'Squid Game' star Lee Jung-Jae to play lead in 'Star Wars' series 'The Acolyte'
Lee Jung-Jae, a.k.a. player 456, is headed to a galaxy far, far away.
Deadline announced that the Squid Game star is set to play the male lead in Disney+'s upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte.
Lee will be joining actors Amandla Steinberg and Jodie Turner-Smith in the Lucasfilm project, with Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) as director, writer, executive producer, and showrunner.
On Sept. 12, the Korean actor will be a presenter at the 74th Emmy Awards alongside fellow Squid Game star Jung Ho-yeon. He's also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
The Acolyte was first announced by Disney+ in December 2020. This mystery-thriller will dive into the shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era, according to the streaming giant.
The series will be set a century before the events of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and will explain the state of the galaxy in the prequel trilogy.
"A lot of those characters [from the Skywater saga] haven't even been born yet. My question in watching The Phantom Menace was always like, 'Well, how did things get to this point?' she told Vanity Fair in May. "How did we get to where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? What went wrong?"
Disney+ hasn't announced a release date for The Acolyte, but other Star Wars shows are premiering on the platform. Andor, a prequel to Rogue One, hits Disney+ on Sept. 21.