The Acolyte: Russian Doll’s Charlie Barnett rumored to join Star Wars series

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 04: Charlie Barnett attends Netflix's "Russian Doll" FYSEE special event photocall at Netflix FYSEE At Raleigh Studios on June 04, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 04: Charlie Barnett attends Netflix's "Russian Doll" FYSEE special event photocall at Netflix FYSEE At Raleigh Studios on June 04, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Charlie Barnett is reportedly in the process of joining The Acolyte, a live-action Star Wars series in its early stages of production at Lucasfilm.

According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the actor is in talks to join the Leslye Headland project as part of the cast. The exact role the actor would be playing in the series has not been revealed.

The actor and showrunner previously worked together on Netflix’s Russian Doll, where Barnett played Alan Zaveri opposite Natasha Lyonne’s Nadia Vulvokov. Headland co-created the series, which aired its second season earlier in 2022. A third season is still up in the air.

Barnett has had other previous roles in shows such as Arrow, You, and Chicago Fire.

Based on what we know about The Acolyte so far, the series will take place toward the end of the High Republic era and will likely focus on some element of the Sith order. The term “acolyte” in Star Wars typically refers to a student of the dark side of the Force. At this point in canon, we don’t know much about what the Sith were up to at this particular point in the timeline.

Headland has previously stated that she’s interested in telling a story that answers questions about Palpatine’s rise to power before the events of the prequel trilogy. So it’s possible that The Acolyte will, at least at some point, feature a younger Palpatine — or perhaps his master Darth Plagueis, who has yet to actually appear in canon despite being mentioned in Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is currently in development. Check back for more news and updates as they’re released.

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