Showrunner Leslye Headland reveals the piece of advice from George Lucas that helped the arcs of Ahsoka Tano and Jecki Lon in Star Wars.

The Acolyte is the latest entry in the Star Wars saga, taking place roughly a hundred years before the first installment in the prequel trilogy. Set during the last days of the High Republic era, the series created by Leslye Headland revolves around a Jedi Master’s investigation of a series of Jedi deaths.

Leslye Headland compares The Acolyte character to Ahsoka Tano (Credit: Lucasfilm).
During an interview, Headland spoke with Dave Filoni about crafting the central characters in the new series. At the same time, she compared the Jedi Padawan character Jecki Lon to Ahsoka Tano, one of the most popular characters in the franchise, first introduced during the Clone Wars animated series. Here is what Headland had to say about the similarities between Jecki and Ahsoka.

Leslye Headland Discusses The Acolyte Character’s Similarity With Ahsoka

The Acolyte is a mystery thriller series created by Leslye Headland, starring Amandla Stenberg in the dual roles of Osha and Mae, who find themselves wrapped in the plot to murder a group of Jedi Knights. Ahead of the show’s premiere, Headland sat down for a conversation with Dave Filoni and discussed its making.

The Acolyte creator reveals George Lucas’ advice that helped create Jecki Lon (Credit: Lucasfilm).
During the conversation, Filoni recalled a discussion with franchise creator George Lucas. Filoni revealed that Lucas stopped him from showing the character of Ahsoka Tano overwhelmed during her first mission while she was a Jedi Padawan, underlining the importance of Jedi training.

In response, Headland admitted to having a similar experience with the character of Jecki Lon, played by Dafne Keen.

I had a similar experience with the character Jecki. There was a note from somebody that was – Wouldn’t she be scared on her first mission?

Headland made the above statement, comparing Jecki to Ahsoka, while trying to showcase the former’s development and training as a Jedi. The creator added that Filoni had earlier told her about his interaction with Lucas, which led to her avoiding depicting Jecki out of her depth during her first official mission.

Leslye Headland Talks Following in George Lucas’ Footsteps For The Acolyte

During the same conversation, Filoni and Headland also discussed franchise creator George Lucas‘ influence on their work in the galaxy far, far away. Headland explained that she wasn’t troubled by the fight choreography and visual effects aspect of creating The Acolyte.
Leslye Headland admits to taking inspiration from George Lucas while working on The Acolyte (Credit: Star Wars | YouTube).
The showrunner stated that she had trouble directing some of the more emotional scenes in the series. Headland implied that whenever she felt overwhelmed or confused, she turned to Lucas’ work in the franchise for inspiration.

It’s the Western. It’s the Samurai film. It has to feel elevated, but it also has to feel like Star Wars. Basically, what George created, it’s the North Star.

Headland made the above statement admitting that Lucas’ original trilogy and prequels had a major impact on her, especially while she was working on her own Star Wars series.

Headland’s comments also implied that Lucas’ work guided her when she was confused about certain aspects of the series. The example of Jecki Lon’s first mission is the perfect example of Headland using Lucas’ work as a guiding light for creating the brand new entry in the Star Wars saga.

The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.