Star Wars Waiter Creator: Screenwriters Don’t Understand the Original Works, But That’s a Good Thing

One of the writers for the upcoming live-action Star Wars TV series The Acolyte had never watched the sci-fi series before joining the cast. Showrunner Leslye Headland recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she hired the writer specifically because she was able to question some of the decisions made by Headland, who is a fan of the series.

“I just thought someone who had never seen Star Wars before she came on board would have a great angle,” the producer said. “She said to me, ‘Why do you want me on the writing staff? I’ve never seen Star Wars. I don’t know anything. I think there’s a dog in it, but I don’t understand anything.’ I was like, ‘First of all, you’re a great writer, but here’s why I want you on board, I want you to question the narrative.’”

She added: "I didn't want myself, as a lifelong fan, to create emotionally stimulating beats solely based on specific references. I wanted those emotional beats to be understandable and examineable by people who weren't as familiar with it."

She revealed that the screenwriter watched the original Star Wars trilogy over Christmas and texted her "Luke and Leia are brother and sister!? WTF!?" Headland said that although the screenwriter needs to work hard to educate herself to continue to stay on the writing team, "It's really fun to collaborate with someone like her."

The show has been criticized by fans because it has many conflicts with the original setting and has added many politically correct elements that Disney seems to like recently, including a black female protagonist who does not conform to the original setting, and the LGBTQ+ elements that the producers have mentioned many times before. The trailer of the show is the most disliked video on the official Star Wars YouTube channel - as of press time, the video has 144,000 likes and 217,000 dislikes.