The force is with Lee Jung-jae.
The Squid Game actor is set to make his Star Wars debut with a starring role in Lucasfilm's new series The Acolyte, Deadline announced Sept. 8. Though no details about his character have been released yet, Jung-jae is set to play the male lead across from Bodies Bodies Bodies star Amandla Stenberg. Jodie Turner-Smith will also be joining the cast.
E! News reached out to reps for Lucasfilm for comment, but did not hear back.
The studio first announced the Disney+ series in December 2020, describing it as "a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era." Showrunner Leslye Headland, who co-created Netflix's Russian Doll, told Vanity Fair that the series will take place in "a time period that we don't know much about"— roughly 100 years before the events of 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
"My question when watching The Phantom Menace was always like, ‘Well, how did things get to this point?'" Headland explained. "How did we get to a point where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? Like, what went wrong? What are the scenarios that led us to this moment?"
While the show is still casting, Headland revealed the writing phase is pretty much done. The show, she said, focuses on a peaceful era in the galaxy, which she called "the Renaissance, or the Age of Enlightenment."
"The Jedi uniforms are gold and white, and it's almost like they would never get dirty," she teased. "The idea is that they could have these types of uniforms, because that's how little they're getting into skirmishes."
Squid Game has been renewed for a second season, with Jung-jae set to reprise his role. The show scored a whopping 14 Emmy nominations and became the first non-English-language show to be nominated in the main drama category. The Emmys will be held on Monday, Sept. 12, airing live on NBC and streaming for the first time ever on Peacock.
The Acolyte does not yet have a release date. Season one of Squid Game is available to stream on Netflix.
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