‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ Creator Leslye Headland Discusses What Makes Her Show Unique In New Interview

Star Wars

Mar 21

In a galaxy far, far away, the lore of the Star Wars saga is now set to expand the timeline between the events of The Phantom Menace. One hundred years prior, there was the High Republic. The creator, Leslye Headland, has been “adding the finishing touches” to her latest project Star Wars: The Acolyte. Described and pitched by Headland herself as “Frozen meets Kill Bill” a new character portrayed by Amandla Stenberg is seen hunting Jedi during what is supposed to be a “time of peace” at the tail end of the High Republic era.

In the newly released trailer, Lee Jung-jae’s Jedi Master urges a group of Padawans to “not trust their own deceitful eyes.” Given this line and Headland’s interview about the series, the same might be said of the series’ overall narrative. While exploring different narratives and perspectives is nothing new in most television series, Headland’s vision of having Star Wars: The Acolyte as a serialized “mystery-thriller” is a unique take on such a beloved and extensive saga.

Headland states in the Hollywood Reporter,

“We were obviously influenced by samurai films and wuxia films, but also films like Rashomon, where you see one story and then you see it done a different way…. what separates [Star Wars: The Acolyte] from some of the other Star Wars series is that it’s told in that particular way…. You definitely get the point of view of the Jedi, especially in terms of Amandla’s character and trying to stop her and hunt her down. But you also get enough of Amandla’s character’s perspective that you can also see how both of them exist simultaneously…”

Given that the original Star Wars films drew inspiration from classic Western and Samurai films and the Jedi religion is modeled after Buddhism, there is a sense of passing on the tradition with Headland just as a Jedi Master passes along their knowledge to their Padawans. While her story will be her own, Headland has certainly learned from the masters. With an open timeline and writers familiar and new to the Star Wars lore, Headland assures viewers that they “could definitely watch this series without knowing anything about Star Wars, but if you are a Star Wars fan, you will notice all of the things that we’ve put in there.”