Latest news with #TheAcolyte

Geek Tyrant

2 days ago

Entertainment
Geek Tyrant

THE ACOLYTE Creator's "Guiding Principle" For The STAR WARS Show Was "What Would George [Lucas] do?" — GeekTyrant

Before The Acolyte got the axe in 2024, the team behind the Disney+ Star Wars series was following a very specific mantra, one that came from its creator, Leslye Headland: 'What would George do? According to cinematographer Chris Teague, it was baked into the foundation of the show's visual language. In a recent conversation with Gold Derby, Teague opened up about the creative mindset that drove their approach to filming. He explained: 'Leslye would always say, 'What would George do? What would George think?' And that was our guiding principle.' Set during the High Republic era, The Acolyte followed the intertwined paths of Mae and Osha, who where twin sisters played by Amandla Stenberg caught up in a dark mystery sparked by the murder of a Jedi Master, portrayed by Carrie-Anne Moss. The series aimed to explore the rising shadow on the edge of the Jedi's golden age. Teague described their cinematography as rooted in 'elegant simplicity,' something George Lucas himself championed in the original 1977 Star Wars. 'If we're going to move the camera, it needs to mean something. It needs to underline some part of the narrative, or it needs to be connected to some aspect of the choreography, or something like that.' The creative team were looking to do something with different and unique with this show, but for whatever reason, Disney pulled the plug on the show. Reports cited declining viewership as the main reason, but other reports say that the viewership was actually decent. In the end, for better or worse, the series was made with the constant thought of what would George Lucas do? The question is, did you see Lucas' influence on the series while you were watching it?

Ryan Reynolds Thinks ‘Star Wars' Is Ready to Be R-Rated

Gizmodo

24-05-2025

Entertainment
Gizmodo

Ryan Reynolds Thinks ‘Star Wars' Is Ready to Be R-Rated

After Andor, people want Star Wars to take more creative or thematic swings. And according to Ryan Reynolds, a real big swing for the series would be a foray into R-rated material. In a recent episode of The Box Office podcast, the star of Marvel's Deadpool movies revealed he had pitched such a thing to Disney not too long ago, saying, 'Why don't we do an R-rated Star Wars property?' The way he describes it, this was more of a soft pitch for anything rather than a specific idea, but he suggested it wouldn't need 'A+ characters' or that it be 'vulgar. [I mean] R-rated as a Trojan horse for emotion. I always wonder why studios don't want to just gamble on something like that.' Most importantly, this isn't something he's suggesting himself to star in. He doesn't think he's a good fit for the franchise, but he'd be open to producing or writing such a project. To Reynolds' point, Star Wars has generally existed in a family-friendly capacity its whole life, to the point its first PG-13 movie was Revenge of the Sith back in 2005. Across the franchise, violence has been censored after a certain point on screen, and its approach to sex has been all the place implicitly, but only recently got into more explicit territory with Andor and The Acolyte. It's not a question of if the franchise should dip its toes into more adult territory, but whether Disney will let it, and how the wider world will react if it does. Whatever form any R-rated material takes, it will be talked about, for better and worse. [via The Hollywood Reporter]

Is ‘The Acolyte' returning for season 2? Everything we know so far

Business Upturn

24-05-2025

Entertainment
Business Upturn

Is ‘The Acolyte' returning for season 2? Everything we know so far

By Aman Shukla Published on May 24, 2025, 19:30 IST Last updated May 24, 2025, 14:33 IST The Acolyte, a bold addition to the Star Wars universe, took fans by storm with its High Republic setting, intricate mystery-thriller narrative, and fresh characters. After its first season premiered on Disney+ on June 4, 2024, fans have been eagerly asking: Will there be a Season 2 of The Acolyte? With mixed reviews, a passionate fanbase, and significant narrative threads left open, the future of the series is a hot topic. Here's everything we know so far about The Acolyte Season 2. Has The Acolyte Season 2 Been Confirmed? As of May 24, 2025, Lucasfilm has officially cancelled The Acolyte Season 2, with no plans to continue the series on Disney+. This decision was reported by multiple outlets, including Deadline and Variety, in August 2024, just over a month after the Season 1 finale. However, there have been glimmers of hope for fans. In September 2024, Manny Jacinto, who played the fan-favorite character Qimir (The Stranger), expressed optimism about fighting for a second season during an appearance at DragonCon. This sparked speculation, with Forbes reporting a 'glimmer of hope' for the series' revival. Despite this, no official reversal of the cancellation has been announced, and the show's future remains uncertain. Who Would Return for The Acolyte Season 2? If Season 2 were to happen, key cast members likely to return include: Amandla Stenberg as Osha and Mae Manny Jacinto as Qimir/The Stranger Rebecca Henderson as Vernestra Rwoh David Harewood as Senator Rayencourt Lee Jung-jae as Master Sol (potentially in flashbacks, given his character's fate) New characters or legacy figures like Yoda could also appear, depending on the story's direction. Potential Release Date for The Acolyte Season 2 If The Acolyte were to be revived, a release would likely not occur before 2026, given production timelines for Star Wars series. Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at

The 'worst TV show of 2024' doesn't deserve the hate

Metro

04-05-2025

Entertainment
Metro

The 'worst TV show of 2024' doesn't deserve the hate

There are plenty of TV shows so dreadful they deserve to be labelled the 'worst of the year'. I'm thinking of dreck like The Idol, Mrs Brown's Boys, Jersey Shore, and whatever that US remake of The Inbetweeners was supposed to be. However, far too often these days, I think people are too quick to judge a show before it has the chance to properly find its feet. And I must admit, I'm as guilty as the next fan of getting my pitchfork and flaming torch out when some poorly thought-out series lumbers onto the small screen like the televisual equivalent of Frankenstein's monster. With that in mind, though, I think the mob may have been too quick to judge a certain series last year, and we're probably going to regret it in the future. I'm talking about The Acolyte, a Star Wars TV show that was cut down by the red-hot lightsaber blade of fan indifference before it even got off Coruscant. If you didn't watch it, The Acolyte was set a hundred or so years before the events of the main movies, and it was basically a murder mystery involving Jedi and Sith. While it was met with decent reviews, it did not land with audiences – the show has a healthy 78% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes but an audience score of just 19%. But I'll be honest, I really don't think that fair. So, as it's Star Wars Day (May the fourth be with you to those who celebrate), I thought it's the perfect time to defend this underrated series. Before I begin, however, we have to address the elephant in the room. A lot of the vitriol directed at The Acolyte comes from a small group online who led a virtual hate campaign against the series and showrunner Leslye Headland. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This involved review bombing, which is part of the reason the series has such a low audience score. That said, The Acolyte was the lowest-viewed Star Wars show, and a quick search of social media will find plenty of regular people who didn't enjoy it, so it's an issue that went beyond the troll community (if that's a thing). So why did I enjoy it so much? Well, The Acolyte dared to be different. So much of the franchise's recent output has revolved around the Skywalkers, the Galactic Civil War, and the legacy of the original trilogy. That can work – Last Jedi, Andor, and Rogue One prove that – but it's also a bit tiring and, dare I say, boring, that in a galaxy far, far away, we keep running into the same six or so people. The Acolyte, then, was a breath of fresh air, set in a new time period with (mostly) new characters. All of which made the show feel exciting and fresh. Also, The Acolyte's action scenes were mind-blowing. The show blended the traditional Chinese storytelling format of Wuxia with sci-fi to create something that, while still distinctly Star Wars-y, was still unique and interesting. Honestly, I think it's some of the most impressive choreography we've seen since Darth Maul's final duel in The Phantom Menace, and Qimir's Jedi massacre might be my favourite fight in the entire franchise. Finally, the most underrated part of the show was the way it depicted the Sith. In the movies, those who fall to the Dark Side have a bad habit of becoming cackling loons or literal monsters (and sometimes both). That makes the attraction to waving around a red lightsaber a bit odd. Yet the way The Acolyte showed Osha slowly becoming disillusioned with the Jedi helped me understand why people fall. More than that, it did so while presenting a whole new side to the Jedi, one that was unflattering (covering up a massacre isn't exactly the behaviour you expect from a noble knight) and made us question everything we knew about the order. I was looking forward to seeing that idea explored more in season 2. Sadly, though, with the news that Disney cancelled the show, that's unlikely to ever happen. Now I'm not going to say pretend The Acolyte was perfect, the pacing was bad, it looked cheap, and the story was weak. Yet to paraphrase Luke Skywalker talking about his dear old dad, Darth Vader, there was still good in The Acolyte. I could sense it (well, I could see it, it was a TV show). More Trending I wish, then, that the show had been given the time to find an audience and improve. After all, the annals of TV history are filled with great shows with bad first seasons – Star Trek: The Next Generation, Parks and Rec, and Rings of Power spring to mind. By cancelling the series, I fear Disney may have robbed us of one of the most exciting stories from a galaxy far, far away and condemned the audience to an eternity on the front lines of the Rebels' war against the Empire. View More » And I don't know about you, but that doesn't fill me with hope for the future of the franchise. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Celebrate Star Wars Day with an authentic Scout Trooper helmet MORE: The eight best sci-fi series of all-time according to Rotten Tomatoes MORE: The greatest Star Wars game ever created could never be made today

Manny Jacinto, Ben Foster and Fiona Shaw to lead Western comedy The Stalemate

Perth Now

29-04-2025

Entertainment
Perth Now

Manny Jacinto, Ben Foster and Fiona Shaw to lead Western comedy The Stalemate

Manny Jacinto, Ben Foster and Fiona Shaw are to star in the absurdist Western comedy 'The Stalemate'. The 37-year-old actor will star opposite the 'Hell or High Water' star, 44, and the 'Andor' actress, 66, in director Nicholas Arioli's upcoming movie, who is working from his own script. 'The Stalemate' - which is currently filming in Santa Fe, New Mexico - follows a robber (Jacinto) and a sheriff (Foster) who, stranded without bullets and miles from town, are forced to negotiate their way through a bizarre and endless standoff in the Old West. Arioli told Deadline said: 'I spent many years writing this completely absurd movie, and I'm honored to work with such an incredible team who are as excited as I am to bring it to life. ''The Stalemate' is part wacky buddy comedy, part poignant Western elegy - and just straight up a ton of fun. We can't wait to share it!' The movie is to be produced by Molly Conners and Amanda Bower under the Phiphen banner, alongside Andrew Bosworth of Warden Shortbow, and Cari Tuna. Meanwhile, Phiphen's Richard J. Berthy, Jane Sinisi, Linda L. Berthy, Wilson Rivas and Alex Spatt will serve as executive producers with Foster, Serkan Piantino, Emma Thorne, Annabel Teal, Christine Yi and Brian Nemes of Gold House, as well as Jimmy Price and Javier Gonzalez. Conners teased the team knew 'The Stalemate' was 'something special' when they first read Arioli's script. She said: 'From the moment we read Nick's script, we knew 'The Stalemate' was something special. It's rare to find a story that's this fearless, this funny, and this full of heart. 'We're proud to be supporting Nick with such a strong voice - and thrilled to be making this ride of a movie in Santa Fe.' Jacinto could most recently be seen in the Disney+ 'Star Wars' show 'The Acolyte', where he played Sith apprentice Qimir/The Stranger. Reflecting on the series, Jacinto explained the team 'wanted to take a risk' with 'The Acolyte', while retaining the more practical production elements used in the 'Star Wars' Original Trilogy. Speaking at Star Wars Celebration earlier this month (19.04.25), Jacinto said: 'We wanted to bring something different. We wanted to take a risk and bring it back to the Original Trilogy. We wanted to feel the props, we wanted to interact with the puppets. We wanted to get down and dirty with the choreography. 'I'm just so proud of it.' Jacinto will next appear in 'Freakier Friday' - the sequel to the 2003 Disney comedy 'Freaky Friday' that will see the return of Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis' Anna and Tess Coleman. The actor previously said he feels honoured to be part of the 'Lohan-aissance'. Jacinto told Collider: 'I mean, I never thought I'd be a part of the Lohan-aissance. 'She's having a whole revolution of itself, but I remember watching Lindsay as a kid, 'The Parent Trap', 'Mean Girls' and to be able to act opposite her was unreal.'