Amandla Stenberg and Leslye Headland thought ‘Star Wars: The Sidekick’ twist would be revealed much sooner

(This story contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Wars: The Sidekick.)

If you study enough trailers and promo spots, you’ll start to notice the very deep game that trailer publishers sometimes play, especially with franchises as notoriously timid as Star Wars. Of course, any coded language is more obvious when you look at marketing materials after finally viewing the title in question, but in the case of the company created by Leslye Headland and led by Amandla Stenberg. The Acolyteour first look at their mystery thriller series offered a few lines that were sure to delight the ears.

In March, when The AcolyteThe official trailer for debuted with Lee Jung-jae’s Master Sol addressing a group of young Jedi by saying, “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you. We should not trust them. That’s when yours truly theorized that Lee’s character was also offering meta-advice to audiences about the overall narrative of the Disney+ series, and as we now know thanks to the two-part premiere yesterday’s episodes, The AcolyteThe marketing of was absolutely running a long con by denying the co-main character the entire series.

Instead of Stenberg simply playing Mae, the vengeful assassin who targets Jedi from her past, she also plays Mae’s twin, Osha, a space mechanic (or meknek in Star Wars terms), who is wrongly accused of committing Mae’s Jedi murders due to their shared resemblance. The twin sisters were separated 16 years earlier for reasons that will soon become apparent, and needless to say, Stenberg and Headland are stunned that Osha’s character remained a secret from the majority of the public.

“I really thought it was going to leak sooner, like a lot sooner,” says Stenberg The Hollywood Reporter.

However, Headland hints that the deception may not be over yet, as Master Sol’s words will have even more meaning throughout the season.

“I also think that line could apply to the rest of the season as well, not just promotional material, which, yes, worked,” Headland said.

Stenberg first turned heads in 2012 The hunger Games via Rue, a role she manifested while reading the original source material. And then, as fate would have it, The Acolyte manifested Stenberg by designing concept art with her in mind before she was even cast. Headland credits 2018 The hate you give for this turn of events, because that’s when she knew Stenberg could take on not only the dual role of Mae/Osha, but also the responsibility that comes with leading a group. Star Wars project.

“The hate you give“However, that’s really what pushed me to cross the line into Mae-Osha territory, to feel so deeply emotionally invested in a performance,” Headland shares. “(Amandla) was My first choice of someone who would be able to not only embody the characters… but also understand what she was getting herself into. And I also felt that a lot in this film.

Below, in a recent conversation with THRStenberg and Headland also discuss their work with Carrie-Anne Moss and why Stenberg received the rare note of curbing the speed of his action choreography.

When the trailer premiered, I wondered if Master Sol’s instruction to the youngsters not to trust their eyes was also a meta-instruction to everyone watching the trailer, and it was indeed the case. Are you both surprised you were able to keep the cat in the bag for this long?

Powers of Stenberg: I was shocked!

Leslye Point: I was surprised.

Stenberg: I really thought it was going to leak sooner, like a lot earlier.

Promontory: I also think this line could apply to the rest of the season as well, not just the promotional material, which, yes, worked.

Stenberg: This is also why you excel as a storyteller. It’s about questioning how people perceive things and what they are, from a frontal point of view, and then delving deeper into what’s behind it and the complexity of individuals. So that’s what it means to me.

Promontory: THANKS.

Stenberg: Yeah! (Stenberg and Headland look at each other fondly.)

Amandla, you probably had a lot of questions: “How did I get here?” moments on set, but fought Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss’s Master Indara) at the top of the list?

Stenberg: (Laughs.) Definitely yes. Carrie-Anne Moss is exactly everything you hope and expect from Carrie-Anne Moss.

Promontory: I know.

Stenberg: She is such a spiritual, compassionate, warm and kind person. She kind of played a mommy role to me, while I (as Mae) tried to kill her, and that was really sweet. She guided me with a lot of love and gave me tips and tricks, not just physically regarding the choreography. I learned so much just from watching him, but also about being in this industry and doing this kind of work over a long period of time and how to survive when you’re doing this kind of work, because That’s a big part of it too.

Leslye, I talked to Amandla about this on the virtual runways at last year’s Sundance, but she launched her career in protester a role in The hunger Games. And now, Star Wars manifested her by putting her in concept art before she was actually cast. What gave you the idea for Amandla before anything was even official?

Promontory: Well, obviously I admired (Amandla) from afar, which, as I say out loud, sounds…

Stenberg and promontory: (Laugh.)

Promontory: Anyway, The hate you giveHowever, that’s really what pushed me to cross the line into Mae-Osha territory, to feel so deeply emotionally invested in a performance, not just because of the story, but because of the legacy of the story you tell. So the idea of ​​being involved in a huge IP like this, in a world that George (Lucas) created brilliantly, I felt like (Amandla) was My first choice of someone who would be able to not only embody the characters and give an incredible performance and do all the required actions and everything she (eventually) did, but also understand what she’s into boarded. And I also felt that a lot in this film.

Stenberg: Ohh.

Promontory: That’s what happened.

Amandla, Leslye said she called you “Bruce Lee” for how quickly you performed fight choreography, and that’s evident in Mae’s early fights.

Stenberg and promontory: (Laugh.)

Promontory: I was like, “You’re so fast!” You have to slow down! They’ll think you’re the voice actor. They’ll think you’re Kellina (Rutherford) or Cassie (Jo Craig).

Stenberg: (Laughs.) Isn’t that what we want!? At the time, I was like, “This is what we want!” We want them to think I’m doing all this.

Promontory: It’s true. That’s the point.

Stenberg: That’s the point !

Was it difficult to fight against your natural instinct and speed for the camera?

Stenberg: There was something very Jedi about the process of learning this kind of stunt choreography. The reason I was going so fast was because I was nervous and I wanted to prove myself, and this was the way to do it. So I learned from my master (deputy fight coordinator) Lu (Junchang), who trained me with a lot of love. And then I learned through the camera that I actually had to be slower and I had to relax into my body and into myself, and trust that my movements were great. So it was like a very spiritual lesson in how to approach this kind of work.

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The Acolyte is now streaming its two-part premiere on Disney+.