The showrunner for the next Star Wars show, The Acolyte, has drawn inspiration from all corners of the galaxy far, far away, but she recently revealed that Star Wars: The Clone Wars had a big effect on her new show. As the upcoming Star Wars show approaches, more and more details about The Acolyte have been released. Some of those details include insights into where the show’s story might go, and where showrunner Leslye Headland drew her inspiration from. Headland has revealed that Star Wars Legends will be important to The Acolyte, but she’s also drawing on some pivotal moments from The Clone Wars as well.

In an interview with IGN, Headland mentioned how she drew inspiration from some of her favorite elements and episodes of The Clone Wars.

“But also, The Clone Wars [inspired The Acolyte], a lot being inspired by Nightsisters. We don’t have any Nightsisters in this show, but being inspired by them, being inspired by Asajj Ventress. My favorite episode is The Wrong Jedi. I definitely took some inspiration from that.”

Headland made specific mention of both the Nightsisters of Dathomir, a group of dark side Force users that Asajj Ventress belonged to, along with the episode The Wrong Jedi, which saw Ahsoka leave the Jedi Order. Those stories are widely considered some of the best – and darkest – that The Clone Wars has to offer, and the fact that Headland considered them inspirations says quite a bit about The Acolyte and where the show could go. The signs of those stories’ impact on The Acolyte are so evident that they have already been teased before the show has even released.

The Acolyte Has Already Teased Its “Nightsisters” & “Wrong Jedi”

Trailers for The Acolyte have prominently featured a character named Mother Aniseya, who is described as the leader of a coven of witches, according to The Acolyte‘s cast and character guide. Mother Aniseya’s group already bears a striking resemblance to the Nightsisters, as both were made up of Force-wielding witches. It should be interesting to see just how deep those similarities run, as Mother Aniseya’s group is still shrouded in mystery, yet the Nightsisters often became antagonists to the Jedi.

As far as The Wrong Jedi is concerned, it seems clear that Mae, one of the most important characters in The Acolyte, will be most impacted by it. Mae has been described as a former Jedi Padawan who has been “swept up into a sinister mystery.” There are some clear parallels between Mae and Ahsoka, as it seems they have both left the Jedi Order and now blend the light and dark. The line about how Mae is involved in The Acolyte‘s mystery could even deepen those comparisons, as it could resemble the way Ahsoka was framed for an act of terrorism in The Clone Wars.

Through Mother Aniseya and Mae, The Acolyte has a chance to build off some of the most interesting elements introduced in The Clone Wars. The show has already firmly declared that one of its main goals will be critiquing the power systems of the Star Wars galaxy, and both Aniseya and Mae are perfectly positioned to do just that. They’re both outsiders who can make objective criticisms of the Jedi, which should lead to an interesting conversation about the role the Order has played in galactic history. By drawing on The Clone Wars, The Acolyte could quickly become one of the most interesting Star Wars stories to date.

Source: IGN