Star Wars: The Acolyte received mixed reviews throughout what would turn out to be its first and final season. Its visuals and cinematography were one of the highlights for many of the show's critics, and it turns out that was largely by design.
Series creator Leslye Headland is a longtime Star Wars fan, and that gave her a unique perspective as the showrunner for a series set in a galaxy far, far away. Speaking with Gold Derby, Headland emphasized how important it was for her to honor George Lucas's work -- specifically the choices he made with his cameras.
"We absolutely wanted to honor the way he chose to shoot the original Star Wars," she said about Lucas, noting that documentaries were a particular inspiration for him -- a type of filmmaking featuring "static camera; there isn't a lot of movement-movement."
So Headland sought out Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Chris Teague, who helped shape the camera work we saw in The Acolyte. Throughout the process, they kept asking themselves how Lucas would approach filming certain scenes, shots, or sequences, and used that to guide decision-making.
This isn't the only reason the show feels as Star Wars as it gets -- an especially important task considering it was the first live-action show in the franchise set during The High Republic. A new era most audiences hadn't yet seen had the danger of feeling too unfamiliar, but the show's creatives managed to avoid that for the most part. The Acolyte tells a classic Star Wars story with a few welcome twists. At the end, the twins switch sides instead of switching places. Mae leaves the dark side behind to partner with the Jedi Order, and Osha gives in to her anger and joins the antagonist.
Yet messages of hope, sacrifice, and familial bonds are present throughout the narrative. It isn't Star Wars if someone doesn't give up something for the greater good of the universe by the end of the final chapter. The show's cinematography, however, stands out as a relatively subtle yet genuinely awe-inspiring nod to where Star Wars first began. No matter what you might think of the show as a whole, there is a unique artistry to it that wouldn't have been possible without knowledgeable, passionate minds making it all happen behind the scenes.