With its first teaser two days ago, “Star Wars” fans now have some idea of what to expect from Leslye Headland‘s “The Acolyte.” But Headland stopped by Collider to provide more details about her upcoming Disney+ series, namely how long each installment of the eight-episode season is, how “The Acolyte” relates to other “Star Wars” series, and if this upcoming season is just the first of several.
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First up, where did all the footage in the new teaser come from? “It’s from a lot of episodes,” Headland told the outlet. “It’s not from the whole series, but I would say it’s from 4 to 5 episodes.” And fans should expect each episode of “The Acolyte” to run on average between 30-35 minutes. “About 30 minutes, yeah,” the showrunner said about episode lengths. “I would say some of them are a little bit longer, like the finale, I think it’s 40 minutes. But there are also some that I think are barely 30 minutes. On average, I would say somewhere between like 30-35.” That won’t thrill fans looking for something more on the “Andor” length of things, but Headland developed the series with those runtimes in mind: the first season of a longer, developing mystery.
But will “The Acolyte” run for more than one season? With Lucasfilm‘s “Star Wars” plans constantly shifting, that’s unclear, but Headland envisions the show as a multi-season series. “I would say that when I pitched it, I definitely pitched it as a multi-season show,” she continued. “There are a lot of things at the end of this season that I think are narrative threads that are not tied up, for sure. However, I am the type of writer that’s not interested in an emotional cliffhanger. I want you to feel like you’ve had a particular type of catharsis, and an emotional experience in watching those eight episodes because I like rewarding the audience with that.”
Of course, the show’s future also depends on how “The Acolyte” does with critics and “Star Wars” fans in general; and that’s a tough group to please, at least unanimously. But Headland think there’s enough nuggets in her new series to keep viewer invested. “I still think that means you can pepper in things that are like, ‘I wanna see where that’s gonna go’ and, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that person was related to that person in this way, and I’d like to see more,’” she said about this season’s storyline. “But there isn’t something where you feel like you’re on the edge of your seat to have that catharsis, and then you have to wait two years. These things take forever to make, so I would hate to make a season that didn’t feel complete, even if it was still open for more story.”
As for how “The Acolyte” connects to other “Star Wars” Disney+ series, Headland was careful not to reveal too much. When asked if her series is more like “Andor” or “The Mandalorian,” Headland replied, “I would say in terms of the more “Mandalorian” aspects of it, there are a lot of alien references, a lot of Clone War references, a lot of original trilogy references. Basically, all of the stuff that I love about “Star Wars,” and I think are recognizable; but no Post-Empire or current Empire iconography. So, no Stormtroopers. We don’t have anything to rely on that anchors you in the Skywalker Saga, or post-Skywalker Saga.”
In other words, “The Acolyte” is its own “Star Wars” story, which fans already know since it takes place a century before the events of “Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” But expect some easter eggs onscreen despite the all-new setting, especially ones pertaining to The High Republic. As for the future of “The Acolyte,” it all depends on how well the show is received once it starts premiering on June 4.