The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland has spoken about setting her new Star Wars show in an era previously untouched in live-action – The High Republic.
"When I first pitched the project, I suggested that it take place before The Phantom Menace," Headland tells 12DOVE of the decision to go back in time for the Disney Plus series. "Because we were telling a totally original story, meaning it wasn’t connected to the Skywalker saga or the Empire, Resistance, and Rebellion."
On The High Republic – a golden age of Jedi peacemaking that lasted between 500 and 100 years before the prequel trilogy – Headland added that it also operated as a useful jumping-on point for those who aren’t necessarily dyed-in-the-wool Star Wars fans.
"I think to draw audiences in and create a fresh entry point – meaning you don’t need to know a lot about Star Wars in order to watch the show – it felt natural to move back in time and set the story there," Headland explains.
A new era, though, comes with its own fresh challenges. A step away from the Skywalkers and Sith of it all poses an obvious roadblock. When pressed on the biggest limitations of placing The Acolyte in a new setting, Headland felt the lack of familiarity was an issue – but one she was willing to embrace.
"We don’t have that immediate iconography of stormtroopers, for example. When you see a stormtrooper, you know you’re in Star Wars… We had some things we got to not fall back on, but utilize. It was harder but, in a way, it was freeing and easier," Headland says.
She continues, "When audiences watch it, there will still be that wish fulfilment of seeing the Jedi in action and that’s what we get to do."
It’s the Jedi, for so long on the run or in hiding for the bulk of Star Wars’ on-screen history, that were able to flourish in The Acolyte.
"I think in other Star Wars media, the Jedi are either the underdogs or, in some of the Disney Plus shows, you don’t see them at all," Headland notes. "You get to see a lot of Jedi fighting adversaries [in The Acolyte] but, unlike the prequels, they’re at their height; they don’t expect any sort of conflict. It’s all these little bits that were more freeing and then also inhibiting. It was about picking and choosing [those elements]."
The Acolyte is streaming exclusively on Disney Plus from June 4 in the US and June 5 in the UK.
For more, check out The Acolyte release schedule and our interview with Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae, who plays Jedi Master Sol. Plus, there's all the latest news on upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.
