Every fandom has its share of toxic elements, but it's probably fair to say that Disney-era Star Wars has experienced more negativity and backlash from a certain contingent of fans than any other franchise.
Daisy Ridley being announced as the lead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens stirred the usual suspects up, and they became more vocal when her character, Rey, was deemed to be a "Mary Sue." The toxicity arguably reached a crescendo when Kelly Marie-Tran's Rose Tico was introduced in The Last Jedi, but the general perception among many fans that Star Wars is now pandering to the "woke agenda" continues.
With The Acolyte - a new Disney+ series from showrunner Leslye Headland featuring a primarily female cast - on the horizon, Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy acknowledged that coming aboard the franchise can be a "terrifying" experience for female filmmakers and actors.
"Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation – it's terrifying," she tells The New York Times. "I think Leslye has struggled a little bit with it. I think a lot of the women who step into 'Star Wars' struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male-dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal. My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people. That's an easy decision for me."
As for Headland, she empathizes with some of the frustration the fans have felt about the direction the Star Wars franchise has gone in, but believes that anyone who crosses the line into hate speech isn't a real fan in the first place.
“As a fan myself, I know how frustrating some Star Wars storytelling in the past has been. I’ve felt it myself,” she said. “I stand by my empathy for Star Wars fans. But I want to be clear. Anyone who engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech … I don’t consider a fan.”
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.
"I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith," showrunner Headland told EW in a recent interview. "That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote 'extinct' to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?"
Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.