Star Wars Rebels Producer Joins High Republic Spinoff The Acolyte for Disney+

The Star Wars universe is set to head into some unexpected territory in the coming years, with new [...]

By Jenna Anderson

The Star Wars universe is set to head into some unexpected territory in the coming years, with new movies, a slew of Disney+ TV shows, and countless comics and novels set to expand the overall canon. One of the most surprising additions of that is definitely Star Wars: The Acolyte, an upcoming live-action series that will be showrun by Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland. Details have gradually begun to pop up about the series, including the fact that it will be set in the final days of the High Republic era, and is expected to revolve around a female protagonist and have a martial arts element. According to a new listing on Lucasfilm's website, a Star Wars veteran will be helping bring the series to life, with Rayne Roberts co-developing The Acolyte alongside Headland.

Roberts, who is the vice president of Film Development at Lucasfilm, has been involved in the creative development of Star Wars: Rebels, as well as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

At the moment, so much of the High Republic era has yet to be explored in Star Wars canon, with the first bits of information set to begin in a publishing initiative of books and comics beginning early next year. As Headland has previously explained, she hopes her approach to the Star Wars lore will be captivating for all fans, especially given the new parts of the canon it will be exploring.

"Just because my show is technically, yes, 'female-centric', meaning it centers around a female protagonist, I don't think that necessarily excludes men from that space," Headland explained during a previous interview with Fantastic Frankey. "I relate to male characters all the time. I root for Mando. I root for Luke... An inclusive space means an inclusive space. But at the same time, I think that just because something has a female protagonist doesn't necessarily mean it's only for women."

"I kind of see, if Star Wars is a religion... I like to think of my show as a tent revival," Headland continued. "You can come over if you want to. We're going to be talking about some cool stuff. There's going to be some things we haven't discussed in the canon yet. There are going to be some characters you don't know about. I would love you to join us. I would love you to be interested in it. If it's not your thing -- the cool thing about Star Wars right now is there's so much you can align yourself with and get invested in, but if you don't like it, that's fine."

What do you think of Roberts co-developing Star Wars: The Acolyte? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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