Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars streaming series, The Acolyte, will be the first live-action project set in the High Republic Era which openedup a lot of storytelling possibilities for showrunner Leslye Headland. The first trailer for the project didn’t give too much away but it did make it clear that the series will see the Jedi investigating a mysterious enemy. According to Headland, fans should expect a slow burn as the story unfolds and compared it to another project of hers that was the subject of very high praise.
“The Acolyte is a mystery,” said Headland. “It’s similar to Russian Doll, which was really about giving the audience information episode by episode, this spiral of storytelling.” Russian Doll, which was co-created by Headland, was a huge hit for Netflix and was nominated for multiple Primetime Emmy Awards which makes any comparisons to it welcome. “This is a much larger landscape,” said Headland, “but it similarly tackles the idea of, ‘Your eyes can deceive you.’ You’re going to think the show is one thing, but then it’s going to gearshift into something else, and then do it again.”
The Acolyte is still a Star Wars show and no matter how early in the timeline it’s set, it’s still set in the familiar galaxy far, far away created by George Lucas and it seems that galaxy is something Headland is very familiar with. “It’s a show packed with everything I wanted to explore: I wanted EU [Expanded Universe] stuff in there, references to the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace, the Disney sequels…it’s absolutely packed. Because you never know, you may not get the chance again,” she explained. Headland also explained that paying homage to Lucas through camera work and designing the High Republic era. “Chris [Teague] and I talked a lot about honoring George Lucas’ camera moves,” she said. “I would say the original trilogy became our touchpoint for how to craft the world, while the Episode I-ness of the show is a bit more thematic.” It certainly sounds as the the series is in very good hands.
The Acolyte will begin streaming with a two-episoses premiere on June 4th.
Source: Games Radar
