Writer and showrunner Leslye Headland recently spoke at length about her upcoming Disney Plus original series, Star Wars: The Acolyte. In an extended preview of Star Wars' future, Headland discussed the show's many influences as well as new details regarding the show's perspective.
The Acolyte is set over 100-years before the original Star Wars films and will be the first on-screen story told during what's known as the High Republic era. Up until now, this era has only been featured in comics and novels as part of a large publishing initiative from Lucasfilm that began last year. The Disney Plus original series is described as a mystery thriller and will explore a golden age of the Star Wars galaxy when the Republic is thriving and the Jedi Knights were at their height, but an emergent dark side is brewing just under the service.
Headland, who is best known for her work on the Netflix series Russian Doll and the movies Bachelorette and Sleeping With Other People, refers to herself as a "mega "Star Wars fan, saying that she actually came to Lucasfilm with the idea for The Acolyte. "I was coming at it as a fan who was much more into the RPG (role-playing games) that the Extended Universe feeds on," Headland said to Vanity Fair. "I knew the timeline really well. And I was like, 'I think if you want to explore Star Wars from the perspective of the bad guys, the best time to do it is when the bad guys are wildly outnumbered. When they actually are essentially the underdogs, for lack of a better term. So this would be that era."
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy also confirmed that the series would be drawing from the old extended universe, saying, "What’s wonderful about Leslye is she knows it all. I mean, she’s read a gazillion books inside the E.U. There are little bits and pieces that she’s drawing from that no one has explored yet in the onscreen storytelling.” Headland also discussed the many influences she drew from beyond Star Wars, including old Martial Arts films. "I actually went more toward martial arts films, and storylines that are a little bit more personal and less global and galactic," Headland said. "Those warriors were on missions that were deeply personal, with people feeling wronged and having to make it right. Wuxia films and martial arts films from King Hu and the Shaw Brothers, like Come Drink With Me and Touch Of Zen. They're monks that are also martial arts heroes."
It's a well-known fact that Star Wars was largely influenced by old samurai films, particularly those of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, so Headland citing old Kung Fu movies as a primary influence seems very fitting. After Disney purchased Lucasfilm, they de-canonized the old Star Wars extended universe, including all the stories from books, comics, and video games that were made before the landmark deal. While this upset some older Star Wars fans, Disney and Lucasfilm have been making a concerted effort to re-canonize some elements from those stories, and The Acolyte appears to be the most recent example.
Star Wars: The Acolyte will also have an interesting place amongst the other Disney Plus Star Wars TV shows since it takes place in a fairly unexplored era without many of the legacy characters that have appeared in those shows. Due to his age, Jedi Grand Master Yoda has appeared in this era in recent comics and novels, and some fans have speculated that Palpatine's elusive master, Darth Plagueis, could make an appearance.
Star Wars: The Acolyte does not currently have a release date, but is expected to premiere on Disney Plus sometime in 2023.
Source: Vanity Fair