Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: Darth Plagueis, disney, Leslye Headland, star wars, The Acolyte, yoda

The Acolyte Creator Leslye Headland Explains Yoda, Plagueis Cameos

The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland on the "Star Wars" series finale and why it was important to have both Yoda and Darth Plagueis appear.

Anyone wondering if they would be free from any Skywalker Saga characters in The Acolyte, given its time setting, was sorely mistaken when they saw the season finale and who Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) reported to in the final shot. While the Disney+ Star Wars series takes place 100 years before the events of 1999's The Phantom Menace, fans saw Yoda from the back of his head in a voiceless cameo. The character is originally voiced by Frank Oz in seven of the nine Skywalker Saga films, making his debut in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back with others like Tom Kane, John Lithgow, Peter McConnell, Piotr Michael, and Tony Pepe taking over the role for multiple animated adaptations. Creator Leslye Headland spoke to Entertainment Weekly about why she reintroduced Yoda to counter the "powerhouse" of Darth Plagueis.

How Yoda Counteracts Darth Plagueis Cameo on 'The Acolyte'

"That's why it was important to introduce Yoda," Headland said. "If you were going to introduce Plagueis, then you needed a formidable other side of that. As somebody that knows who Plagueis is and knows where the lineage of the Sith is headed, it would be imbalanced if you didn't have somebody on the light side who carried as much gravitas. So to me, it just made sense." Plagueis was mentioned by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to his future apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), the would-be Darth Vader, in 2005's Revenge of the Sith as a segue way into how there are some things in the Force considered "unnatural" teasing him about the Dark Side, using Plagueis as the example.

"Vernestra keeps saying 'tip the scales," notes Headland, "and I think you just needed something on the other side. If you're going to introduce Plagueis, there can't be that gap. The Jedi have to have their heavy hitter. Plagueis was always in the script and was always meant to be a tease for a second season." Once that chess piece was on the board, "It also felt like there needed to be something on the other side. So I was in prep, and I thought of literally the shot that you see of Vernestra coming in and seeing him."

Why Vernestra and Yoda didn't have words, "I knew I didn't want to have a [full] scene with Yoda," Headland laughs. "I was like, that's not something I'm ready to take on. Seeing him in person, I have never been so starstruck in my life. I felt like I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. I felt like I was meeting an entity, not a puppet, but an entity." The crew shared Headland's awe of the iconic Star Wars character. "I had grown men crying on set. My A camera, who was the toughest, coolest guy and won a bunch of awards for 'All Quiet on the Western Front' — just the toughest of the tough guys and sweetie on the inside, had tears of [joy] and was like 'Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this.' Yoda brings people to tears. It's just astonishing."

For more including Headland reflecting on The Acolyte's success and any surprises she wants to save for season two, you can check out the complete interview. All episodes of The Acolyte are available on Disney+.

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