Squid Game Star Cast In Star Wars: The Acolyte
Lee Jung-jae has joined the cast of Disney+'s Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Coming off the wildly successful Squid Game for Netflix, actor Lee Jung-jae is set to enter the Star Wars universe. According to Deadline, Lee is now attached to the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series, The Acolyte. The report notes that Lee will star as the male lead in the series. Amandla Steinberg is also set to star as the other series lead. Details regarding Lee’s character are currently being kept under wraps as Lucasfilm begins pre-production. The Acolyte is shaping up to have a very diverse cast, with Lee and Steinberg joining the likes of Jodie-Turner Smith. The series comes after the very successful The Mandalorian, which helped kickstart the Disney+ era in streaming. Lucasfilm has yet to confirm when The Acolyte will hit the streamer.
Lee Jung-jae landing a role in a huge Star Wars project only adds to the actor’s already impressive resume. His breakthrough role was in the 1998 award-winning film An Affair. The film was followed by another one of Lee’s great roles in City of the Rising Sun, which he’d won for Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. While it looked as if Lee’s momentum was starting to build, he ran into a career slump in 2007. He rejuvenated his career after starring in the erotic thriller The Housemaid. Fast forward to 2019, the actor landed perhaps the most significant role of his career as Seong Gi-hun in Netflix’s Squid Game. The role established Lee as an international star and led to him getting numerous award nominations, including Best Actor at the Golden Globes. In November 2021, Gucci selected Lee to be their global ambassador. In the same month, the creator of Squid Game teased that Lee’s character would return for the show’s second season.
While fans are excited to see what Lee Jung-jae does in the Star Wars universe, there’s still the question of what direction Lucasfilm wants to take the franchise following 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. So far, Lucasfilm has focused a lot of its attention on producing content for Disney+. As mentioned earlier, The Mandalorian was a massive success for the streamer, and the subsequent sequels and spinoffs opened up more of the Star Wars universe while at the same time still giving longtime fans enough familiarity and Easter eggs for them to chew on. However, following the sequel trilogy, the studio hasn’t been as vocal about promoting any upcoming films. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was announced to develop a Rogue Squadron movie, though that seemingly has been put on the shelf. There is the Rian Johnson trilogy which he teased again recently; however, there’s barely been any movement on the project.
Regardless of what happens with Star Wars in the future, at least the franchise continues to attract tremendous international talent like Lee Jung-jae. The Acolyte is said to dive into the mystery-thriller genre and explore the Dark Side during the final days of the High Republic era. Here’s hoping the series can be another hit for Lucasfilm and Disney+.
