One of the writers on new Star Wars show The Acolyte had never seen Star Wars – but the showrunner says that's a good thing

Mar. 20, 2024

“I don’t want myself, who’s a lifelong fan, to just be relying on particular references in order to create emotional beats”

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The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland has revealed that one of the writers on her new Star Wars show was completely unfamiliar with the franchise, but that was beneficial to the series.

“I just thought it would be good to have the perspective of a person that had literally never seen Star Wars until she was in the room. And she said to me, ‘Why do you want me in this room? I’ve never seen Star Wars. I have no idea. I think there’s a dog in it, but I don’t know anything,'” Headland recalled toThe Hollywood Reporter.

“And I was like, ‘First of all, you’re an incredible writer, but that’s why I want you here. I want you to be questioning narrative. I don’t want myself, who’s a lifelong fan, to just be relying on particular references in order to create emotional beats. I want those emotional beats to be earned and checked by someone that isn’t super familiar with it.'”

Set 100 years beforeThe Phantom Menace, the show will take us into a world of shadows and crime in the galaxy far, far away, centering around a former Padawan (Amandla Stenberg) and her Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae). The cast also includes Carrie-Ann Moss, Manny Jacinto, and Dafne Keen. The show will consist of eight episodes airing weekly every Tuesday onDisney Plus.

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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.

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