Dave Filoni and Leslye Headland Sit Down To Chat About ‘The Acolyte’
With less than a week away from the premiere of The Acolyte, creator Leslye Headland sat down with Dave Filoni to talk all things Star Wars. In a 2-minute video posted on the official Star Wars YouTube channel, the two creators discuss the themes of The Acolyte and also their ambitions and challenges when working on Star Wars.
A prominent theme in The Acolyte is the lust for power and when that lust turns individuals evil. Both directors commented on this and how this idea is deeply ingrained within Star Wars:
Headland: You don’t wake up thinking you’re evil — or that you’re the bad guy — as explored by George [Lucas] with Anakin.
Filoni: Yeah I don’t think Anakin ever thinks he becomes evil.
Headland: I agree. And I think a lot of the characters in The Acolyte have to convince themselves that they are …
Filoni: Doing the right thing.
Headland: — they’re doing the right thing [nods head].
Headland and Filoni also discussed how they continually look to George Lucas for inspiration and guidance, comparing his work to being like “the North Star.”
Filoni: These things that George understood about film-making and understood about iconography are things that we still try to tap into.
Headland: It’s the Western. It’s the samurai film. It has to feel elevated but it also has to feel like Star Wars. Basically, what George created … it’s the North Star.
And finally, Dave Filoni and Leslye Headland talked about the pressures of working on Star Wars and how they both looked to the wisdom of Yoda to help get them through their tough days:
Filoni: “Do or do not there is no try.” If you’re trying, you’re not actually doing it.
Headland: I had to do that with Acolyte for sure. My agreement with myself was whenever it overwhelms you, that you’re doing your dream. You just have to do it. Honestly, the times that I felt most worried was not the special effects, or the fight choreography, it was the emotional stuff.
The Acolyte will stream on Disney Plus on June 4. But for fans hoping to check out the show in theaters, the first two episodes of The Acolyte will show in select theaters on June 3.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
