After the critical and commercial success of The Mandalorian, Disney has gotten busy with creating a slew of live-action series based on Star Wars. Now, showrunner Leslye Headland has finally shared new information about The Acolyte, an original series taking place before the events of The Phantom Menace.
Star Wars: The Acolyte showrunner Headland has a decade's worth of experience in filmmaking. She began by directing small feature films like Bachelorette and Sleeping With Other People before branching out into directing episodes of television series such as the 2018 version of Heathers and, most famously, Netflix's time-loop series Russian Doll. Furthermore, the actress reportedly leading The Acolyte is The Hate U Give actress Amandla Stenberg, who will also appear in A24's slasher horror film, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, which releases this August.
Headland took to Vanity Fair to discuss new information about The Acolyte, a story about the early struggles between Sith and Jedi, stating that she wants to explore what events took place that allowed a Sith lord like Palpatine to infiltrate the Senate. Headland describes the pre-Phantom Menace setting as a "prosperous and seemingly peaceful era, where the galaxy is still sleek and glistening," giving it terms like the "Renaissance" and the "Age of Enlightenment." She also describes the Jedi as wearing gold and white uniforms that rarely get dirty, as, during the era of the series, the Jedi rarely engage in battles.
Headland's new information about The Acolyte follows the recent unveiling of news regarding other Star Wars projects. Obi-Wan Kenobi has received more advertising ahead of its premiere on May 27th, 2022, while it has also been announced that Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts is creating a Star Wars series for Disney Plus, which is codenamed Grammar Rodeo and set after Return of the Jedi. Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi and Marvel Studios producer Kevin Fiege are also reportedly working on Star Wars movies at this time.
The Star Wars franchise offers boundless opportunities for filmmakers and storytellers to explore the timeline and world of its story. Headland is a talented director, writer, and producer who, after two Emmy nominations for her work on Russian Doll, is surely a big catch for Disney Plus. With an original and daring premise even by the high standard of Star Wars, The Acolyte looks worth keeping an eye on.
Star Wars: The Acolyte is currently in development at Lucasfilm.
Source: Vanity Fair