Last summer during Star Wars Celebration, the news broke that Russian Doll actress Rebecca Henderson had joined the cast of The Acolyte as Star Wars: The High Republic character Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh.
In the books, Vern was one of the youngest ever Jedi, and served as Padawan to Stellan Gios. The Mirialan warrior was completely devoted to the Jedi Order, but struggled to fit in with the adults while also setting a good example for the younger force-wielders.
Henderson will play a much older take on the character (114, to be exact), and, as you can see from Empire's new image below, she'll be sporting a very different look.
“I absolutely love Vernestra," showrunner Leslye Headland tells the mag. "You can tell, because I cast my wife!"
"[She's] been through some shit,” she adds. “That has resulted in her going from this fun-seeking adventurer character [in the books], to a little bit closer to the [type of] Jedi that we see in The Phantom Menace. Because she has been around for so long, she has basically met everyone that has come through the Temple, and seen them all die their natural deaths if they’re living a natural human life. She’s known [Lee Jung-jae’s Jedi Master] Sol since he was a tiny child.”
The Acolyte will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era with the story of former Padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes but discovers the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.
The series also stars Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Dean-Charles Chapman. The Acolyte comes from creator and showrunner Leslye Headland (Russian Doll), who also serves as executive producer alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers, and Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson are producing.
The next Star Wars TV series will premiere on Disney+ on June 4. Do you plan on checking it out?