Leslye Headland, the showrunner of the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte and the former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, reiterated that the series will depict the Sith as underdogs as they face off against the institution of the Jedi.
Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Headland made her comments in an interview with StarWars.com saying, “If Star Wars is about the underdog versus the institution, [in The Acolyte] the Jedi are the institution.”
She continued, “I was so interested in a storyline where the Jedi were at the height of their power — and I don’t mean The Phantom Menace, because at that point, there’s a Sith Lord in the Senate that they’re not picking up on.”
Headland went on to reveal the series asks the question, “What went wrong?” She also added, “And if the bad guys are actually the underdog, it just seemed like a cool reversal.”
Amandla Stenberg in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Headland previously informed Entertainment Weekly that the series would tell its story through the perspective of the villains.
She said, “We are looking at a timeline where there is peace throughout the galaxy. And it was very challenging and interesting to make a Star Wars with no war in it. So the question became, ‘Well, what should the show be about if it’s not going to be about galactic conflict?’”
“And I think that what makes this show different and interesting is that it’s from the perspective of the bad guys or the villains of Star Wars,” she answered her own question. “These are people who are using the Force in their own way, dipping into the darker sides of the Force and are doing it without being sanctioned by the larger institution, which, in this case, is the Jedi.”
(Clockwise from center): Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss), Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), Jedi Master Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) and (second from right) Master Torbin (Dean Charles Chapman) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
Headland then shared, “I think that Star Wars is always about some version of the underdog versus the institution. And I just thought it was very interesting to do a show about the bad guys and to set that during that time period made the most sense. So I think that’s what sets it apart. It’s kind of almost flipped. We have more Jedi than you’ve seen in any of the Star Wars content, but at the same time, I think you see more morally ambiguous characters than you’ve seen in other Star Wars content.”
She concluded, “And I think I can say this pretty confidently, I don’t think you’re going to see action in other shows the way that you see it used and utilized in our show.”
(Center): Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
The official description for the series reads, “In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jungjae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….”
The series arrives on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere on Tuesday, June 4th. It stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie TurnerSmith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
(L-R): Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
What do you make of Headland’s comments about the Sith being underdogs and the Jedi being the institution?
I think I’m going to have a heart attack from being not surprised.