Amandla Stenberg, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Lee Jung-jae, showrunner Leslye Headland and Jodie Turner-Smith of 'The Acolyte' | CREDIT: RACHELL SMITH
EXCLUSIVE: The eve of his potential historic night at the Emmys, Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae looks to have found his first major American studio role following that breakout in a property more popular then the Netflix global phenomenon.
Sources tell Deadline that Lee has landed the male lead in the new Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte from Lucasfilm. Amandla Steinberg is set for the other lead role, with Deadline also recently breaking the news that Jodie Turner-Smith also is joining cast. Leslye Headland tapped as the series director, writer, exec producer and showrunner. Headland has been very hands-on with Lucasfilm execs including President Kathleen Kennedy in putting together a diverse, A-list ensemble, and with Steinberg, Turner-Smith and now Lee, it looks to be headed in that direction.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
~Zendaya, Juno Temple, Glenda N. Cox, Will Poulter, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Desi Lydic, Emily Gertler, Alexis Somerville, Anthony Anderson, Sebastian Stan, Lee Jung-jae, Jen Statsky, Elle Fanning, Laura Linney, Kerry Washington, Toheeb Jimoh, Andrew Garfield, Nicholas Braun, Seth Rogan, Naz Perez, Lim Se Ryung, Ayo Edebiri, Alexandra Daddario, Amanda Seyfried, Ali Krug, Natasha Rothwell, Megan Dengerink, Rhea Seehorn, Angela Bassett, Marian Wang, Sammi Hanratty, Ella Purnell, Rachel Lindsay, Bowen Yang, Sarah L. Thompson, Emily V. Gordon, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Poehler, Karamo Brown, Cristo Fernández, Marco Franzitta, Kenan Thompson, Sandra Oh, Zedd, Cherien Dabis, Marin Hinkle, Lily James