New STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE Photos and Details on Dafne Keen's Jedi Character Jecki Lon
Some new photos have surfaced for the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte, and they offer a first look at Dafne Keen’s Padawan character, Jecki Lon.
Jecki Lon is the Padawan of Lee Jung-jae’s Jedi Master Sol in the series, and when talking about casting Keen in this role, series creator Leslye Headland said: “We have to get Dafne, period. I just wanted to see X23 with a lightsaber in their hand. That has to happen."
During an interview with EW, Keen offered some details on the character she plays saying: “Well, I'm very excited that we know her name now, because it was secret for so long. And I'm very happy that I get to say that she's an alien and that she's a Padawan and that she's a Jedi.”
Keen goes on to say: “She’s a mixed species — part Theelin, part human. She's very cool and I have some very cool fights I do with the lightsaber. I really love her. She's a great character and was really fun to play. I'm very excited that the trailer came out. I was buzzing for days.”
The actress then talks about Jecki’ Lon’s relationship with Jedi Master Sol: “I'd say she is a very dedicated Padawan. She's definitely in awe of him in a very kind of sweet way. She thinks the absolute world of him in a way that I think they have a very sweet relationship, but she's much more aware of the authority difference than, for example, Obi-Wan and Anakin. She's very much like, ‘No, he's the master and I'm the Padawan and he's perfect. And everything he says, I have to follow to the T.’”
She also talked about how the character design and makeup she had to wear influenced how she played the character. Keen said: “It completely changed how I moved. It also completely changed the character. When I read the script, I had one idea of what I was going to do, and it completely changed it in a way that I think is much more interesting than what I thought.”
She continued: “I thought she was going to be really methodical and cold and calculated, and then as soon as I was in that makeup, she became much more still methodical and a perfectionist and high achiever, but with much more of an ingenuity and a curiosity and a true love for the craft that is being a Jedi.”
Keen went on to share: “Which was really interesting because I am someone who moves their eyebrows a lot, and not having eyebrows completely changes the expression on your face. And not having eyebrows gave me a sort of sweeter appearance, which completely changed the character in a way.”
The story is described 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.” The High Republic is set 100 years before the Skywalker Saga begins.
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 (Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…."
The series also stars Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae stars as the Jedi Master, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva, Joonas Suotamo, and Amy Tsang.
Stenberg previously talked about the series, saying: “In the context of the Star Wars universe, it’s a time of great peace, theoretically. It’s also a time of an institution, and it’s a time in which conceptions around the Force are very strict. And I think what we’re trying to explore within our show is when an institution has a singular conception of how power can be used…we try to provide a lot of different perspectives and answers to that question. The idea is to kind of honor the ethos of Star Wars and ideas around the Force and also challenge them, hopefully harmoniously.”
Showrunner Leslye Headland has previously stated that The Acolyte will dedicate a lot of screen-time to "the antagonists, and described it as “Frozen meets Kill Bill.” She shared the that story will be told from the perspective of the villains and is set between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequel trilogy, “because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered.”
The series is described as a “spiritual war,” and it includes conflict between siblings, and parents, as well as a conflict between a master and an apprentice. It was reiterated the project is very much inspired by samurai films. It has been said to focus on the emergence of the Sith, a group of Dark Jedi set on conquering the galaxy. The '“acolyte” term has been used in the Star Wars universe to describe soldiers for the powerful Sith Lords.
The Acolyte will have eight episodes in total, with Headland, Garcia Lopez, and Kogonada directing episodes of the series. It’s set to premiere on June 4, 2024, on Disney+. Check out the photos below.
