Summary Mae’s character in The Acolyte is complex and mysterious, seemingly standing outside the binary of dark and light side users in Star Wars.
Mae is an incredibly skilled warrior, matching highly trained Jedi with just a dagger and displaying impressive physicality in combat.
While Mae is likely not the one with the red lightsaber shown in the trailer, her role in the show will be crucial and full of unexpected twists.
One of the most mysterious aspects of Star Wars: The Acolyte is Amandla Stenberg’s Mae, and there’s a lot to unpack about who she is and what role she’ll play in the Star Wars show. The Acolyte’s story details are still being closely guarded, but a new trailer for The Acolyte has given a glimpse into what’s in store. One of the biggest reveals was Amandla Stenberg’s character, Mae, though the trailer left plenty of aspects of her character uncertain.
Some of the key takeaways from The Acolyte’s trailer gave insights into who Mae is, but her character is still shrouded in mystery. Mae will likely be one of the most important characters in the entire show, so understanding who she is and what is driving her will be absolutely crucial. Here’s everything we know about Mae so far, from her allegiances to the actor who plays her.
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Amandla Stenberg’s Mae Is Not A Sith, Nor Is She A Jedi
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Though the show’s title could hint that Mae will be a Sith, given the history of Sith acolytes in Star Wars, it seems more likely that Mae stands somewhere outside the binary of dark and light side users. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Acolyte’s showrunner Leslye Headland said as much about Mae, and that it would be hard to determine her allegiance.
I loved the idea of a character that was unknowable in her goodness or badness.
Mae likely won’t be simply good or bad, as The Acolyte has promised to be one of the most complex and nuanced Star Wars stories to date, and her character will probably follow that same trend. The Acolyte’s character details also mention that Mae had been “swept up into a sinister mystery,” and that wording implies she didn’t originally want to be involved on either side.
The Acolyte ‘s first two episodes will premiere on Disney+ on June 4.
There were also several subtle hints in the trailer that indicated Mae was a combination of both the dark and light sides of the Force. Mae was likely a former Padawan of Master Sol, giving her a history with the light side, and her fights with different Jedi highlight her connection to the dark side. Her purple robes also combine the Jedi and Sith’s traditional colors, red and blue, into a blend of both. Even The Acolyte’s title hints at Mae’s complicated role, as Sith acolytes weren’t official members of the dark side group. One of the biggest hints, though, came from Mae’s fighting style.
Amandla Stenberg’s Mae Is An Incredibly Skilled Warrior
Throughout the trailer, Mae was seen fighting both Master Indara and Master Sol, two highly trained and exceptionally skilled Jedi. Holding her own against them would be a feat in itself, but Mae matched their combat abilities with just a simple dagger, not a lightsaber, which is all the more impressive. She also displayed an impressive level of physicality in her fights by flipping around and demonstrating a knowledge of martial arts. Even when Indara shoved her back with a Force push, Mae was able to resist it and stay on her feet, which the average combatant would not be able to do.
While the details included in Mae’s fight scenes reveal quite a bit about her, what was left out of her battles reveals even more. In both of her fights in the trailer, Mae didn’t use the Force in the same way as the Jedi she fought. Neither a Jedi or a Sith would shy away from using the Force, so Mae’s reluctance to use it indicates that she doesn’t belong to either group. It could even be a hint that she’s cut herself off from the Force entirely, which would make her even more different from the two main groups.
Is Mae The One With The Red Lightsaber In The Acolyte?
image via Disney+
The end of The Acolyte’s trailer showed someone catching a red lightsaber mid-flight, presumably to then use it in battle. It likely wasn’t Mae who caught the lightsaber, though, as the trailer was guarding the identity of its wielder quite closely. Mae has already been revealed, and if the lightsaber was hers, hiding her identity wouldn’t accomplish much. It would also contradict what little is known about her character, as the show’s character details said she was put “into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways,” while wielding a lightsaber would make her a much more active participant in the conspiracy than that description implies.
Even if Mae was a Sith acolyte, she wouldn’t have had access to a red lightsaber at that point in her training. Red lightsabers are made by bleeding kyber crystals, a process that requires a Sith apprentice to first kill a Jedi and take their crystal. She also wouldn’t have been strong enough in the dark side to use the massive Force push shown in the trailer, and she likely wouldn’t have taken on such a large group of Jedi. Mae might be a skilled fighter, but those feats would be beyond her strength given her level of training, so the lightsaber likely belonged to an unidentified Sith.
What Else Amandla Stenberg Has Been In
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Stenberg has been a successful actor since she was a child, and she’s had prominent roles throughout her teenage years and into early adulthood. One of Stenberg’s first, and most prominent, movies was The Hunger Games, where she played Rue, one of the youngest contestants in the deadly fight and an ally to Katniss. Since then, she has had major roles in live-action movies such as The Hate U Give, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and Dear Evan Hanson. She has also broken into the realm of animation by lending her voice to characters in projects like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Ozi: Voice of the Forest.
Amandla Stenberg’s Most Recent Projects Role The Melodic Blue: Baby Keem Jade Ozi: Voice of the Forest Ozi Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Margo Kess/Spider-Byte My Animal Jonny Bodies Bodies Bodies Sophie
Her role in The Acolyte will be unlike any other project she’s done before, though. Stenberg has appeared in several TV shows, like The Eddy, Mr. Robinson, and Sleepy Hollow, but The Acolyte will be her first time leading a series. The Star Wars show will also be her first major foray into the action genre, though Stenberg seems more than capable of taking on the physical and acrobatic role of Mae. In the same interview, Headland said that she was stunned by Stenberg’s speed in her action scenes, and that she had to tell her to slow down because her face was blurred on camera.
Stenberg has been phenomenal in her past roles, which only makes her involvement in The Acolyte that much more exciting. She’ll be able to use her acting skills to bring a character as nuanced and mysterious as Mae to life masterfully, and she will likely act as the backbone of the show. With Stenberg at the helm, along with the deep cast of talented actors who are also lending their performances to the show, The Acolyte could be one of the most impressive Star Wars stories in a very long time.
Source: Entertainment Weekly