Rumor: Loki Director Kate Herron Involved With Star Wars The High Republic Era Disney Plus Series The Acolyte
Spencer Baculi
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According to the latest alleged whispers surrounding Disney Plus’ upcoming live-action Star Wars series The Acolyte, Loki director Kate Herron will be lending her talents in some way, shape, or form to the High Republic-era’s first official television outing.
Source: Star Wars – The High Republic Vol. 1 Issue #13 (2022), Marvel Comics. Cover art by Phil Noto.
Word of Herron’s supposed involvement with The Acolyte first began to circulate online on July 14th following publication of an unrelated claim by Star Wars news site Bespin Bulletin that, as per his sources, the series was “in pre-production in Reading, England […] at the newly constructed Shinfield Studios”, which last year confirmed its plans to host Disney as its first client when it opened its doors in 2022.
Source: Star Wars – The High Republic Vol. 1 Issue #1 (2021), Marvel Comics. Cover art by Phil Noto.
Taking notice of Bespin Bulletin’s report while working on his own story regarding the Ashoka solo series, Making Star Wars editor-in-chief Jason Ward subsequently reached out to his source for information regarding The Acolyte “to see if there was anything to add to the story.”
In doing so, said Ward, “two different sources, one UK based and one in SoCal mentioned that Kate Herron is supposedly involved (or approached at least)”.
Source: (L-R): Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) in Marvel Studios’ LOKI, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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“It may be worthy of note that Herron is a British director and the series will film in Reading,” he added in support of the Loki director’s possible involvement. “Also, both Herron and [The Acolyte showrunner] Leslye Headland are LGBT+ filmmakers creating space fantasy stories for Disney.”
Source: (L-R): Boastful Loki (DeObia Oparei), Kid Loki (Jack Veal), Alligator Loki and Classic Loki (Richard E. Grant) in Marvel Studios’ LOKI, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
It should be noted that, in his respective report, Bespin Bulletin likewise claimed to have “heard rumblings recently of a possible director [being] attached” to The Acolyte.
However, whether or not this supposed director was Herron remains unknown.
Source: (L-R): Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sophia Di Martino in Marvel Studios’ LOKI, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
RELATED: Star Wars Rumor: Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte Series To Introduce Darth Revan, Darth Bane, And More
Officially announced as in production on May 4th 2020 before being revealed in full at Disney’s December 10th investors meeting later that same year, The Acolyte is purported to be “ a mystery-thriller that will take the audience into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”
Though further details regarding the series have been kept under wraps, Headland has provided two particularly notable insights into The Acolyte’s content and direction.
Source: Disney Investor Day 2020
In a November 2020 interview with YouTuber Fantastic Frankey, the showrunner confirmed that the series would follow a female protagonist, sharing with the show’s host, “Just because my show is technically yes, ‘female centric,’ meaning it centers around a female protagonist. I don’t think that necessarily excludes men from that space.”
“Listen, I relate to male characters all the time,” Headland continued. “Like, I root for Mando. Like, I root for Luke. I, like, deeply, deeply… Well, not sure how much I care about Han Solo anymore. When I was little I really liked him. When I watch him now, I’m kind of like, ‘Gosh a lot of my psyche makes sense now. Hmm. Ok.’”
Source: Star Wars – The High Republic Vol. 2 Issue #1 (2022), Marvel Comics. Cover art by Phil Noto.
“All joking aside, I think that truly, I think that an inclusive space means an inclusive space,” said the showrunner. “But at the same time I think that just because something has a female protagonist doesn’t mean it’s only meant for women.”
Later, in June 2021, Headland hinted that the series’ story would be political in nature, telling the AV Club’s Danette Chavez.
Source: Star Wars – The High Republic Vol. 1 Issue #8 (2021), Marvel Comics. Cover art by Phil Noto.
“I mean, it’s funny, because a lot of the feedback that I’ll get—and I use the term feedback very lightly—but when I do go on social media, the feedback is ‘Don’t make Star Wars political,’” recalled the showrunner. “I’m like, ‘George Lucas made it political. Those are political films.’”
Source: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Disney
She elaborated, “War is, by nature, political. That’s just what’s up. It’s truly what he was interested in talking about and looking at and digging into. So it’s kind of impossible to tell a story within his universe that doesn’t have to do with something that has to be that the characters see externally reflected in whatever’s happening in the galaxy at that particular time period of when it takes place. You know?”
“That’s another thing that we all kind of inherited from him as well,” concluded Headland, “and hope to kind of keep reflecting in the work, hopefully.”
Source: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Disney
What do you make of the rumors suggesting Herron’s involvement with The Acolyte? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!
NEXT: Rumor: Leslye Headland’s Star Wars: The Acolyte Looking For “Female POC” Lead
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