The Acolyte is the new Disney+ series derived from the Star Wars universe to watch in streaming. We met the creator and one of the actors before its release.
A new series anchored in the galaxy Star Wars is coming to Disney+. This Wednesday, June 5, subscribers to the streaming platform can discover the first episodes of The Acolyte, a new production from Lucasfilm, which tells of events well before those of the Skywalker family. In this new series, a Jedi Master investigates a series of murders, which may well have a link to his past.
Before the release of the first episodes of the series, Linternaute met Leslye Headland, creator, director and screenwriter of The Acolyte, as well as actor Manny Jacinto, who plays Qimir. They spoke about the outcome of this program and the challenges encountered. The video interview can be found below.
“The Acolyte – Interview”
Leslye Headland, how did you find the balance between respecting the universe Star Warswhich is adored by thousands of fans, and putting your own story and messages into it?
I was already a fan of Star Wars, so I already had knowledge that informed the narration. This allowed us to create the tone, the universe, the characters, the story. It really permeated the creation of the series. But the front door remains very simple. You don’t need any knowledge, you don’t need to know perfectly Star Wars to watch this series. But if you are fans and you know it well, you will see that it is a series made by people who know it well and appreciate Star Wars.
Manny Jacinto, you play Qimir, who is a civilian among all these Jedi. Can you tell us a little more about how this “normal guy” fits into this universe?
When you have a character like Qimir who is neither a Jedi nor a Sith, you can create a realistic person that we can all relate to. It truly represents the lives of civilians in this galaxy. I find it much more interesting to look at how a normal man fits into this universe with such powers.
It wasn’t too frustrating to be in a series Star Wars without being able to use the Force or lightsabers ?
Yes a little. But when you see Chalie [Barnett]when you see Dafne [Keen] and Amanda [Stenberg] training for fights and getting their ass kicked, I preferred watching it all from afar rather than having to participate.
Among the influences of The Acolytewe find Kill Bill, Tiger and Dragon… but also Snow Queen. Can you tell us more about how this cartoon fits into this universe?
Leslie Headland: Without wanting to be too saccharine, I love it Snow Queen. I had no reason to go, I didn’t have kids at the time, so I went willingly and I cried so much! If I had seen this movie when I was younger, my life would have been completely different. It inspired me a lot. And I think that Star Wars, at its heart, deals with family relationships and their conflicts: masters with their apprentices, father and son, husband and wife… I identify a lot with the relationship between sisters. When I arrived with the desire to tell my version of what a story is Star WarsI decided that the family relationships explored would be those of two sisters. Snow Queen was above all a starting point for writing these dynamics.
Star Wars has a very solid core of fans, were there any specific challenges to overcome?
Manny Jacinto : There were so many challenges that we loved taking on. Obviously, there was pressure to create something new in this universe. The very idea of taking risks was quite a challenge, because there were fears and we wanted to appease the fans compared to previous projects. So yes, there were a lot of challenges to overcome, but we were delighted to do it.