The showrunner of «Star Wars: Acolyte» Leslie Hadland says that she was inspired by the 2003 and 2004 Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) games. In the interview Den of Geek Headland explained how KOTOR games have influenced «Acolytes».
Since the series takes place long before «Episode I. The Hidden Threat», Headland and her team had the opportunity to «play around» with the «Star Wars» canon. One of the characters that was discussed was Darth Bane, although it looks like he won’t appear in the first season of the series.
«While we don’t get into that particular story, there were some things in «Legends» that I wanted to use because I felt like they were really interesting, not only for the storyline, but for me as a fan of», — says Headland.
«Legends» — is the term for stories and characters from «Star Wars» that are not considered part of the official canon. Both games KOTOR But this did not stop Hadland, on the contrary.
«Darth Trey has really been a source of inspiration for me,» she said.
Darth Trey, also known as Kraya, appears in KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords and is one of the main villains of the game. Headland does not specify how the character or the games influenced «Star Wars: Acolyte». The showrunner also explained why she decided to make «Acolyte» long before the events that most fans are familiar with.
«There were two reasons why I wanted to set it in that particular time period and so far away from the prequels. First, I didn’t want to mess with any canon. The other thing I liked about this period was the lack of old [previously known] characters. I was too nervous to take them on, but I also felt like we’d seen too much of that. The [High Republic] was like a sandbox where I could easily jump in».
The Disney+ series is set in the era of the High Republic and tells the story of the Dark Side of the Force after a series of Jedi assassinations. It takes place approximately 100 years before «The Phantom Menace» and stars — Amandla Stenberg as May, Daphne Keane as Jackie Lon, Carrie-Anne Moss as Indara, and Lee Jong-jae as Saw. «Star Wars: Acolyte» will be released on Disney+ on June 4.