Star Wars: The Acolyte Is A Mix Between Frozen And Kill Bill
The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland says she pitched the series as a mix between Kill Bill and Frozen.
There’s very little known about the upcoming Disney+ series Star Wars: The Acolyte, though showrunner Leslye Headland has given us a baffling hint. According to Deadline, when asked about the show’s theme and structure, she pitched it as a “mix between Frozen and Kill Bill. Taken at surface level, that most likely means it’s a lightsaber-swinging revenge story about a young woman who learns to embrace her terrifying powers but just won’t let it go.
For those unfamiliar with the plot of Kill Bill, it stars Uma Thurman as a blade-swinging ex-assassin who is seeking revenge on her former comrades after they killed her wedding party and left her for dead. She leaves a trail of blood and limbs as she cuts her way through the five members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad and anyone working for them. If Star Wars: The Acolyte is anything like this film, it probably means that the titular acolyte is betrayed by those she once fought alongside, so she returns to take their lives.
Frozen, meanwhile, is about a princess with ice powers who runs away, and learns to embrace her abilities but causes untold damage to her kingdom. Her sister, meanwhile, tries to get her to return to the kingdom and undo the damage that she’s done. While the ice powers and force usage are likely the parallels here, it’s hard to say which other elements of Frozen will appear in Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Kathleen Kennedy also said that Star Wars: The Acolyte takes inspiration from Akira Kurosawa films, which is fitting, considering that the original Star Wars also took inspiration from the Japanese filmmaker. The movie took clear inspiration from the 1958 film The Hidden Fortress, with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 playing a very similar roles as the peasants Tahei and Matashichi, who find themselves caught up in a larger conflict that is far larger than either of them are able to comprehend. There are also scenes in Star Wars that are similar to scenes in Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and Sanjuro.
Star Wars: The Acolyte is not the only upcoming Star Wars series. Season 2 of Andor, which follows the beginnings of the rebellion that’s seen in the original trilogy and Rogue One, is set to premiere in August 2024. Ahsoka is set to debut in August 2023, and Skeleton Crew, starring Jude Law, is also in the works.
News of Star Wars: The Acolyte’s inspiration also comes alongside the announcement of a new Star Wars film starring Daisy Ridley being in the works. The movie, whose title has not been confirmed, will feature Ridley’s character Rey as she works to rebuild a new Jedi order after the events of Rise of Skywalker. Considering the disappointing finale to the Sequel trilogy.
The exact release date of Star Wars: The Acolyte has not yet been confirmed, but we do know that it will come out sometime in 2024. While that means we’ll have to wait to see the new show, we will still have Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew to tide us over.
