The Acolyte Starts Shooting in Shinfield Studios

Almost two years after it was officially announced by Kathleen Kennedy, Leslye Headland's new live-action Star Wars series has finally started shooting in the U.K. According to Bespin Bulletin, cameras are now rolling on the outdoors set built at Shinfield Studios, Berkshire, 40 miles west of London. Construction of the set has been ongoing for at least a couple of months, with the first pictures surfacing on the Internet in early September.



Bespin Bulletin also posted an aerial view from the set in early October, showing how much progress had been made. They are reminiscent of the set photos we got from several Andor locations back in the first half of 2021, though the sets are certainly not as large. Unlike Andor, though, it is expected that The Acolyte will combine built-in sets and the Volume technology that was used in The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Interestingly enough, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has said in multiple interviews that it was not possible for them to combine shooting on a sound stage and in outdoor sets. Here are two aerial photos of the set:











The Acolyte now becomes the third Star Wars live-action series in production at the same time, though Ahsoka may be about to wrap, if it hasn't already. Skeleton Crew, the new series from Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, and executive produced by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, still has at least another month left of principal photography in Los Angeles. Additionally, Bespin Bulletin is saying that The Mandalorian season 4, which Favreau has been scripting for a while, could begin filming in Manhattan Beach Studios as soon as this month. This would line up with Ahsoka wrapping up now, but certainly would mean the team over there is not taking a break -- Ahsoka began filming a month and a half after The Mandalorian season 3 wrapped, and has been shooting ever since concurrently with Skeleton Crew on the same lot.



The Acolyte has yet to be officially dated, though a release date sometime in the first half of 2024 seems likely. It will be shooting in the U.K. until May. Meanwhile, Andor season 2 will also start shooting in the U.K. in November, and will keep doing so through next August, targeting a late summer or early fall 2024 release.



Leslye Headland has lined up an all-star cast, led by Amandla Stenberg (who has already been seen around the set) and including Jodie Turner-Smith, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, and Charlie Barnett.



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