Video: “The Acolyte” Cast Members Share Their First Introductions to the Star Wars Franchise

The countdown to The Acolyte stands at five days, and in promotion of Lucasfilm’s new live-action Disney+ series, its stars took to the official Star Wars social media feeds to share their memories of their first introductions to George Lucas’s beloved space-opera franchise.

What’s happening:

  • Lucasfilm’s official social media feeds shared video of The Acolyte stars sharing their first introductions to Star Wars.

What they’re saying:

  • Amandla Stenberg (Mae): “My introduction to Star Wars was through my sister. She introduced me to video games, she introduced me to cosplaying, she introduced me to cons– basically everything that Star Wars fans like.”
  • Lee Jung-Jae (Master Sol): “I was actually in elementary school when I first saw a Star Wars poster on a wall on the street. I saw a very cool costume worn by a man holding a lightsaber, standing in this pose. I thought just what kind of movie could this be and what kind of characters these are. There was just a lot of curiosity for it.”
  • Manny Jacinto (Qimir): “The Star Wars Podracing game was my introduction into the Star Wars galaxy– shout-out to my Millennials out there.”
  • Dafne Keen (Jecki Lon): “I really have a hard time picking a favorite character, because I think it grows with me. Initially it was Luke, then it was Han, then I had a Leia phase. Huge Padmé fan… Anakin, obviously, as I was older and I was like, ‘I love Anakin.’ Classic teen girl.”
  • Jodie Turner-Smith (Mother Aniseya): “I was pregnant when The Mandalorian came out, and when the character of Grogu was introduced. And I just remember being so full with child and seeing that little delicious creature and being like, ‘Oh my god! I love you so much.’”
  • Rebecca Henderson (Vernestra Rwoh): “I remember the Ewoks, I remember being very scared of Jabba the Hutt, but I have really fallen in love with Star Wars watching Leslye Headland create this show. It’s just been a very, very beautiful long road, and I’m so excited for the show to come out.”
  • Charlie Barnett (Yord Fandar): “Love me some Jar Jar Binks. The fights have always been epic. Halloween, seeing all the kids sweating with the Darth Maul makeup. I’m gonna keep going, you shut me off when you want.”

Star Wars: The Acolyte will debut with its first two episodes on the evening of this coming Tuesday, June 4th.

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Mike Celestino
Mike serves as Laughing Place's lead Southern California reporter, Editorial Director for Star Wars content, and host of the weekly "Who's the Bossk?" Star Wars podcast. He's been fascinated by Disney theme parks and storytelling in general all his life and resides in Burbank, California with his beloved wife and cats.