The sudden cancellation of “The Acolyte” last week sent shockwaves through the “Star Wars” universe, with the show being the first Disney+ title for Lucasfilm to nix entirely. But the move didn’t surprise “Acolyte” star Amandla Stenberg, and she’s becoming increasingly vocal about the “rampage” of “hyper-conservative bigotry and vitrol, prejudiced hatred, and hateful language” she’s had to endure from the “Star Wars” fanbase ever since the show’s initial announcement.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: Amandla Stenberg Says “It’s Not A Huge Shock For Me” That Show Was Cancelled, Cites “Rampage Of Vitriol” The Series Received at The Playlist.

The embattled “Star Wars” series, “The Acolyte,” is no more. 

According to Deadline, Lucasfilm has canceled “The Acolyte” after only one season. This is a rare move for the studio, as its “Star Wars” Disney+ output has yet to cancel a show before now. But to say we are not surprised by this move in an understatement. 

READ MORE: ‘The Acolyte’: After Brutal Ep 5, Creator Leslye Headland Says Larger Sith Secrets Won’t Be Revealed Until Season 2

Created by Leslye Headland, “The Acolyte” tells the story of Osha and Mae, twin sisters who find themselves on opposite sides of the epic good vs.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: Embattled ‘Star Wars’ Series Canceled After One Season at The Playlist.

**Spoilers, please don’t read this piece if you haven’t seen the full season of “The Acolyte.”**

All right, the “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” ended today/late last night. If you’re like us, the entire season was a mixed bag, high on thrills of action set pieces and fantastic light saber duels, but sometimes low on stories and true surprises for what was supposed to be a mystery thriller (read our initial review).

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’ Finale Doesn’t Totally Redeem The Series But Ends With Intriguing Possibilities at The Playlist.

The internet is abuzz this week about the fifth episode of the “Star Wars”/Lucasfilm series, “The Acolyte,” from writer/director Leslye Headland. And for good reason, but we’ll get to that in a second. For the uninitiated, “The Acolyte” is a murder mystery series investigating a crime spree that pits a Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. More specifically, it’s about a Jedi, Sol (Lee Jung-Jae from “Squid Game”), and his former Padawan learner, Mae (Amandla Stenberg), trying to solve the mystery of who is murdering Jedi.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: After Brutal Ep 5, Creator Leslye Headland Says Larger Sith Secrets Won’t Be Revealed Until Season 2 at The Playlist.

No amount of rewatching, revisionism, and distance makes the leaden “Star Wars” prequels good, sorry (lord knows I’ve tried). But teeming with terrifically substantive ideas, just not convincing in the execution of any of them, the most juicy and complex legacy that George Lucas ever left “Star Wars” with—something the franchise always seems to flirt with and yet never fully embrace—is the notion of failure, and the Jedi Order as a deeply flawed and ultimately ruinous organization.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’ Review: ‘Star Wars’ Mystery Series Tries To Reinterrogate ‘Phantom Menace’ Ideas With Mixed Results at The Playlist.

While kept under wraps for what seemed like years, the “Star Wars” Lucasfilm series “The Acolyte” was finally revealed last month with the first trailer that pulled back the curtain on the series. Created by “Russian Doll” writer/director Leslye Headland, also known for raunchy R-rated comedies like “Bachelorette,” the trailer teased some of its influences, such as “The Phantom Menace” (it’s set 100 years before those events, the but similarities are undeniable), noir-mysteries and little bit of “The Matrix”-style kung-fu action.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’:  Creator Leslye Headland Says She Purposefully Evoked ‘The Matrix’ With “Force Fu Fights” at The Playlist.

With its first teaser two days ago, “Star Wars” fans now have some idea of what to expect from Leslye Headland‘s “The Acolyte.” But Headland stopped by Collider to provide more details about her upcoming Disney+ series, namely how long each installment of the eight-episode season is, how “The Acolyte” relates to other “Star Wars” series, and if this upcoming season is just the first of several.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: Leslye Headland Wants More Than One Season Of Her Disney+ Series: “I Definitely Pitched It As A Multi-Season Show” at The Playlist.

After a wait that felt like years, Lucasfilm finally unveiled the first look and trailer of the new “Star Wars” mystery thriller, “The Acolyte.” With the veil on the shadowy, secretive project lifted, the show’s creator, Leslye Headland (“Russian Doll”), could finally delve into the series’ details. In A new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Headland spoke about the series’ influences, such as “Kill Bill” and “Rashomon,” and how exactly she pitched the idea to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ Creator Says Pitch For New ‘Star Wars’ Show Was ‘Frozen’ Meets ‘Kill Bill’ at The Playlist.

In an age of light, a darkness rises, and finally. Lucasfilm is pretty guarded about its secret, arguably even cagier than Marvel. Take “The Acolyte,” series from writer/director Leslye Headland (“Russian Doll”). Announced in 2020, while it, granted, only went into production in 2022, it’s been four years, and all we’ve ever seen is one behind-the-scenes photo. Today, that finally changes as Lucasfilm has finally pulled back the curtain on their latest “Star Wars” series, revealing a summer release date and the first moody trailer.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’ Trailer: Lucasfilm’s Jedi Mystery Series Starring Amandla Stenberg Arrives June 4 at The Playlist.

Michelle Williams hasn’t been up to much since “The Fabelmans” last year, but that’s about to change. Deadline reports that the actress will star in and produce “Dying For Sex,” an upcoming limited series for FX. Based on the hit Wondery podcast, the show follows Williams as a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer who leaves her husband of fifteen years to explore her sexuality before she passes away.

Continue reading ‘Dying For Sex’: Michelle Williams To Star In FX’s Limited Series From ‘The Dropout’ Creator Liz Meriwether & Director Leslye Headland at The Playlist.

What would a “Star Wars” film or TV show look like if everything was peaceful and there was no actual war to speak of? That’s the question that apparently caused quite a bit of discussion during the development of the upcoming “Star Wars” series, “The Acolyte.” 

In a new interview with EW, showrunner Leslye Headland explained how “The Acolyte” fits in the grand timeline of “Star Wars” stories.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: Leslye Headland Explains The Difficulty Of Making “A ‘Star Wars’ With No War In It” at The Playlist.

While many fans are still waiting to see Lucasfilm develop live-action projects set during The Old Republic that explores things like the Sith Empire (long before the Rule of Two) and origins of the Jedi Order, there was a bit of a compromise with the publishing side creating The High Republic setting. It takes place between the Skywalker Saga and The Old Republic. While it had been mostly relegated to books and comics, the upcoming Disney+ series “The Acolyte” will cover the tail end of that era of “Star Wars.”

READ MORE: ‘The Acolyte’: Kogonada To Direct Episodes Of The Upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Series

Creator/showrunner Leslye Headland (“Russian Doll“) has put together an impressive cast that includes Amanda Stenberg (“Bodies Bodies Bodies“) as a former Jedi Padawan, Lee Jung-Jae (“Squid Game“), Dafne Keen (“Logan“), Jodie Turner-Smith (“Without Remorse“), Carrie-Anne Moss (“The Matrix“), Manny Jacinto (“The Good Place,” “Top Gun: Maverick“), Rebecca Henderson (“Werewolves Within“), Charlie Barnett (“Russian Doll”), Dean-Charles Chapman (“Game of Thrones,’ ‘1917“), and Margarita Levieva (“Daredevil: Born Again“).

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’ Series Ushers Live-Action ‘Star Wars’ To The High Republic Era In 2024 at The Playlist.

There’s a lot of “Star Wars” to come before “The Acolyte” makes its Disney+ debut. But the more news that breaks about the upcoming show, the more exciting it sounds. Earlier this month, “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, who just won an Emmy for his role on that show, joined Amandla Stenberg and Jodie Turner-Smith on “The Acolyte” cast.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: Manny Jacinto Joins The Cast Of Disney+ ‘Star Wars’ Series, Charlie Barnett Also In Final Negotiations at The Playlist.

The next big “Star Wars” series that has yet to go into production is the mysterious project only known as “The Acolyte” that is gathering steam after actress Amandla Stenberg (“The Hate U Give“) reportedly landed the lead role. While we don’t know a lot of details, it’s confirmed that the new show takes place during The High Republic, a new era of “Star Wars” that was launched for a publication push for books and comic books, a hundred years before the events of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” Set between The Old Republic and the Skywalker Saga, the show will indeed move away from the Skywalkers but Jedi such as Yoda are alive during this era, allowing for original/prequel trilogy characters to make their comebacks.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’ Series May Explore How Pre-Skywalker Saga Sith Hid From Jedi & Influenced By Wuxia Films at The Playlist.

Star Wars fans have had to be patient this year as they await the return of Ewan McGregor in the latest Disney+ show, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” And it’s been a lot of waiting: McGregor’s return to the Star Wars Universe didn’t even have a confirmed release date yet when the final episode of “The Book Of Boba Fett” hit the platform in early February.

Continue reading Lucasfilm Reveals ‘Andor’ Coming Summer 2022, ‘Mandalorian’ S3 Late 2022/Early 2023 & More at The Playlist.

I have a confession to make—I don’t really enjoy 90% of “Star Wars” media. The original trilogy is great, obviously. The prequels are meh. The sequels are…well, not great. And I haven’t really watched any of the animated stuff or read the books and/or comics. That is to say, I know about “Star Wars” but I don’t know “Star Wars.” And this is the type of barrier that I think makes me lose interest in Disney+ series such as “The Mandalorian,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Andor,” and “The Book of Boba Fett.” I just am not excited.

Continue reading ‘The Acolyte’: Leslye Headland Explains Hiring A Writer Who Hasn’t Watched ‘Star Wars’ To Help With Her Disney+ Series at The Playlist.

Lucasfilm recently revealed ten new “Star Wars” projects at their Disney Investors day coming to Disney+ in the near future (11 when you add the belatedly announced “The Book Of Boba Fett“), but a fairly significant update to one of them has been quietly unveiled. Lucasfilm’s Vice President of Film Development Rayne Roberts has been revealed to be co-developing “The Acolyte” “Star Wars” series alongside showrunner and executive producer Leslye Headland, according to her official Lucasfilm profile.

Continue reading Lucasfilm Storygroup VP Rayne Roberts Is Co-Developing ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ Series With Leslye Headland at The Playlist.

For most of the rumored and confirmed “Star Wars” live-action series coming to Disney+, there has always been a clear focus. There is the “Obi-Wan” show, “Cassian Andor,” and perhaps the “Ahsoka Tano” series. But when it was announced that Leslye Headland was going to work on a show, we weren’t given any sort of direction for where it might land other than the fact that it was likely going to be female-centric.

Continue reading Leslye Headland’s ‘Star Wars’ Series Revealed To Be The High Republic-Set ‘The Acolyte’ at The Playlist.

When it was announced that “Russian Doll” creator Leslye Headland was taking over the reins of a “Star Wars” TV project, there was a lot of head-scratching. Not in a bad way, of course, but just that nothing in her previous experience would lead you to believe that Headland was perfect for the role of shepherding a “Star Wars” project. Well, fans, fear not! Headland is a bonafide “Star Wars” nerd, and you just have to watch her recent interview with Fantastic Frankey to understand.

Continue reading Leslye Headland Says Her ‘Star Wars’ Series Is Set In A Place & Time That “We Don’t Know Much About” at The Playlist.

Disney+ is definitely making good on Bob Iger’s promise that the future of “Star Wars” is bright on the streaming platform. We already have seen the news that the streaming service has renewed “The Mandalorian” for a third season (months before Season 2 airs), as well as the promise of upcoming series such as “Obi-Wan” and “Cassian Andor.” Oh, and then there’s that mystery film that may or may not be Disney+ bound from JD Dillard.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars’: ‘Russian Doll’s’ Leslye Headland to Create A New Female-Centric Live-Action Series For Disney+ at The Playlist.

If you have not binged on the marvel that is the first season of “Russian Doll” you’ve really missed out.  The Netflix comedy series follows Nadia (Natasha Lyonne), a New York City software engineer who finds herself reliving her 36th birthday over and over in a “Groundhog Day” inspired series of time loops where she keeps getting killed again and again.  Unable to get out of the cycle, she’s thrown for a mental loop when she meets Alan (Charlie Barnett), a man in her neighborhood who is stuck in his own series of loops.

Continue reading ‘Russian Doll’: Leslye Headland Breaks Down How You Build A Comedy Classic [Interview] at The Playlist.

Like the figurine of its name, this show has layer upon layer to uncover. You can binge “Russian Doll” as a dark comedy, full of the acerbic wit of co-creators and writers Leslye Headland, Amy Poehler, and Natasha Lyonne. You can see this new Netflix show as an absurdist fantasy that philosophizes on life itself and other Big Questions. You can think about this series as a catalog of ways to die in New York City (of which, there are many).

Continue reading Netflix’s ‘Russian Doll’ Is A Hilariously Vulgar, Witty, & Death-Filled Take On ‘Groundhog Day’ [Review] at The Playlist.

TV Land is getting into the reboot game with an anthology series based on the cult 80s film, “Heathers.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, TV Land has ordered a pilot for a “Heathers” TV series to be written by Jason Micallef (who penned Jennifer Garner/Hugh Jackman starrer “Butter”) and directed by Leslye Headland, who wrote and directed “Bachelorette” and “Sleeping With Other People.”

READ MORE: ‘Panic At Hanging Rock’ TV Miniseries Remake In The Works 

The series will be a modern day reboot of Michael Lehmann’ teen classic, which tells the story of a girl and her boyfriend as they go experience high school that’s dominated by not-so-nice, popular students, all named Heather.

Continue reading ‘Heathers’ TV Anthology Series Greenlit At TV Land, ‘Bachelorette’ Helmer Leslye Headland To Direct at The Playlist.

Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie & Leslye Headland Talk 'Sleeping With Other People,' Sex, Indie Films And More

Continue reading Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie & Leslye Headland Talk ‘Sleeping With Other People,’ Sex, Indie Films And More at The Playlist.

Review: 'Sleeping With Other People' Starring Alison Brie & Jason Sudeikis Is Refreshingly Funny

Continue reading Review: ‘Sleeping With Other People’ Starring Alison Brie & Jason Sudeikis Is Refreshingly Funny at The Playlist.