In the Star Wars universe, the lightsaber is an iconic part of the series as the weapon is not merely a tool used in the battle between a Sith and a Jedi. The glowing blade with striking colors like green, blue, purple, and red, captures the attention of the audience and the distinctive sound adds to its popularity.
However, it looks like The Acolyte is going to make a change as they introduce a Lightsaber Whip, which has divided its fanbase. Heated debates have been taking place all over the internet on how adding it would ruin the franchise’s popularity. Though new additions to the franchise have always been accepted by its fans, even they think that the addition of this bizarre weapon is a bit too ridiculous.
The Star Wars Universe is Divided Over The Addition of The Lightsaber Whip in The Acolyte
The Acolyte is shaping itself to be arguably the most unique entry in George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise. The recent release of the trailer for the show has got the fans looking forward to it as it releases in less than a month. With fans eagerly waiting to watch the new series, a ridiculous weapon addition to the series has got everyone divided over it.
As ardent fans of the franchise know how the lightsaber has become synonymous with the franchise often inviting thrilling and epic duels in the films and series, and its humming sound adds depth to the series. Countless iconic moments in the franchise have featured this iconic weapon.
The weapon has several variants such as Darth Maul’s double-bladed red lightsaber, Kylo Ren’s Crossguard lightsaber, Din Djarin’s Darksaber, and many more. However, the most ridiculous of them all would be the lightsaber whip that was first introduced in the novel series titled Star Wars: The High Republic.
It was used by Jedi Knight Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh, and using the Force as her guide, she could transform her lightsaber into a whip. The bizarre weapon is now making its way to The Acolyte and fans are divided over it as some think it is a great addition; whereas the other lot think that Lucasfilm is bent on ruining the age-old franchise.
Culture Crave (@CultureCrave) shared the first look of the new weapon on X, and fans were flabbergasted to see it. To add to the problem, heated debates are taking place among the fans, where they reinforce their ideas as they comment on the post.
Whip light. Interesting.
— Stephanie (King Ari Press) (@KingAriPress) May 18, 2024
What..in the fuck…is this 😀
— Merchant of Nonsense (@cosmic_oro) May 18, 2024
What the hell is this. Do not turn Star Wars into this. You’ll ruin Star Wars with this nonsense.
— 𝕏 (@tsunamiXay) May 18, 2024
Well that's a thing that exists.. pic.twitter.com/HyOLSbMKPc
— mind of MOTTRAM (@MindofMottram) May 18, 2024
Before people complain pic.twitter.com/JTZIKZG54B
— King Pink (@King_Pink52) May 18, 2024
The light whip has been in the comics for a long time, nice to see it make its screen debut
— ✨Tyves🌙 (@aviridios) May 18, 2024
While the lightsaber whip is a part of the canon series, it would be interesting to see if it adds to the franchise’s popularity like the classic lightsaber fans have grown up watching.
The Acolyte Shorunner’s Pitch Made The President of Lucasfilm in Tears
During an exclusive interview with SFX magazine via GamesRadar, Rayne Roberts, one of the producers of the show, opened how Leslye Headland gave a very powerful pitch for her show that left Kathleen Kennedy teary-eyed.
The showrunner mentioned that the show would be like “Frozen meets Kill Bill” which will emotionally resonate with its viewers while featuring high-octane action. She said,
Leslye said it was Frozen meets Kill Bill in Star Wars. It immediately communicated a kind of emotional entanglement and also high-octane action. It was like, ‘I think I understand what that is,‘ and it started a conversation that led to me elevating her pitch, ultimately up to Kathy [Kennedy, Lucasfilm president]. Leslye is an amazing storyteller and when she finally pitched Kathy, everyone was crying. It was that kind of meeting.
Simon Emanuel, another producer of the series added,
The thing I picked up on and got very excited about was Kill Bill. One of the things we talked about really early on was action, and I really believe that, in these kinds of shows, action has to be a character. It can’t just be, ‘Give me a punch, give me a lightsaber fight…‘ So I introduced Leslye to a guy called Chris Clark Cowan, who was our action designer, and part of the team who worked on the Darth Vader sequence in Rogue One.
Leslye and Chris completely fell in love, and action became such a component of this story. For me, it’s the best action the franchise has seen – and there’s so much of it.
While fans are having mixed reactions to the uncanny weapon, the series does sound exciting and it is around the corner.
The Acolyte can only be streamed on Disney+ from June 4, 2024.
