The Acolyte creator says the Star Wars series isn’t what you think it is

The first official trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte was finally released earlier today, and the reaction seems to be fairly mixed, with some loving it and others saying they won’t be watching. However, series creator Leslye Headland told the official Star Wars website that The Acolyte isn’t what you think it is, teasing plenty of mysteries to come.

“Whatever you think The Acolyte is, it’s not that,” Headland said. “It’s a drop in the bucket, baby. Just hang in there and check it out.” The creator also teased that The Acolyte will include more than a few nods to the Star Wars Extended Universe. “There’s also some EU lore that I decided to put in because I thought it was so cool and no one told me I couldn’t,” she said. “There are a couple of really big EU ideas that are utilized both early on in the series and later in the series.“

While speaking with THR, Headland teased the mystery aspect of the series, as well as its samurai-movie influences. “One thing to know about the show is that we’ve been talking about it as a mystery-thriller. It is a serialized story, so each episode gives you more information about the story,” she said. “We were obviously influenced by samurai films and wuxia films, but also films like Rashomon, where you see one story and then you see it done a different way. So, what separates [Star Wars: The Acolyte] from some of the other Star Wars series is that it’s told in that particular way.“

Set hundreds of years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte takes place during the High Republic era of the franchise. This era has been explored in books and comics, but Headland said, “You don’t need to know too much to enter the story [of The Acolyte].” The series stars Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keen (Logan), Charlie Barnett (You), Jodie Turner-Smith (Anne Boleyn), Rebecca Henderson (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones), Joonas Suotamon (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Resurrections).

The Acolyte logline reads: “An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.” The Acolyte will premiere on Disney+ on June 4th