The Acolyte Casts Russian Doll Actor Charlie Barnett in Supporting Role

The Acolyte continues to fill out its cast as the race towards production ramps up. Russian Doll veteran Charlie Barnett is getting set to reunite with showrunner Leslye Headland in a galaxy far, far away.



The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, saying that Barnett is in final negotiations to join the upcoming Disney Plus series. Like the other recent casting reports, details are being kept under wraps on the character he would be playing. The outlet notes that Barnett is being brought onto The Acolyte in a supporting capacity, alongside Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, and newly-minted Emmy winner Lee Jung-jae. Amandla Stenberg is the series lead and remains the only casting officially announced by Lucasfilm.



In Headland's Russian Doll, Barnett was one of the series leads as Alan Zaveri. His character was stuck alongside Natasha Lyonne's Nadia in a time loop that encompassed Russian Doll's first season. Barnett's role in season 2 was smaller but still vital. He was also a series regular on Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Other credits include roles on Arrow, Netflix's You, and Tales of the City.



The Acolyte takes place about 100 years before The Phantom Menace, at the tail-end of the High Republic era. Earlier this year, Headland said the series explores the question of how the dark side could infiltrate an entire Republic while the Jedi remain blissfully unaware. Filming for The Acolyte is set to begin sometime this fall, with sets currently being built in the UK.



With a whole host of Disney Plus content already in the pipeline for the rest of the year and well into 2023, it's hard to say whether there will be a full unveiling of the series between now and next April's Star Wars Celebration. All that being said, The Acolyte could be hitting television screens late 2023 at the earliest, with 2024 being a more likely release window.



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