The Acolyte Won’t Shy Away From Criticizing The Jedi Says Showrunner

Some Star Wars news as it has been announced that the trailer for The Acolyte hits tomorrow.

Showrunner Leslye Headland says The Acolyte won’t shy away from criticizing the Jedi. Speaking with Collider post SWC, Headland warned fans that in order to tell this story she has to show the flaws in the dogmatic Jedi Order. Now, I think some fans will take these comments the wrong way. Therefore, I’ll say up front that this is absolutely the right call for this show and this timeline. However, I do disagree with one aspect of what Headland says. First, the quote.

“I think it’s difficult to do a show that is critical in any way of the Jedi. And I think that you saw that with [Rian Johnson’s] film. Do you know what I mean? Like, I think that, especially in that moment, people were very nervous about saying this particular institution may not be the light and perfect, stunning group of heroes that are totally nobly intentioned. And one thing that I think Dave would say is that they are fallible. That’s really the story that George told with the prequels, right? The fall of this particular group.”

Where I disagree with Headland is in her analysis of what it was that fans didn’t like about The Last Jedi. So, whilst this is merely my own opinion, let me be clear. I had zero issues with the Jedi Order being presented as fallible. In fact, my main issues were that in order to give what should have been Luke’s story over to Rey, they had Luke spend years blindly following the same dogmatic views of the old Jedi Order. I mean, this is Luke who has access to speak with Yoda, Obi-Wan and his father who ultimately destroyed that old Order. Yet we are to believe he just made all the same mistakes?

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With the influence of his guides and his own definitions of what being a Jedi is, Luke was supposed to rebuild the Jedi Order anew. However, to  try and force that trilogy as the final act of a trilogy of trilogies, they done messed up. Rian Johnson could have told a similar story with Luke being anti-Jedi Order, as it used to be. However, instead he had to go one further and show Luke had fallen into the same traps that all the other Jedi did before him. I get why, Mark Hamill is old and Daisy Ridley is young equals more movies. It simply didn’t make any logical sense to me, and I can’t shake that feeling.

After all, it was attachment which brought Anakin back, it was personal rather love rather than compassion that destroyed the Sith. Luke would always have an attachment to Han, Leia and the others. Surely then, its attachment to what still lives that allows the Jedi to come back as spirits? That’s where my issues was.

The whole point of the PT was to show how weakened and vulnerable the Jedi had become. Therefore, if The Acolyte is the show that will take us from the High Republic in to the Fall of the Jedi era, it would be hard to do it whilst showing the Jedi were just brilliant all the time. Overall, this sounds right up my street if I’m honest. I cared about Luke being a bad Jedi, in this timeline Headland can do almost anything without annoying this fan. Just don’t make Yoda a right bast***, better still have him ‘elsewhere’.

What do you think as Showrunner Leslye Headland says The Acolyte won’t shy away from criticizing the Jedi? Do you agree with my disagreement with her about The Last Jedi, or do you have an alternate take completely? Thoughts below as always.

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