Amandla Stenberg and Leslye Headland Thought the ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ Twist Would Leak Much Sooner

 

Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in THE ACOLYTE LUCASFILM

[This story contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte.]

If you study enough trailers and promotional spots, you’ll start to notice the deep game that trailer editors sometimes play, especially with franchises as notoriously secretive as Star Wars. This coded language becomes most evident when rewatching marketing materials after viewing the title. In the case of Leslye Headland's The Acolyte, led by Amandla Stenberg, the first glimpse of this mystery-thriller series included a few lines that were bound to catch viewers' attention.

In March, when The Acolyte’s official trailer debuted, it began with Lee Jung-jae’s Master Sol addressing a group of Jedi younglings by saying, “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you. We must not trust them.” At that moment, I speculated that Lee’s character was also offering meta advice to the audience about the series’ overall narrative. As revealed in the two-episode premiere, The Acolyte’s marketing was indeed playing a long game by concealing the co-lead character of the entire show.

Instead of just playing Mae, the vengeful assassin targeting Jedi, Amandla Stenberg also portrays Mae’s twin, Osha, a space mechanic (or meknek in Star Wars terms) who is wrongfully accused of Mae’s Jedi murders due to their shared likeness. The twin sisters were separated 16 years earlier for reasons that will soon come into focus. Stenberg and Headland were amazed that Osha's character remained a secret from most of the audience.

“I totally thought it was going to leak earlier, like a lot earlier,” Stenberg told The Hollywood Reporter.

Headland hints that the deception may not be over yet, as Master Sol’s words will have further significance throughout the rest of the season.

“I also think that line could apply to the rest of the season as well, not just the promotional materials, which, yeah, it did work,” Headland says.

Stenberg first turned heads in 2012’s The Hunger Games as Rue, a role she manifested for herself upon reading the original source material. Similarly, The Acolyte manifested Stenberg by designing concept art with her in mind before she was even cast. Headland credits 2018’s The Hate U Give for this turn of events, as that’s when she knew Stenberg could handle not only the dual role of Mae/Osha but also the responsibility that comes with leading a Star Wars project.

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