Controversial Star Wars present The Acolyte broke nearly each rule within the e book relating to lightsabers. The present debuted in 2024, as a prequel present set on the finish of the Excessive Republic, and 100 years earlier than the occasions of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and follows a Jedi Grasp’s investigation into crimes that reveal a darkish risk.
Created by Leslye Headland, the sequence obtained blended critiques from critics, and diminished viewership figures from earlier reveals. After a single season, The Acolyte was controversially canceled, amid low scores, and is without doubt one of the decrease ranked Star Wars TV reveals. Regardless of this, the present managed to vary one of many largest components of Star Wars lore throughout its run.
In an look on the podcast Clean Test With Griffin and David (per Spotify), Headland mentioned how she sought to reinvent how lightsabers are used within the Star Wars franchise. She mentioned how, in earlier iterations, lightsabers have been heavier, whereas her choice for light-weight shotos meant motion in The Acolyte was sooner and extra frenetic. Try her feedback beneath:
“For our present it was very totally different. I will not get too within the weeds about it. However after I went to the, um, I stated, ‘I need particular lightsabers that may do that. That may be mild, and could be fought with shortly. And I additionally desire a lightsaber that has a shoto which you could unlock and pull out.’ They misplaced their minds. They have been like, ‘What are you speaking about? We can’t create lightsabers which can be that mild. Which can be that light-weight. We can’t do this. We can’t so the lights.’ I additionally stated, like, I need the sunshine inside… I need it to be sensible, so to truly see the sunshine on the actors’ faces. However the shoto was an enormous deal as a result of they have been like, ‘It would not make sense for the deal with to be that lengthy.’ By the way in which, these are guys who I respect. They’re doing their job. However I did should primarily change the way in which that that they had been fascinated with lightsabers for, y’know, the Disney reboot/tv period.”
What This Means For The Acolyte’s Lightsaber Adjustments
It’s fascinating to listen to that Headland needed to have extra light-weight lightsabers that might be simpler to hold and extra sensible, and this will surely have influenced the battle choreography of The Acolyte. Altering the strategy to what lightsabers are, and the way they can be utilized, is without doubt one of the strongest components of The Acolyte.
Occupied with it, from a sensible viewpoint, it does make sense that these nice warriors would all wish to have light-weight weapons that might be drawn shortly in a fight state of affairs, so Headland’s logic was coming from a sensible place by way of storytelling. Whether or not that can stay an element within the Star Wars franchise shifting ahead stays to be seen.
Our Take On The Acolyte’s Lightsaber Adjustments
Making adjustments to the way in which that lightsabers are used within the Star Wars universe shouldn’t be a brand new idea, with George Lucas famously revealing in The Phantom Menace that lightsabers can stab. From a story viewpoint, why lightsabers wind up extra clunky and cumbersome within the years to come back is one thing that’s open to hypothesis.
The Acolyte may need been poorly obtained by audiences and critics, nevertheless it tried to do one thing a little bit totally different to the established Star Wars lore, and for that it must be recommended. This might set the tone for future adjustments all through the franchise, and it stays to be seen whether or not this can mark huge adjustments in future Star Wars productions.
- Launch Date
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2024 – 2024-00-00
- Showrunner
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Leslye Headland
- Administrators
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Leslye Headland, Alex Garcia Lopez
- Writers
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Leslye Headland, Charmaine De Grate, Kor Adana