Creator Leslye Headland and the series cast, including Lee Jung-jae and Rebecca Henderson, take us inside the minds of the High Republic Jedi.
When Leslye Headland set out to tell the story of The Acolyte, she wasn’t intending to make the Jedi antagonists in the story of Osha and Mae Aniseya. “My goal was to see Jedi as human beings, or as aliens with the emotions we ascribe to humans,” Headland tells StarWars.com. “I wanted to make them a little bit more fallible.”
With episode 8 now on Disney+, The Acolyte’s complete first season tells the story of a mysterious assassin plaguing the Jedi Order, the rise of the Stranger, and a dark secret haunting several characters over the course of 16 years. It’s a gripping exploration of the gray area between light and dark, good and evil. In the golden age of the Jedi, even these storied knights can falter, letting their fears dictate their actions.
“One aspect that I was very interested in exploring in the show was, depending on the way you look at it, anyone can be the bad guy,” Headland says. “And depending on the way you look at it, anyone can be the good guy. Nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks they’re the villain. Everybody is doing what they think is either best for them or what’s expected of them or trying to fit themselves in a particular paradigm or ideal that is important to the institution, family, or place in the world that they find themselves in.” Borrowing a quote from Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), Headland adds, “it’s really not about good or bad, it’s about power and who’s allowed to use it.”
By the time the credits roll, many Jedi have met a tragic end, and Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) is preparing for an important meeting with Yoda himself. The moment only raises more questions — this time about what exactly Master Rwoh is prepared to disclose to the esteemed elder of the Jedi Council….
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