Leslye Headland Reveals ‘The Acolyte’ Will Feature a New Form of Lightsaber, and It’s Not The Lightwhip
Leslye Headland has revealed that The Acolyte is going to feature a new type of lightsaber, one that the prop department told her couldn’t be done. Moreover, this new design is not the lightwhip, which we know is already coming from The Acolyte‘s recent promo videos.
Speaking to Rotten Tomatoes, Leslye Headland was asked about the tactile feel of lightsabers on the show, which led her to reveal she came up with a new design and brought it to the prop department, who initially told her it wouldn’t work before eventually giving it a go and bringing it to life.
Exclusive: A new lightsaber is coming to Star Wars.
Leslye Headland reveals that in addition to the lightwhip, #TheAcolyte will feature an original lightsaber specially crafted for the series. pic.twitter.com/jIGKUFSiqC
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) June 1, 2024
For those who can’t watch the video right now, here’s what she said:
“There was a lightsaber that I wanted to have work in a particular way.
It’s not the lightwhip, it’s a different lightsaber, and when I brought it to the prop department, who have been making lightsabers for the sequels and for Solo and the other television shows, they told me, “You can’t do that, that’s not something that will work,” and I said “Please, if you guys, if you’ll just indulge me, it’s not something I’m ready to give up,” and these incredible craftsmen were able to make my dream come true for me.
“So not just getting to play with lightsabers or just getting to be in the Star Wars universe, but also collaborating with designers, both costume production designers, Neil Scanlon, who’s a living legend with the creature design and the puppetry, not only getting to collaborate [with] them, but getting to problem solve with them on a real plane and not just up in our heads, or working through computer-generated imageries.”
The clip doesn’t make it exactly clear what Headland is talking about with that final sentence so it’s difficult to establish the context for it, but regardless it’s nice to see Star Wars creators having fun in this world we all love.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
