Star Wars: The Acolyte is surrounded by great mystery. The project was mysterious itself until Lucasfilm revealed some major details about it upon releasing its official trailer. Sure, the studio has disclosed a few descriptions of the Disney+ series’ characters, but who or what The Acolyte is remains to be seen. So, to reveal the mystery behind its title, the show’s creator, Leslye Headland, delves deeper into the Star Wars lore to tell more about this “acolyte.”
Set 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, at the end of the peaceful High Republic era, The Acolyte will introduce the shadowy assassin Mae, played by Amandla Stenberg. As many wonder if she’s the acolyte the series’ title refers to, Headland revealed in an interview with Empire, which features a new cover story about the show and its mystery, that the title is a term that comes from the Expanded Universe lore, the Legends novels.
Though the EU isn’t officially considered Star Wars canon, it encompasses all the licensed and background stories of the franchise’s universe outside the original six Star Wars films. It also includes some materials created before April 25, 2014, though not including Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There, many Star Wars creators draw inspiration from, like Headland.
Hence, the Russian Doll creator explained that The Acolyte is a role that someone has to fulfill or “step into.” Acolyte means a follower and the director explores its meaning deeper and its connection to the Star Wars universe.
“We know with the Sith that there is a Master, we know that there is an Apprentice. But in deep EU, there’s a concept of an Acolyte, which is underneath Apprentice,” she said. “So that is where I got the title from.”
As a big Star Wars follower herself, Headland divulged that she drew inspiration from the animated series The Clone Wars and the EU anthology book Tales of the Bounty Hunters when she created The Acolyte. So, as to who this acolyte is, she claimed that it would be “more complicated” than what fans expected.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” she continued. “Hopefully, if we did our job right, the show makes it an interesting interrogation into what it means to be on the light side or the dark side.”
Leslye Headland Teases the Mystery in Star Wars: The Acolyte
Headland also revealed that it was a puzzle to her as to how the Jedi got to where they were in Phantom Menace. That being said, Headland teased that The Acolyte would reveal the mystery of how the flourishing and all-powerful Jedi let their world be infiltrated by the evil Sith, like Darth Sidious, and took over.
“You’re definitely getting a sense that, with the Jedi, the writing may be on the wall,” she said. “The quote-unquote ‘war’ of this Star Wars is a much smaller, more personal one. The war between people, the war between characters.”
Headland added that the series would be a one-story with several reveals and new clues and information in every episode. She even compared it to her show Russian Doll, describing it as a spiral that dug “deeper and deeper and deeper.”
What is Star Wars: The Acolyte about?
The Acolyte follows the story of Jedi Master Sol as he starts investigating the series of sinister killings happening in the galaxy. But while doing so, he faces a dangerous warrior from his past. Despite their conflict, they work together and travel on a dark path where evil forces are revealed to be more harmful than they expected.
You can read the synopsis below:
In The Acolyte , an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….
The Acolyte is set to be released on Disney+ on Tuesday, June 4. In a couple of months, the mystery behind this new series will be revealed, and fans will finally get the answers to their questions about the mysterious acolyte and the evil forces behind the Jedi killings.
