The upcoming Star Wars: The Acolyte will explore the earliest period of the franchise, the High Republic Era. Set a hundred years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, it will introduce several new characters, like Jodie Turner-Smith’s Mother Aniseya, alongside her coven of witches. As Star Wars has already introduced a group of witches called the Nightsisters, Turner-Smith can’t compare Aniseya’s coven to the Witches of Dathomir.
Mother Aniseya is a new Star Wars character specially created for The Acolyte. She’s the leader of a coven of witches described as valuing their independence and preserving their beliefs and powers. But as many seem to compare Aniseya’s coven to the Nightsisters, the actress advises everyone not to do so.
“I wouldn't compare them to the Nightsisters,” she told Screen Rant. “I think it's best not to and to just walk in with an open mind about who they are.”
The actress-model then revealed that Aniseya created a community on the planet of Brendock for her coven of witches. This group can manipulate the Force, making them feared by the Jedi. But despite annexing themselves to Brendock, they refuse the idea of being dubbed as the enemy of the Jedi.
“It's not like we're sitting here being like, 'We want to fight Jedi.' We don't,” Turner-Smith continued.
Is Aniseya’s coven of witches different from the Nightsisters in Star Wars?
Turner-Smith stressed that Aniseya’s coven of witches is their own kind in the Star Wars universe. However, just like the Nightsisters, who are neither Sith nor Jedi and have spurned allegiances with both, the new coven of witches also falls outside the binary of the light and the dark side of the Force, making them threatening.
“But perhaps the establishment can find our existence, just like anything that exists outside of the binary, threatening,” she explained. “And that is what makes it so dangerous for us for a Jedi to come across our paths.”
The 37-year-old star added that Aniseya’s coven of witches wants to live in peace and find a place where they will never be persecuted for possessing natural powers that they should have. She, too, claimed that her coven doesn’t need to be Jedi to acquire the natural abilities they already possessed.
Though it remains to be seen if Aniseya’s coven of witches will be an enemy or an ally, the Nightsisters have been known for having a complicated relationship with the Jedi. Their differences are rooted in their views on the Force, with the Jedi disapproving of their way of manipulating it, which made them associated with the dark side. However, they have still formed alliances and friendships with Jedi characters in some instances, like Merrin, who has a brief relationship with Cal in the video game series Star Wars Jedi.
Details about Aniseya’s coven of witches remain scarce, but more will be revealed as The Acolyte’s set release date of June 4, 2024, on Disney+ nears. When that time comes, fans can finally compare the differences and similarities between these two covens.
