The Acolyte Creator & Star Amandla Stenberg Tease Expanded Universe Easter Eggs And More

Summary The Acolyte introduces a new Star Wars era, where Jedi are peacekeepers until a mysterious threat of darkness emerges.

Showrunner Leslye Headland brings a love of Star Wars and martial arts to create a fresh, genre-bending entry point for fans old and new.

The series explores the balance of light and dark, with Eastern influences and intense fight scenes inspired by martial arts classics.

The Acolyte explores a new era of Star Wars set at the end of the High Republic Era, when the Jedi were still peacekeepers throughout the prosperous galaxy. However, darkness begins to take root as a mysterious threat begins snuffing out the light. A former Padawan and her Jedi Master reunite to try and discover who is behind this new threat, but they learn that the forces at play are more powerful and sinister than they could have ever imagined.

With The Acolyte exploring a new Star Wars era, the series has the freedom to show the galaxy in a way that has never been seen on screen before. The Jedi are not in hiding or caught in the midst of a war, and are instead the peacekeepers that Obi-Wan Kenobi once described them as. The series also introduces a new genre to the Star Wars franchise, with it not only being a mystery thriller but at heart a martial arts-based story as well. Showrunner Leslye Headland shows her deep love of Star Wars while creating the perfect entry point for fans both old and new.

Related Everything You Need To Know Before Watching Star Wars: The Acolyte Star Wars' next TV show, The Acolyte, will come to Disney+ on June 4. Here's everything you need to know ahead of this epic Star Wars series.

Screen Rant interviewed Headland and star Amandla Stenberg about how Star Wars has been influenced by elements of Eastern culture, including the idea of yin and yang, as well as the martial arts elements that come into play in The Acolyte. Headland also teased Easter eggs from Star Wars canon and Expanded Universe materials for eagle-eyed fans to spot.

The Acolyte Creator Teases Easter Eggs From Star Wars Legends & Canon

The Acolyte is in a unique position to pull primarily from the High Republic books and comics for Easter eggs. However, Headland has been a longtime fan of Star Wars, and when asked about the possibility of how the Expanded Universe could have inspired her, she remained tight-lipped, but promised that she has had ideas for Easter eggs for years.

Leslye Headland: Oh, that's such a good question, and I feel like I can't answer it without giving a couple of things away. What I would say is there were so many things that I read about or thought about over the years that - if I were ever allowed to make a Star Wars show or movie, or write a book, or whatever they would let me do - I thought, "Gosh, it would be so cool to take this from legends or take this from canon into live-action." I can't answer it directly, but it's just been little Easter eggs that I've been crossing my fingers to get the chance to use.

The Acolyte Star & Creator Talk Easter Influence On Star Wars Including The Balance Of The Force

Image via Disney+

Stenberg kept details about her role under wraps, but she did discuss the duality of her approach in The Acolyte and how it plays into the larger idea of Star Wars. Balance and the Force have always been at the heart of Star Wars, and Stenberg looked to the idea of yin and yang as inspiration.

Amandla Stenberg: Yeah, I'll talk more conceptually. Star Wars of course, is about the balance of light and dark, and the relationship between light and dark. I don't think that relationship is purely just oppositional; I think it's so much more complex than that. That was inspired so much by Eastern philosophy, and that's been a huge part of the legacy of Star Wars; this concept of yin and yang. I think Leslye wrote from that place, and when I thought about physically embodying that, it was a huge North Star for me.

Lesley, speaking of the balance of the Force, how does your understanding of that play out in The Acolyte, and how will that contribute to the larger discussion of the Force?

Leslye Headland: That's a really good question. I actually was thinking about a version of that when Amandla was giving her answer. There is this flux in her performance between good and bad, and a constant trying to balance two ends of the spectrum, if you will. I think that exists in all of us. I just think that when you watch a Star Wars piece of media, it's usually embodied by certain characters or plot points or themes. But I think inside all of us is that level of duality; that imbalance or balance. I would say if you keep watching the show, you keep watching people go from balanced to imbalanced, rather than from good to bad. I think that no one's all bad or all good. There's always a little bit of bad in the good and a little bit of good in the bad, and I think it's all about going up and down that spectrum for these characters. So, don't draw too many conclusions about people until you finish the season.

The Acolyte Fight Scenes Are Inspired By Classics

"Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Seven Samurai, and Donny Darko"

Image via Disney+

The Acolyte also plays with a new fighting style in Star Wars, notably with martial arts-based hand-to-hand combat. Stenberg revealed movies that were part of Headland's original pitch and explained the stunt training process while teasing an exciting fight scene later in the season.

Amandla Stenberg: When Lesley first presented this project to me, we discovered that we have a lot of the same favorite movies, including Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Seven Samurai, and Donny Darko. I just had to throw that one out there because we love Donny Darko so much, and Lesley has a tattoo [of Frank the Rabbit]. I'm thinking about getting a tattoo; I have a huge poster in my room above my bed. But anyway, that Eastern impact in terms of martial arts and Kung Fu was a huge part of the show. I trained with my master Jian Cheng Lu, and he was incredibly patient and kind with me, and it was such a deeply rewarding, enjoyable experience. I learned so much about myself, and I think that it just really befits the tone of the show very well. It's a very definitive part of the show. Leslye Headland: I will say that when you get to episode 5, we mix it up. There's one fight that I was thinking specifically that you have that's hand combat, and it's very down and dirty and scrappy, if you will. Amandla Stenberg: I don't want to say too much, but the stunt or sequence that I'm the proudest of is a girl fight that gets gnarly.

About The Acolyte

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A mystery-thriller that explores a new era in Star Wars, the end of the prosperous High Republic era. As shadowy secrets and dark side powers begin to emerge a former Padawan will reunite with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes. However, they soon learn that the forces they are up against are more sinister than anyone could have expected.

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The Acolyte debuts on Disney+ with a two episode premiere on June 4.

Source: Screen Rant Plus