Amandla Stenberg Was “Terrified” to Fight Carrie-Anne Moss in New Star Wars Show ‘The Acolyte’

Disney+ has been awfully mysterious about what its new Star Wars show, The Acolyte, is all about. We know that it takes place in a brand new area of the Star Wars timeline, roughly one hundred years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. We know that Amandla Stenberg plays the titular “acolyte,” Mae, a student of a dark, mysterious master who is knocking off Jedi one-by-one. We know that Squid Game standout, Emmy winner Lee Jung-jae, plays Mae’s former Jedi master, and that folks like Dafne “X-23” Keen and Russian Doll alums Charlie Barnett and Rebecca Henderson are all Jedi. However, the main selling point of The Acolyte is that writer, director, and hardcore Star Wars nerd Leslye Headland has been given carte blanche to explore hitherto unknown parts of the saga’s lore.

Well, there’s that and the fact that we know the series kicks off with an incredible fight scene between Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg and Carrie-Anne Moss. Moss plays Jedi Master Indara in The Acolyte, one of Mae’s would-be targets. As we’ve seen in the show’s many trailers and ads, this battle between light and dark makes use of Moss’s experience with martial arts. Moss, of course, played Trinity in The Matrix, a film that opens with a jaw-dropping fight sequence that takes full advantage of Moss’s mastery of kung fu and, uh, stopping time.

Disney+ has released a behind-the-scenes clip for The Acolyte in which it’s confirmed that, yes, Headland called upon Moss to once again open a science fiction story with a killer fight scene. Decider can confirm that The Acolyte‘s cold open is indeed a thrilling showdown between Mae and Indara, full of exquisite choreography and tense twists that keep you on your toes.

It’s a brilliant way to drop Star Wars fans into the new show…and it’s a sequence that “terrified” series star Amandla Stenberg.

“Of course I was terrified of fighting Trinity from The Matrix,” Stenberg told Decider during an interview over Zoom last month. “Like, one of the most powerful and intimidating characters that exists in sci-fi.”

Stenberg got over her jitters through the help of her real-life “master,” stunt coordinator Lu Junchang. “I was guided so lovingly by my master, Junchang Lu,” she said. (You can actually see Lu, who has also worked on Ahsoka and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, overseeing Stenberg’s training in the behind-the-scenes Acolyte clip.)

Stenberg also credited her cold open scene partner, Moss, with being “so kind” to her during their journey.

“Carrie-Anne Moss is such a kind, beautiful person. She really took me under her wing and guided me through the experience,” Stenberg said. “And I’m so grateful to her for that.”

Star Wars fans will get their chance to finally see the incredible fight when the first two episodes of The Acolyte premiere on Disney+ tomorrow.

The first two episodes of The Acolyte premiere on Disney+ tomorrow, Tuesday, June 4 at 6PM PT/9PM ET.