Is The Acolyte in Trouble Now That Lucasfilm's Mired in Legal Drama?
The production company is sued by The Acolyte ex-executive producer.
Lucasfilm, the production company responsible for the Star Wars franchise, has been hit with a wrongful termination lawsuit from Karyn McCarthy, known for her work on the TV series House of Cards and Ballers, after she was fired as an executive producer on the upcoming TV show The Acolyte.
According to Variety, Lucasfilm stopped working with McCarthy without explanation, reason or justification after only two weeks of production.
As stated in the lawsuit, the company deprived Ms. McCarthy of significant work that would have earned her millions of dollars over the life of the series.
She alleges that her involvement with the Disney Plus series prevented her from taking a similar position on the Apple TV series Sugar. After McCarthy was fired from The Acolyte, it appeared that Apple's offer was no longer valid.
McCarthy's counsel at Glaser Weil made a following statement: "For over 35 years, Karyn has hired thousands of people for several major studios on many high-profile projects.
She knows when a deal is a deal. Throughout her entire career – from office assistant, location manager, unit production manager and eventually producer – she has prioritized fairness, kindness and human decency."
They added that even after the "bizarre and baseless termination," Karyn went to Lucasfilm without a lawyer to get what she was owed. Lucasfilm responded with "lawyers and lies", and filing a lawsuit was a last resort.
McCarthy is demanding to be paid for her work on The Acolyte, as previously agreed to with Lucasfilm, and to be credited as an executive producer on the show.
However, this situation does not seem to affect the production of The Acolyte, which began principal photography at Shinfield Studios in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2022.
Set in the final days of the High Republic era, the show follows a former Padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they face are more sinister than they expected.
Created by Leslye Headland, the series recently added Netflix Daredevil director Alex Garcia Lopez to its team.
A release date for The Acolyte has not yet been announced.