With "The Acolyte," the latest chapter in the "Star Wars" canon, showrunner Leslye Headland told "Good Morning America" she set out to put her own stamp on what she called "a universe that was brilliantly created by a genius."
That genius, of course, is George Lucas, the filmmaker who first transported audiences to a galaxy far, far away more than 47 years ago in 1977.
"The Acolyte," premiering June 4 on Disney+, is set approximately 100 years before the nine-film Skywalker Saga, dropping fans in the midst of a murder spree as Jedi begin turning up dead and the mystery surrounding twin sisters Osha and Mae (Amandla Stenberg) begins to unravel.
'The Acolyte' trailer shows 1st look at new 'Star Wars' series: Watch here"You have to reach deep down to get the confidence to do a show like this one, where you are working in an established IP and then, at the same time, you need to tell a story that's personal to you," Headland, one of the minds behind "Russian Doll," said.
"It's hard to really describe how you pull that out of yourself," she added.
Headland's cast had nothing but praise for her, with Stenberg praising the showrunner's work as "intellectually really complex, but then emotionally so simple."
Others echoed that sentiment. "Squid Game" actor Lee Jung-Jae (Master Sol) called it "very unique" and "Single Drunk Female" actress Rebecca Henderson (Vernestra Rwoh) -- who, in full transparency, is married to Headland -- heralded it as a "masterpiece."
At the end of the day, "The Good Place" actor Manny Jacinto (Qimir) said being in the show was a pinch-me moment.
"We get so committed to the characters, you get so committed to like the themes and the ideas and in the scenes, and then every now and then we just kind of look at each other and we're just like, 'We're in Star Wars,'" he said.
At the heart of "The Acolyte" are Osha and Mae, whom Stenberg describes as having been "separated by tragedy when they were very young."
Osha joined the Jedi Order and studied under Master Sol, only to end up leaving "because she has so much internal turmoil that she's not able to connect with the Force in the way that maybe she was destined to," Stenberg teased.
Mae, who everyone thought dead, "is actually alive and she's on a warpath," the "Bodies Bodies Bodies" actress continued.
In casting Stenberg as these characters, Headland said she was impressed by the actress and singer not letting "herself get too hemmed in by a particular career path."
"She always struck me not only as an incredible actor, but she always struck me as a really self-possessed person whenever I saw her in her interviews and the music that she creates," Headland explained.
Playing these characters who are connected by a sisterly love but divided ideologically, Stenberg said she "thought a lot about yin and yang and what the physical embodiment of that would be and the energetic embodiment of that would be."
"I really thought about my favorite part of the 'Star Wars' universe, which is all the questions that fans will probably debate until the end of time around what the nature of the Force is and what does it mean to be on the dark side and what does it mean to be on the light side," Stenberg said.
While "Star Wars" fans are well versed in the ways of the lightsaber-wielding Jedi, "The Acolyte" will introduce them to a coven of Force witches led by Jodie Turner-Smith's Mother Aniseya.
"She is a fierce protector and leader, and she's striving to create an environment of safety not only for her children, but for her family," the "Queen & Slim" actress said.
Headland, referencing a quote from the show, further explained, "So 'the power of one, the power of two, the power of many' is a little bit about what [Mother Aniseya's] hope for the legacy is. The Jedi are a power of many, that's what they are. [Mother Aniseya] is the power of one, the twins are a power of two."
The showrunner said that Mother Aniseya and her coven are more of a "counterpoint" to the Jedi, adding, "I don't think they're opposed to each other."
"Jedi have always represented the force for good," Turner-Smith continued. "So the idea of playing somebody who is suspicious of them, who doesn't trust them, who has an experience of them that might say that like, 'Hey, maybe these people who we say are always really good don't always do the right thing, because here's a group of people who have a reason to fear and mistrust them.'"
"The Acolyte" premieres on Disney+ with two episodes on June 4.
Disney is the parent company of Lucasfilm, ABC News and "Good Morning America."
