'The Acolyte' Showrunner Reveals There's No 'Wars' In This 'Star Wars'

Fans of "The Acolyte" might be disappointed to learn that there won't be any "war" in this "Star Wars" series!

Although the state of the galaxy far, far away is often in turmoil, "The Acolyte" focuses on a time period where the Jedi are at the height of their power. Although this means that there won't be any galaxy-ending conflicts to contend with, it does mean that there will be more Jedi shown on screen than ever before!

Due to the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes affecting both writers and actors, content creators are not allowed to promote their new shows according to guild rules. However, showrunner Leslye Headland spoke to Entertainment Weekly before the strike occurred to explain what makes “The Acolyte” different than any other “Star Wars” series that has come before it.

"The Acolyte stands out because it is the earliest in the Star Wars timeline that we have ever been in live-action," Headland says on the publication’s “Dagobah Dispatch” podcast. "We are toward the end of the High Republic, leading into George's prequels, so we are looking at a time period where the Jedi are at the height of their power."

"We're looking at a time period where there is peace throughout the galaxy,” she continued. “It was very challenging and interesting to make a Star Wars with no war in it. So the question became, ‘Well, what should the show be about if it's not going to be about galactic conflict?’”

"I think that what makes this show different and interesting is that it's from the perspective of the villains of Star Wars," Headland explained. "These are people who are using the Force in their own way, dipping into the darker sides of the Force and are doing it without being sanctioned by the larger institution, which, in this case, is the Jedi."

"Star Wars is always about some version of the underdog versus the institution," she went on. "And I just thought it was very interesting to do a show about the bad guys and to set that during that time period made the most sense.”

“So it's kind of almost flipped,” she added. “We have more Jedi than you've seen in any of the other Star Wars content, but at the same time, you see more morally ambiguous characters than you've seen in other Star Wars content."

That being said, she emphasized that there will still be battles and plenty of actions despite there being a lack of war. "I can say this pretty confidently… I don't think you're going to see action in other shows the way that you see it utilized in our show,” Headland said.

“The Hunger Games” star Amandla Stenberg, who stars as the female lead of the series, echoed her comments, calling it “a really interesting time in the galaxy.” She went on to say, "Because there are no wars, we get to lean into the underdogs and the moral ambiguity of these characters. And so I have the opportunity of playing something that holds a lot of moral and ethical conflict, which I think is my favorite part of Star Wars."

“Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, who plays the male lead of the series, admitted through an interpreter that he did not know that he would be playing a Jedi master. However, he said that he is still “extremely grateful” for a chance to not only play a Jedi master, but to wield a lightsaber as well.

Lee went on to explain what “Star Wars” meant to him, saying,  "Back in the day, I thought it was just a cool film, full of surprises. Now as an older person, I realize the topics that they talk about are much deeper than what's first perceived. And actually working on the project, I understand more of the themes and the topics that they talk about. And I really get to explore the emotions and express the themes and the topics very well."

"On the first day on set, I felt really excited going in, but day by day, as we go deep into the shooting, I have this responsibility that I really, really, really want to do this well. And I focus and concentrate on how I can do this better,” he added.