Yet Another "Star Wars" Show Wants To "Challenge" The Story: "This Is About Power"

[Ubiquitous]

Leslye Headland, director of the new “Star Wars” show “The Acolyte,” said she
wanted to “challenge” the story about good guys vs villains, and said hers is
a story about “power.”

Speaking to IGN about the upcoming Disney+ series “Star Wars: The Acolyte,”
Headland said her Sith-focused series is very different from what fans have
seen in shows like “The Mandalorian” and “Andor.”

Headland said her new “Star Wars” series looks “at the Jedi as an
institution, as a concept, as an entity that has amassed a lot of power. And
that’s good, I’m not saying that’s wrong.”

“But I do think that when Jodie Turner-Smith has that line at the end of the
trailer, when she says, ‘It’s not about good or bad, this is about power and
who’s allowed to use it,’ really I think that’s the question we’re asking,”
she added. “That’s really the question. It’s not, ‘Is somebody good, is
somebody bad?’ There’s an imbalance.”

“Someone might be imbalanced morally, but if there’s a power imbalance, how
does that affect the power of Star Wars?” the director continued. “And we’ve
never seen the good guys outnumber the bad guys to this extent. I guess
that’s how it’s different.”

Headland said the Jedi we see in the trailer are reminiscent of the time of
the prequel trilogy, the outlet noted.

“I think you’re seeing the Jedi when they are this very, very large
institution – a benevolent one – but they are closer to who they are in the
‘Phantom Menace’ than obviously in the Original Trilogy where you feel like
they’re almost extinct,” the director said.

“In a weird way, in the ‘Phantom Menace’ and the Prequel Trilogy, the Jedi
outnumber the Sith,” she added. “And then in the Original Trilogy, the Empire
outnumber the Jedi, which is why a show based on the ‘bad guys’ is
interesting to me. In that era, what does the underdog look like? Even if
they’re the bad guy.”

“But also, ‘The Clone War’s’ [inspired The Acolyte], a lot being inspired by
Nightsisters,” Headland continued. “We don’t have any Nightsisters in this
show, but being inspired by them, being inspired by Asajj Ventress…I
definitely took some inspiration from that.”

According to StarWars.com, the Nightsisters — a “matriarchal society” that
uses “dark magic” — “used the Force differently than the Sith, seeing
themselves as able to tap its power without being consumed by it.”

Headland said that throughout her series, she often wanted to reference
things from “Clone Wars” or “Return of the Jedi” to the famed Cantina scene
because she’s a longtime “Star Wars” fan herself.

“I think when you get an opportunity to do a ‘Star Wars’ and you’re a ‘Star
Wars’ fan, the idea is to get in a lot of your wish list,” Headland said.
“And hopefully other people are excited by it too.”

The new “Star Wars” series premieres on Disney+ on June 4.

--
Let's go Brandon!

[BTR1701]

Leslye Headland, director of the new STAR WARS show THE ACOLYTE, said she
wanted to challenge the story about good guys vs villains, and said hers is
a story about power.
Speaking to IGN about the upcoming Disney+ series STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE,
Headland said her Sith-focused series is very different from what fans have
seen in shows like THE MANDALORIAN and ANDOR.
Headland said her new STAR WARS series looks "at the Jedi as an institution,
as a concept, as an entity that has amassed a lot of power. And
that's good, I'm not saying that's wrong. But I do think that when Jodie
Turner-Smith has that line at the end of the trailer, when she says, 'It's
not about good or bad, this is about power and who's allowed to use it'’
really I think that's the question we're asking. It's not, 'Is somebody
good, is somebody bad?' There's an imbalance. Someone might be imbalanced
morally but if there's a power imbalance, how does that affect the power
of STAR WARS? We've never seen the good guys outnumber the bad guys to
this extent. I guess that's how it's different."
Headland said the Jedi we see in the trailer are reminiscent of the time of
the prequel trilogy.
http://youtu.be/BtytYWhg2mc
"I think you're seeing the Jedi when they are this very, very large
institution-- a benevolent one-- but they are closer to who they are in THE
PHANTOM MENACE than obviously in the Original Trilogy where you feel like
they're almost extinct. In a weird way, in the PHANTOM MENACE and the
Prequel Trilogy, the Jedi outnumber the Sith. And then in the Original
Trilogy, the Empire outnumber the Jedi, which is why a show based on the
'bad guys' is interesting to me. In that era, what does the underdog look
like? Even if they're the bad guy."

I've always wondered how the Jedi could have been so blind to what the
prophecy of "a Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force" actually
meant.

They seem to have assumed it meant that it would reinforce their
ascendancy and control of the Force but that's hardly what balance is.
Balance isn't tipping the scales heavily in favor of one side. It's, you
know, balancing the scales so that both sides are equally powerful, or
it could be interpreted as tipping the scales heavily in the direction
of the Sith to give them a turn at having the control that Jedi have had
for millennia.

If I'm on the Jedi Council the last thing I'm thinking is that this
Chosen One prophecy would be a good thing for the Jedi.

Even after Anakin became Vader, they all acted like the prophecy failed.
No, it came true. Vader and Palpatine brought balance to the Force by
making evil powerful and knocking the Jedi off their pedestal.

"But also, THE CLONE WARS [inspired The Acolyte], a lot being inspired by
Nightsisters," Headland continued. "We don't have any Nightsisters in this
show, but being inspired by them, being inspired by Asajj Ventress... I
definitely took some inspiration from that."

Would have been nice to see a live-action Ventress.

According to StarWars.com, the Nightsisters-- a matriarchal society that
uses dark magic-- used the Force differently than the Sith, seeing
themselves as able to tap its power without being consumed by it.
Headland said that throughout her series, she often wanted to reference
things from CLONE WARS or RETURN OF THE JEDI to the famed Cantina scene
because she's a longtime STAR WARS fan herself.
"I think when you get an opportunity to do a STAR WARS and you're a STAR
WARS fan, the idea is to get in a lot of your wish list," Headland said.
"And hopefully other people are excited by it too."
STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE premieres on Disney+ on June 4.

[Ubiquitous]

Post by BTR1701

Leslye Headland, director of the new STAR WARS show THE ACOLYTE, said she
wanted to challenge the story about good guys vs villains, and said hers
is a story about power.
Speaking to IGN about the upcoming Disney+ series STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE,
Headland said her Sith-focused series is very different from what fans
have seen in shows like THE MANDALORIAN and ANDOR.
Headland said her new STAR WARS series looks "at the Jedi as an institution,
as a concept, as an entity that has amassed a lot of power. And
that's good, I'm not saying that's wrong. But I do think that when Jodie
Turner-Smith has that line at the end of the trailer, when she says, 'It's
not about good or bad, this is about power and who's allowed to use it'’
really I think that's the question we're asking. It's not, 'Is somebody
good, is somebody bad?' There's an imbalance. Someone might be imbalanced
morally but if there's a power imbalance, how does that affect the power
of STAR WARS? We've never seen the good guys outnumber the bad guys to
this extent. I guess that's how it's different."
Headland said the Jedi we see in the trailer are reminiscent of the time
of the prequel trilogy.
http://youtu.be/BtytYWhg2mc
"I think you're seeing the Jedi when they are this very, very large
institution-- a benevolent one-- but they are closer to who they are in
THE PHANTOM MENACE than obviously in the Original Trilogy where you feel
like they're almost extinct. In a weird way, in the PHANTOM MENACE and the
Prequel Trilogy, the Jedi outnumber the Sith. And then in the Original
Trilogy, the Empire outnumber the Jedi, which is why a show based on the
'bad guys' is interesting to me. In that era, what does the underdog look
like? Even if they're the bad guy."

I've always wondered how the Jedi could have been so blind to what the
prophecy of "a Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force" actually
meant.
They seem to have assumed it meant that it would reinforce their
ascendancy and control of the Force but that's hardly what balance is.
Balance isn't tipping the scales heavily in favor of one side. It's, you
know, balancing the scales so that both sides are equally powerful, or
it could be interpreted as tipping the scales heavily in the direction
of the Sith to give them a turn at having the control that Jedi have had
for millennia.
If I'm on the Jedi Council the last thing I'm thinking is that this
Chosen One prophecy would be a good thing for the Jedi.
Even after Anakin became Vader, they all acted like the prophecy failed.
No, it came true. Vader and Palpatine brought balance to the Force by
making evil powerful and knocking the Jedi off their pedestal.

Interesting idea, but you don't expect the (woke) creators of the show to be
able to execute something like that off, do you?

--
Let's go Brandon!