Arturo Hilario
El Observador
A new chapter in the Star Wars universe has been written with a mystery thriller tone and with a head start of one hundred years before the original 1977 blockbuster.
In an era before the constant battle between light and darkness that Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker captivated audiences with, Star Wars: The Acolyte tells a story of Jedi Knights in an age of peace, prosperity and enlightenment known as the High Republic, and a new mysterious threat that emerges.
As an investigation into a string of high-profile killings leads to uncovering mysteries, and people, of the past, we are introduced to new characters and never before seen planets which form the backdrop to the detective-style story and kinetic martial arts-inspired action of The Acolyte.
Bringing the characters to life is the stellar cast that includes Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Emmy Award-winner Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (Nine Perfect Strangers), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).
I’ve been a big Star Wars fan since I was little, so getting the call for this was pretty huge.
-Dafne Keen
British-Spanish actress Dafne Keen, known for her commendable role as X-23 in 2017’s Logan, and more recently in HBO’s His Dark Materials, portrays Jecki Lon, a Jedi in training (formally called a ‘Padawan’), who is part of the small group of Jedis investigating the aforementioned mysterious threats to the universe.
On the eve of the premiere, she talked to us about how The Acolyte invites Star Wars fans and newcomers alike to enjoy this self-contained story and figure out who and what the mystery leads to, and how she trained and frantically took notes to prepare for the role.
Star Wars: The Acolyte was created by Leslye Headland, and is now streaming on Disney+.
To start off, I wanted to ask what your history is with the Star Wars universe, and what were your first memories of the films or TV shows?
I watched the first movie with my dad. My dad made me watch them in the order that they were made. When I was eight years old, I went to the video store that was down the street from my house, and we rented them. And then I watched them, and I loved them. And I’ve been a big Star Wars fan since I was little, so getting the call for this was pretty huge.
Is there any specific show or film that you feel that fans might want to watch to get into the vibe of what this story might bring?
I honestly feel like The Acolyte, it could be a standalone, but I think if you’re a fan, you’ll really enjoy it because it has little Easter eggs of what’s to come, basically. But I think if you like Star Wars, just watch anything before you watch The Acolyte or don’t watch anything. It’s honestly, because it’s so far ahead of everything time wise, you don’t really need any context for it. So, I think that’s also what’s really cool about it.
Could you touch on your character, the Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon, and how you approach stepping into the shoes of that character and interpreting her?
It was really fun. Obviously, I rewatched everything. I read everything that I could about the High Republic. I just tried to get as much of an understanding of the world that surrounded Jecki as much as I could. We had the amazing Pablo Hidalgo, who works in Lucasfilm, who basically is the all-knowing being for Star Wars. So you’d go to Pablo with questions.
I had a bunch of stunt training. I had force training. The makeup really helped. I had this crazy, absolutely crazy person notebook, where I just wrote everything that I thought of. I’d be like, “oh, what I think…” And then I created a whole backstory for her. But also, a lot of it was built on set around the interactions that she had with other characters.
And finally, what do you hope that people take away from your character and the overall story of The Acolyte?
I hope that they take from Jecki how excited she is and how much of a fresh view she has on the on the Jedi Order. I think the whole of Leslye, our creator’s point of view on the Jedi Order and on the Star Wars universe is so interesting and refreshing, but from a fan’s point of view. So, I just hope it makes people have fun and reflect.
