Showrunner for 'The Acolyte' Teases Heavy Influence From 'Episode I'

Following the release of the highly criticized sequel trilogy, Disney and Lucasfilm seem to be doing everything in their power to try and rectify their mistakes and reunite the fandom with a bunch of new content. They brought back The Clone Wars for a final season, gave us two seasons of The Mandalorian, and are currently streaming The Bad Batch. Within these shows, they are even bringing back fan favorite characters from long ago, and for the most part, fans seem to be loving it.

When The Bad Batch ends, we then have such shows as Visions, The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian season 3, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka to look forward to. These newer shows have received quite a lot of publicity recently, based on their content, but one upcoming show shrouded in mystery is The Acolyte. The plot details have been kept under wraps, as is to be expected, but showrunner Leslye Headland took part in an interview with The Wrap recently and teased a potential link to The Phantom Menace, in terms of it influencing the new show.

Before we look at what was said, let's cover what we know about the upcoming show so far. We know it will be female-centric show, helmed by Leslye Headland (showrunner for Russian Doll) and will take place during the time of the High Republic, years before the events of the prequels. Its place in the timeline means it will not feature any characters from the Skywalker saga, except perhaps for Master Yoda, and will be the first time anything live-action has focused on a different era outside of the Skywalker saga timeframe. It's described as a "mystery thriller" and makes promises to take viewers to a time toward the end of the High Republic and show the emerging powers of the dark side. Apart from that, we have no idea about the actual story. However, Headland now confirms the prequels, particularly The Phantom Menace, helped inform The Acolyte.

She states Episode I had a profound effect her growing up, with it being released when she was 18 and her being a huge Star Wars fan. She also goes on to say it helped her realize what she wanted to do with her life. Check it out below:

"The reason it did appeal to me personally is that I was 18 when 'Phantom Menace' came out, and I was a very, very big 'Star Wars' fan, but at that particular time, right after the re-releases and the fact that I was in high school, it just kind of all coincided with a time where I was discovering who I was sexually, I was discovering who I was artistically, I was kind of realizing what I wanted to do with my life. And then this big, huge movie event, cultural event happened that was The Phantom Menace'"

Headland goes on to say, as much as the prequels disappointed fans, the thought of what happened in the lead up to the events portrayed in The Phantom Menace remained with her:

"I kind of wondered, but what happened to lead up to this? That's kind of where my 'Star Wars' fan brain went was like, 'How did we get here?' And why are the Jedi like this? When they are in power, why are they acting this way and how is it that they're not having the reaction that you would think they would to Anakin's presence and what Qui-Gon Jinn is saying about how passionately he feels about training him and bringing him into the fold. It's like, even the discovery of Darth Maul is kind of met with this like, 'Hm, interesting' kind of feeling. So I just think for me, my brain has always buzzed around that area and wondered what's going on here - or what has been going on here."

Now, if you remember The Phantom Menace, during the film, the galaxy is in a bit of political turmoil. Jedi and the Republic work together to maintain peace, but all the while dark forces seek to tear that apart and as we know, succeeds in doing so.

With The Acolyte set around 50 years before the prequels, and Headland clearly interested in the events leading up to them, it's a good case for stating we may begin to see the era of the High Republic begin to crumble and possibly some real dark characters emerging. With rumors stating a pivotal Sith character will show up as well, we just have to wait and see what happens and whether or not this new show could help change some fans' opinions about the first three episodes in the Skywalker saga.

Written By Jordan McGlinchey

Source(s): The Direct

Syndicated From Culture Slate

Join The Team