‘The Acolyte’ star reflects on the surreal experience of joining ‘Star Wars’

Not many people get to say the phrase “I’m in Star Wars” truthfully, but we imagine that getting the opportunity to say such a thing that way is nothing short of magical.

And a new wave of celebrities will be joining that club by way of The Acolyte, the upcoming Star Wars mystery thriller that could very will add fuel to the next-level Star Wars fire started by Andor. Starring Amandla Stenberg as a former padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master during the end of the High Republic era, the series will follow the duo as they seek to solve a series of shadowy crimes, not quite aware of the dark, Sith-tinged forces that they’ll be coming up against.

Among the illustrious list of Stenberg’s castmates is Jodie Turner-Smith, who was the joint second player to join the series alongside Squid Game‘s Lee Jung-jae, and she’s taken to the “I’m in Star Wars” club with the exact amount of enthusiasm one should have towards it. In an interview with Comicbook, Turner-Smith reflected on the moment she really realized that she was going to be in a Star Wars show, referring to it as a “bucket-list moment.”

No matter what it’s like, as soon as you walk onto one of those sets, I mean, first of all, when you walk onto one of those sets, you’re like, ‘Okay, they got money. This is wealthy, this production.’ But second of all, it just feels, even no matter if you’re in a different show, a different movie, whatever, you’re just like, ‘Oh, I’m in Star Wars.’ It’s a very cool and surreal experience, and that was definitely another bucket list moment.

Also joining Turner-Smith, Lee, and Stenberg are the likes of Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keene (Logan), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), and Carrie-Ann Moss (Jessica Jones). We have yet to learn exactly who this posse of performers will be bringing into the Star Wars fold, but after we feasted like royals thanks to Andor, we’re all the more excited to plug in to another Star Wars thriller in The Acolyte to find out.

The Acolyte will premiere on Disney Plus sometime in 2024.