Star Wars: The Acolyte is on the horizon, promising to shake up fans’ expectations of the beloved sci-fi franchise. While The Acolyte certainly isn’t the first or last time that the Star Wars galaxy will be explored on Disney+, the show’s premise and setting within the High Republic era have left fans intrigued. As we wait for a trailer or official look at The Acolyte itself, a new interview with series creator Leslye Headland teases what to expect. As Headland told Entertainment Weekly‘s Dagobah Dispatch podcast, The Acolyte will offer an unexpected perspective on the age-old conflict between the light and dark sides of the Force.
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“The Acolyte stands out because it is the earliest in the Star Wars timeline that we have ever been in live-action,” Headland revealed. “We are toward the end of the High Republic, leading into George’s prequels, so we are looking at a time period where the Jedi are at the height of their power.”
“I think that what makes this show different and interesting is that it’s from the perspective of the villains of Star Wars,” Headland explains. “These are people who are using the Force in their own way, dipping into the darker sides of the Force and are doing it without being sanctioned by the larger institution, which, in this case, is the Jedi.”
“Star Wars is always about some version of the underdog versus the institution,” says Headland. “And I just thought it was very interesting to do a show about the bad guys and to set that during that time period made the most sense. So it’s kind of almost flipped. We have more Jedi than you’ve seen in any of the of the Star Wars content, but at the same time, you see more morally ambiguous characters than you’ve seen in other Star Wars content.”
What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?
In Star Wars: The Acolyte, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. The ensemble cast of the series will include Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Margarita Levieva.
“We’re taking a look at the political and personal and spiritual things that came up in a time period that we don’t know much about,” Headland explained in a previous interview. “My question when watching The Phantom Menace was always like, ‘Well, how did things get to this point?’ How did we get to a point where a Sith lord can infiltrate the Senate and none of the Jedi pick up on it? Like, what went wrong? What are the scenarios that led us to this moment?’”
“We actually use the term the Renaissance, or the Age of Enlightenment,” Headland added. “The Jedi uniforms are gold and white, and it’s almost like they would never get dirty. They would never be out and about,” Headland says. “The idea is that they could have these types of uniforms because that’s how little they’re getting into skirmishes.”
Star Wars: The Acolyte will debut exclusively on Disney+ at a later date. If you haven’t checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.
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