Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: disney, Leslye Headland, Rebecca Henderson, star wars, Star Wars: The Acolyte, The Acolyte

The Acolyte Star Rebecca Henderson on Vernestra Rwoh: Novels to Screen

Rebecca Henderson breaks down the path to Vernestra Rwoh - from the Star Wars High Republic novels to the Disney+ series The Acolyte.

While Star Wars has had so much lore built over the past nearly five decades, there was so much rich history made in the pre-Disney era, which came to be known as the Expanded Universe, now Legends. With the Lucasfilm purchase in 2012, Disney rebranded the EU to create a canon that includes drawing inspiration from those original works anew and formed the High Republic era. It's that which serves as the basis of the Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte and the live-action debut of Vernestra Rwoh, who made her debut in High Republic novels. Played by Rebecca Henderson, Vernestra is a senior member of the Jedi Order who rose to prominence as a young prodigy, remaining in correspondence with Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) as he investigates a series of Jedi-related crimes in the series. Henderson spoke to Empire about her path to the series and working with series creator and spouse Leslye Headland.

The Acolyte: Rebecca Henderson on Embracing Vernestra

When Henderson first heard about The Acolyte, "It has been very emotional – I'm very proud of her. It's been a really long road. It started back when she pitched the idea before the pandemic, 2019," she said. "[Leslye] was basically writing in the downstairs part of our apartment in a closet that we turned into a desk situation. I was bringing her meals and reading really early drafts. The development stage was very long and very rich. I'm very excited as to where it's gotten now. At 'Star Wars Celebration' last year, when she went on stage and started answering questions, the energy was so incredible. She's so focused and intelligent in that arena. I was openly weeping backstage."

As far as how Henderson found her way to Vernestra, "Very early on, Leslye wanted to find something for me. But she's not just gonna give me anything – she wants it to be a perfect match. And I don't want to play something that I'm not going to excel at," she said. "I actually didn't even know who Vernestra was until we were in England [for the production] – there was another part that I was possibly going to play. And then I was reading drafts like, 'Who is this [Vernestra]?' Because Vernestra is so old at this time, Leslye didn't really think of me for the part. Obviously, I'm not 116 years old. But as I learned more about her – and then started researching her and the way she's written in this series – it started to make a lot of sense."

On whether Henderson read the High Republic books, "Leslye spoke to [Lucasfilm's] Pablo [Hidalgo]. I met [author] Justina [Ireland] at Celebration last year – I listened to the books because I love an audiobook," she said. "You certainly don't need to know the books to be able to enjoy this series at all. But I did think it was helpful when thinking about how a young person becomes their older self, and there are a couple [of] references in this series that people who know the young Vernestra will appreciate."

You can check out the entire interview for more, including how Henderson describes Vernestra's ties to Sol, her position in the Jedi Order, her lightsaber, and more. The first two episodes of The Acolyte are available to stream on Disney+, and new episodes are available on Tuesdays.

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