Star Wars: The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland revealed that Star Wars’ newest Disney+ TV show was directly influenced by the mysteries of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The Acolyte is set in the High Republic Era, approximately 100 years before The Phantom Menace. As essentially a prequel to the prequel trilogy, The Acolyte will uncover a number of secrets from this era yet to be explored on screen. However, one of the most significant mysteries remaining is the degree to which the Sith were active at the time, as the Jedi believed them to be extinct.

The Acolyte’s showrunner, Leslye Headland, addressed these questions directly in a recent interview with Den of Geek. Regarding the inspiration drawn from The Phantom Menace and the secrets of the Sith, Headland explained:

“There are certain things that happened in the prequels about the Sith and about Darth Maul, and the Jedi’s understanding of them, that I found intriguing. Qui-Gon on Tatooine immediately knows that Darth Maul is a Sith from fighting him and then reports that to the [Jedi] Council. Yoda knows about the Rule of Two; he says there’s always a master and an apprentice. So, while they’re considered extinct, there was a little bit of knowledge about the Sith that I felt would not have come from ancient history. To me, it felt like to know that information that quickly; it would have had to have been in the last 100 years.”

This response from Headland suggests that The Acolyte will thrillingly reveal what the Sith were really doing in the 100 years prior to The Phantom Menace and might even explain why the Jedi believed the Sith to be extinct and how much they really knew.

How Much Did The Prequel Jedi Really Know About The Sith?

Leslye Headland’s description of the questions about the Sith in The Phantom Menace perfectly captures the confusion currently surrounding The Acolyte. When The Acolyte trailer was first released, audiences were surprised (and some were concerned) to see a red lightsaber, as that seemingly suggested a Sith. This seemed to contradict Ki-Adi-Mundi’s assertion in The Phantom Menace that “The Sith have been extinct for a millennium.”

However, while many have expressed worries that this means a Phantom Menace retcon, this update from Headland and the trailers for The Acolyte that have since been released all point toward something much more thrilling. It’s apparent that the Sith were active in the years leading up to The Phantom Menace, although that exact timeline is less clear. This means that either the Jedi didn’t know the Sith were working in the shadows or some Jedi (perhaps even Yoda himself) did know but led others to believe they were extinct.

Either option is intriguing. On the one hand, if the Sith were working in the background and infiltrating the Jedi during this period, then The Acolyte will reveal significant cracks and flaws in the Jedi Order long predating the prequel trilogy. On the other hand, if some Jedi were aware that the Sith were not extinct after all, then a much more insidious plot regarding their deception may be uncovered.

It remains to be seen exactly how the Sith will factor into The Acolyte and what may be revealed about them. Seemingly, either the Jedi will be revealed to be blind to reality or complicit in covering up the truth of the Sith—or, even worse, all those who learn the truth may not survive. In any case, it’s incredibly exciting to know that Star Wars: The Acolyte is in such brilliant hands, with showrunner Leslye Headland making it clear that other Star Wars projects, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace chief among them, are informing the new show.

Source: Den of Geek

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