The Animated Star Wars Characters Who Inspired The Acolyte

Space witches? In my “Star Wars”? The Nightsisters of Dathomir originated in the defunct Expanded Universe (aka Star Wars Legends), only to make the jump to animation as an important element of the “Clone Wars” series. They’ve since come to enjoy an even bigger role in the franchise under Filoni’s reign as Lucasfilm’s newly appointed Chief Creative Officer, playing a pivotal role in “Ahsoka” and shaping Headland’s approach to a story in which the Sith has seemingly vanished and the Jedi exist in abundant numbers. As the showrunner explained to IGN:

“[…] ‘The Clone Wars’ [inspired ‘The Acolyte’], a lot being inspired by Nightsisters. We don’t have any Nightsisters in this show, but being inspired by them, being inspired by Asajj Ventress. My favorite [‘Clone Wars’] episode is ‘The Wrong Jedi.’ I definitely took some inspiration from that.”

“The Wrong Jedi” is part of the “Clone Wars” arc that saw Ahsoka Tano leave the Jedi Order, a great (and highly important) storyline that delved deeply into the inner workings of the Jedi Order and often played like a political thriller set in the “Star Wars” universe. It also led Ahsoka to really question her understanding of the power dynamics among Force users when she found herself collaborating with Count Dooku’s scorned apprentice, the Nighsister Asajj Ventress, in an attempt to prove her innocence. Suffice it to say, the idea of Headland drawing heavily from that arc for “The Acolyte” should come as exciting news to anyone hoping for another “Andor”-style mix of action and political intrigue here. Moreover, between that and her returning from the dead (?) in the final season of “The Bad Batch,” 2024 is quickly shaping up to be the year of Asajj Ventress in the best way.

“The Acolyte” premieres on June 4, 2024, on Disney+.