Leslye Headland teases The Acolyte details in the latest article from Vanity Fair. I have to say it sounds great to me, for now. We already knew a few details, mostly form the main VF article, though as with all of VF‘s coverage Headland went into a little more detail in her chat with the trade. I’ve broken it into the most interesting sections from my perspective. Check it out.
A More Advanced and Peaceful Past
“I love the fact that George Lucas, when he originally made Episodes 4 through 6 [a.k.a. the original trilogy], you can see that he wants everything to feel like it has this particular type of decay. This is a lived-in sci-fi fantasy world, not a sleek, well-put-together aesthetic. He was really going for something that I think was a bit revolutionary at the time.
“When he tasked himself with making the prequels, the way that he decided to address technology and all of those types of things was to make it a much sleeker, better-looking, almost more advanced time. That’s what’s kind of weird about Star Wars. The further you go back, the better things are. “A long time ago” actually becomes more futuristic. So while we are creating this type of world, we’re trying to carry George’s concept that the further you go back, the more exciting and new and sleek and interesting things look.”
The Start of the Fall
Something we have heard previously from Headland is that she was interested in how we get from the High Republic to the Sith rising? Given that when we started previously (TPM) Palaptine had already managed to subvert the entire political system to his advantage.
“The High Republic is so golden in so many ways. The Jedi uniforms are gold and white and it’s almost like they would never get dirty. They would never be out and about. The idea is that they could have these types of uniforms because that’s how little they’re getting into skirmishes. So of course my question is like, ‘Well, what else is going on?’ You can’t just end up with George’s Phantom Menace situation if everything is going well.”
“It has to be going well at the expense of what? What is not being attended to? What are we turning a blind eye to that could lead to the rise of somebody like Palpatine about a century later? Yes, it’s one bad guy, but it’s one bad guy that completely undermines the entire system of government. A lot of other things must have been going on beneath the surface.”
The Perspective Of The Baddies
Headland also soft confirmed what many of us suspected. That The Acolyte is a story from the point of view of the bad guys.
“I was coming at it as a fan who was much more into the RPG [role-playing games] that the Extended Universe feeds on. I came hard at that in the ’90s, and then got introduced to [the animated series] The Clone Wars. 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.”
“You could not pay me enough money to try to be in the Luke Skywalker timeline. I’m like, “No, thank you!” [Laughs.] It’s just too intense. There’s too much iconography and intensity with those particular characters. Whereas, I think I’m telling a story that’s more about a timeline we don’t know much about. Let’s hang out here for a little bit and check out what Star Wars looks like when the good guys are actually in charge.”
Well, my The Cantina co-host Kyle Malone and I have been wanting Star Wars to branch into a new era for a while.
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Perhaps this will be it? Honestly, from what Headland describes, this does sound like a show I am very much looking forward to.
Inspirations
Headland also went on to talk about some surprising inspirations that helped shape what The Acolyte will become.
“I actually went more toward martial arts films, and storylines that are a little bit more personal and less global and galactic. 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.”
The full conversation is available through the link above. What do you think as Leslye Headland teases The Acolyte details for the first time? Is The Acolyte a show you are interested in like me, or is there anything worrying you? Thoughts below, or over on Discord as always. It sounds great to me as a concept, what about you?
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