History of Star Wars: The Acolyte in Timeline

Star Wars: The Acolyte, created by Leslye Headland, is a science fiction television series on Disney+. Set in the High Republic era, preceding the Skywalker Saga, the series revolves around a Jedi investigation into a string of crimes.

1950: Inspiration from film Rashomon

Leslye Headland took inspiration from the film Rashomon released in 1950 to depict events from multiple perspectives.

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1966: Inspiration from Come Drink with Me

Leslye Headland drew inspiration from martial arts films such as Come Drink with Me released in 1966.

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1971: Inspiration from A Touch of Zen

Leslye Headland drew inspiration from martial arts films such as A Touch of Zen, released in 1971.

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1999: Setting within the Star Wars timeline

The Acolyte is set approximately 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which was released in 1999.

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2005: Reference to Darth Plagueis

Darth Plagueis was first referenced in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith which was released in 2005.

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2017: Inspiration from Logan

Leslye Headland was inspired to cast Dafne Keen in The Acolyte, wanting to see her with a lightsaber after her performance in Logan released in 2017.

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2018: Joonas Suotamo portrayed Chewbacca

In 2018, Joonas Suotamo portrayed Chewbacca in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

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2019: Headland expressed interest in Star Wars franchise

By the end of 2019, Leslye Headland expressed interest in working on the Star Wars franchise.

2019: Headland pitched ideas to Lucasfilm

In 2019, after the premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Leslye Headland contacted Lucasfilm to pitch her ideas for a new Star Wars television series.

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April 2020: Leslye Headland developing Star Wars series for Lucasfilm

In April 2020, Leslye Headland was developing a new Star Wars series for Lucasfilm, exploring the franchise from the villains' perspective.

April 2020: Headland to write and showrun Star Wars series for Disney+

In April 2020, Leslye Headland was publicly revealed to be writing and showrunning a new female-centric Star Wars series for the streaming service Disney+.

May 4, 2020: Lucasfilm confirms series development

On May 4, 2020, also known as Star Wars Day, Lucasfilm confirmed that Leslye Headland's series was in development.

December 2020: Title announced

In December 2020, the title of the new Star Wars series was announced as The Acolyte.

June 2021: Writers' room assembled

By June 2021, a writers' room was assembled for The Acolyte, including writers with different relationships to Star Wars.

June 2021: Casting Underway

By the end of June 2021, Lucasfilm was looking to cast a young woman of color for the lead role in The Acolyte.

May 2022: Writing mostly complete

In May 2022, Leslye Headland indicated that the writing for The Acolyte was mostly complete.

July 2022: Amandla Stenberg cast

Amandla Stenberg was confirmed to be cast in The Acolyte in July 2022.

September 2022: Casting negotiations

In September 2022, Jodie Turner-Smith and Charlie Barnett entered final negotiations to join the cast of The Acolyte, with Lee Jung-jae and Manny Jacinto also cast.

October 2022: Filming commenced

Filming for The Acolyte began in October 2022 at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire.

October 30, 2022: Principal photography began

Principal photography for The Acolyte began on October 30, 2022, at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire, under the working title Paradox.

2022: Headland completed work on Russian Doll

In 2022, Leslye Headland completed her work on the television series Russian Doll.

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January 2023: Location filming began in Wales

Location filming for The Acolyte began in Wales by January 2023, including at Brecon Beacons National Park.

February 2023: Alex García López and Kogonada hired to direct episodes

By February 2023, Alex García López and Kogonada were hired to direct episodes of The Acolyte.

April 2023: Cast revealed at Star Wars Celebration London

At Star Wars Celebration London in April 2023, Joonas Suotamo was revealed to be part of the cast as Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca, with other cast members revealed to be playing Jedi.

June 2023: Filming concluded

Filming for The Acolyte concluded in June 2023, following location shoots in Wales and Portugal.

2023: SAG-AFTRA strike delayed post-production

In 2023, the SAG-AFTRA strike delayed the end of post-production for The Acolyte.

March 2024: Post-production updates

By March 2024, post-production was mostly done, although additional dialogue recording (ADR) work could not be completed during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

March 2024: Headland discusses possible second season

In March 2024, Leslye Headland mentioned she had pitched multiple seasons of The Acolyte to Lucasfilm and had plans for a second season, but wanted a break after the first season.

March 2024: Character Details Revealed

In March 2024, character details for most of the main cast were revealed, including Amandla Stenberg as Mae, Lee Jung-jae as Jedi Master Sol, and Carrie-Anne Moss as Jedi Master Indara, with Headland taking inspiration from Moss's portrayal of Trinity in The Matrix film series when creating the character Indara.

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March 2024: Hanelle Culpepper revealed as director

In March 2024, it was revealed that Hanelle Culpepper had directed episodes of The Acolyte.

March 2024: Public Release of The First Trailer

In March 2024, the first trailer for The Acolyte was publicly released, sparking speculation about Stenberg's character and the series' darker elements. The trailer received 51.3 million views in its first 24 hours, setting a Lucasfilm record for streaming series trailers.

April 2024: David Harewood cast

In April 2024, it was reported that David Harewood had a small role in The Acolyte.

May 2024: Kennedy Defends Headland Against Online Attacks

In May 2024, amidst criticism of The Acolyte for being "woke", Kennedy defended Headland against personal attacks, primarily from male Star Wars fans. Stenberg also released a song titled "Discourse" that criticized the intolerance she had faced.

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June 4, 2024: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+

On June 4, 2024, The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ with its first two episodes.

June 14, 2024: Release of "Power of Two" Single

On June 14, 2024, Victoria Monét's original end-credits song for The Acolyte, titled "Power of Two", was released as a single ahead of the seventh episode's premiere. The song was written by Monét with Michael Abels and producer D'Mile.

June 2024: Negative Audience Ratings and Review Bombing

In June 2024, following the release of the first two episodes, The Acolyte received negative audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb, attributed to a review bombing campaign. Complaints focused on the portrayal of the Jedi and the creation of Mae and Osha through the Force.

July 2024: Announcement of Novels Based on The Acolyte

In July 2024, two novels based on The Acolyte were announced: Star Wars: The Acolyte – Wayseeker by Justina Ireland, which explores the shared history of Vernestra and Indara; and a young-adult novel focused on Jecki and Yord, written by Tessa Gratton and released on July 29, 2025.

August 2024: The Acolyte canceled

In August 2024, The Acolyte was canceled due to low viewership and budget overruns.

August 2024: Series Cancellation and Fan Response

In August 2024, The Acolyte was canceled, leading to a divide in fan reception. Some fans launched social movements to try reverse the cancellation, with the hashtag "#SaveTheAcolyte" trending on X, and a Change.org petition accumulating more than 50,000 signatures by late August. Stenberg expressed that she was not surprised by the cancellation due to the bigotry and hateful language the cast had received since the series was announced.

September 4, 2024: Release of Star Wars: The Acolyte – Kelnacca

On September 4, 2024, Marvel Comics published a one-shot comic book, Star Wars: The Acolyte – Kelnacca, written by Cavan Scott, focusing on Kelnacca and bridging the gap between the High Republic publishing initiative and the events of The Acolyte.