Leslye Headland Reveals Dave Filoni’s Influence in Adding Lesbian Space Witches to ‘The Acolyte’

‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ just released its third episode, and the reactions have been more intense than the show itself. This episode stirred controversy by featuring a group of gay space witches who supposedly use the Force to create children. Osha and Mae are proof of this.

Whether you think this bold move is “stunning and brave” or believe that Star Wars is now ruined, you have to admit that Headland was brave to include this, especially knowing how fans usually react to changes in the franchise.

We won’t know if the show breaks any canon until we learn the full story of Osha and Mae. We’re also eager to find out more about the Witches of Brendok, who are different from the Witches of Dathomir. The Witches of Dathomir are already a well-known part of the canon, especially after their big role in the recent ‘Ahsoka’ series. Headland included the Witches of Brendok because of something Dave Filoni suggested.

Dave Filoni very quickly became kind of a mentor of mine in terms of navigating what this part of the timeline would be like for both the Jedi and then other Force users. […]It was kind of this ‘A-ha!’ moment for me when he told me, ‘You know, not all witches are Nightsisters.

Turner-Smith, who plays Mother Aniseya in the show, confirmed that the Brendok coven is a unique creation. She was glad to add her own twist to it.

I had the unique opportunity of getting to create something that no one had necessarily seen yet. It was just really quite the ride to create [Mother Aniseya]. I didn’t create her from outside of myself. I created her from inside of myself. Mother was mothering.

The next episode of ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ airs on Tuesday, June 18th on Disney+.

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