The Star Wars universe is experiencing quite the renaissance these days all thanks to the massive popularity of The Mandalorian. We've said this countless times in the past, the hit Disney+ series created by Jon Favreau was responsible for reinvigorating the franchise, and not only that, but it also ushered in a brand new era in Star Wars lore. With the "Mandoverse" ever-expanding, Lucasfilm saw a huge opening to work on several projects that will hit the Disney streaming service in the coming years.
One of which is the intriguing Star Wars: The Acolyte project which is said to chronicle the end of the High Republic. We still know very little about the said project but its showrunner Leslye Headland may be hinting that The Acolyte will draw some inspiration from a divisive Star Wars film from the prequel trilogy era. In an interview with The Wrap, Headland revealed that 1999's The Phantom Menace was instrumental in her wanting to become a filmmaker.
She explains: "The reason it did appeal to me personally is that I was 18 when ‘Phantom Menace' came out, and I was a very, very big ‘Star Wars' fan. I remain a big ‘Star Wars' fan, but at that particular time, right after the re-releases and the fact that I was in high school, it just kind of all coincided at a time where I was discovering who I was sexually, I was discovering who I was artistically, I was kind of realizing what I wanted to do with my life. And then this big, huge movie event, cultural event happened that was ‘The Phantom Menace'."
The Russian Doll co-creator added that Episode I, despite its underwhelming reception left her quite intrigued: "I know there were varying reactions to it. And certainly, there were a lot of people that had grown up with the original trilogy who were disappointed by it. But I actually was very intrigued by why George Lucas had started us at that particular point."
We don't know how much of an impact The Phantom Menace will have in The Acolyte but considering it takes place during the High Republic set at least 200 years before the Skywalker saga kicked off, it's safe to assume that the upcoming series will be as political as Episode I. Will it be able to remove the bad taste the Skywalker saga's debut entry left in a lot of fans' mouths? Probably not but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out.
Star Wars: The Acolyte is currently in development.
Also Read: Star Wars: The Acolyte Showrunner Claims George Lucas Made the Franchise Political
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