney subsidiary over breach of contract per Deadline, following her dismissal from the series being fronted by Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland last year. The creative turned down a lucrative offer from Apple to board Colin Farrell’s genre-bending Sugar in favor of a trip to a galaxy far, far away, only to be left with nothing.
As mentioned in the filing; “As a result of its bad faith and wrongful termination, Defendants deprived Ms. McCarthy significant employment, from which she would have earned millions of dollars over the live of the series.” Having been given her marching orders after only two weeks on The Acolyte, Lucasfilm reportedly offered the mighty sum of $5000 as recompense.
The eight-episode Disney Plus exclusive is one of the most hotly-anticipated upcoming Star Wars titles on the docket, with the story unfolding at the tail end of the High Republic era. As well as taking place during a period of history the franchise has rarely explored, the stacked cast features an eclectic array of talent boasting Amandla Stenberg in the lead role with support coming from the likes of Jodie Turner-Smith, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Lee Jung-jae, and Carrie-Anne Moss to name but a small few.
No premiere date has been announced as of yet, but with a potential courtroom battle looming on the horizon, there could be a dark shadow cast over the entire production for some time to come. We Got This Covered has reached out to Lucasfilm for comment.
