The Acolyte writer and showrunner Leslye Headland is drawing extensively from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, which spans various mediums, including books, games, and comics.
We already know The Acolyte will be set during the galaxy’s High Republic era, roughly 100 years prior to the events of The Phantom Menace, but in a new preview with Vanity Fair, Headland shared more details about the upcoming Disney+ series. It turns out the story will lean into the Expanded Universe and bring some unofficial “legends” into the narrative canon.
“[Leslye Headland] is a gigantic Star Wars fan,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said of the series’ showrunner. “What’s wonderful about Leslye is she knows it all. I mean, she’s read a gazillion books inside the E.U. There are little bits and pieces that she’s drawing from that no one has explored yet in the onscreen storytelling.”
The Acolyte will be the first screen story told from the High Republic era, which has been extensively chronicled in Lucasfilm’s multi-pronged publishing initiative up until now. Headland said she knows the timeline “really well” and approached the series as a fan who is “much more into the RPG [role-playing games] that the Extended Universe feeds on.”
The series will explore a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emergent dark side powers, and will likely show us the early seeds that eventually sprouted into Supreme Chancellor Palpatine declaring himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire. As far as we know, Palpatine himself isn’t around yet in the era of The Acolyte, but we could very well see his master, Darth Plagueis.
Traditionally, an Acolyte in the Star Wars universe refers to a member of the Sith who has begun training under the tutelage of a Sith Lord. While cast details are being kept largely under wraps, Amandla Stenberg is believed to be the top contender for the lead role, which is thought to be that of the titular “Acolyte.”
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.