Leslye Headland: The Acolyte Characters are "Doing the Right Thing" Because Anakin Skywalker Never Believed He Turned Evil (2025)

SUMMARY

• Leslye Headland served as creator and showrunner for the Star Wars series The Acolyte which was canceled after one season.
• Headland revealed the characters in her series believed they were right because of Anakin Skywalker's characterization.
• Headland also admitted to following one George Lucas advice that resulted in one of the best moments in The Acolyte.

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Leslye Headland served as the creator and showrunner for The Acolyte. The series received mostly negative reviews from critics and fans alike and was canceled after one season. However, in an interview, Headland discussed her approach to the story which explores the Sith and their rule of two while taking inspiration from George Lucas’ prequel trilogy.

Headland explained that in the series most of the characters believed they were doing the right thing and had a compelling reason for this approach. Headland’s comments prove that despite the show’s failure, she had a good starting point to craft a compelling story that could have been a fine addition to the galaxy far, far away.

Leslye Headland Believed The Acolyte Characters Were Doing the Right Thing

Created by Leslye Headland, The Acolyte follows the mystery around the murders of a Jedi group with two twins finding themselves at the center of the conflict. During an interview with Dave Filoni for the Star Wars YouTube channel, Headland spoke about her approach to crafting its story.

In the conversation, Headland explained how her story explored the same events from different perspectives. As a result, each of the main characters believed that they were doing the right. The showrunner added that no one wakes up evil, citing Lucas’ treatment of Anakin Skywalker in the prequels.

The characters in The Acolyte have to convince themselves that they are doing the right thing.

Headland made the above statement, agreeing with Filoni that Anakin did not believe he had turned evil and always thought that he was doing the right thing.

From Headland’s words, it is evident that the core principle of her story was inspired by George Lucas’ approach to Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy. As a result, Headland wanted to play with the moral ambiguity and duality of the characters in her series, but the end product ended up having a mixed result.

Leslye Headland Followed One George Lucas Advice in The Acolyte

Aside from seeking inspiration from the duality in George Lucas’ characterization of Anakin Skywalker, Headland also followed one piece of advice that Lucas had passed on to Dave Filoni. In the same interview, Filoni revealed how Lucas asked him to take things less seriously when introducing Ahsoka Tano.

Filoni stated that since Jedi younglings were trained from a young age they weren’t intimidated in the battlefield. Headland faced a similar situation when dealing with the character of Jecki Lon, played by Dafne Keen.

There was a note from somebody that was wouldn’t she be scared on her first mission?

Headland said, referencing the show’s fifth episode which sees Jecki accompany Master Sol and other Jedi on a mission to catch Mae, which leads to an encounter with the mysterious Sith Lord.

The lightsaber sequence featuring Jecki became one of the highlights of the short-lived series, proving that Lucas’ advice was right. Moreover, the fight sequence was imbued with a sense of playfulness and adventure associated with earlier Star Wars projects making it memorable.

The Acolyte and other Star Wars titles are streaming on Disney+.