When it was announced that “Russian Doll” creator Leslye Headland was taking over the reins of a “Star Wars” TV project, there was a lot of head-scratching. Not in a bad way, of course, but just that nothing in her previous experience would lead you to believe that Headland was perfect for the role of shepherding a “Star Wars” project. Well, fans, fear not! Headland is a bonafide “Star Wars” nerd, and you just have to watch her recent interview with Fantastic Frankey to understand.
The interview covers a lot of Headland’s career, but fairly quickly, the conversation veers off into “Star Wars” territory. And when it does, that’s where the series creator truly shows why she’s the perfect choice to run a series based in the galaxy far, far away. Headland calls the opportunity to work on something related to “Star Wars” her “dream project” and “all I want to do.”
But even though the writer-producer does talk about “Star Wars”…a lot, she doesn’t really go into much detail about the specifics of her series. Headland confirms what was originally reported that the show has a female protagonist, but she doesn’t really say much about what fans can expect. However, she does describe a bit about the setting of the show.
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“I would say it’s in a pocket of the universe and a pocket of the timeline that we don’t know much about,” Headland revealed. “That’s what I can say.”
So, for those thinking that maybe her series is one of the spinoffs of “The Mandalorian,” then it would appear that you’re wrong. It looks like Headland is creating a series that exists on its own and isn’t tied directly to something seen before. And for the writer-producer, this means that her “Star Wars” series is something that can be enjoyed by all, no matter if you’re a diehard “Star Wars” fan or someone that is uninterested in “The Mandalorian” but looking for a new way into the galaxy far, far away. This is a series for everyone, and also, if you don’t care, then you can move along.
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“Just because my show is technically, yes, ‘female-centric’, meaning it centers around a female protagonist, I don’t think that necessarily excludes men from that space,” Headland explained. “I relate to male characters all the time. I root for Mando. I root for Luke… An inclusive space means an inclusive space. But at the same time, I think that just because something has a female protagonist doesn’t necessarily mean it’s only for women.”
She added, “If ‘Star Wars’ is a religion… I like to think of my show as a tent revival. You can come over if you want to. We’re going to be talking about some cool stuff. There’s going to be some things we haven’t discussed in canon yet. There are going to be some characters you don’t know about. I would love you to join us. I would love you to be interested in it. If it’s not your thing, the cool thing about Star Wars right now is there’s so much you can align yourself with and get invested in, but if you don’t like it, that’s fine.”
Again, there’s really no word on when we can see Headland’s series coming to Disney+. We don’t even know who will lead the cast. But if you’re someone wondering if Headland is “right” for the job, this is an interview that should quell any concerns.
(The bulk of the “Star Wars” discussion starts approximately 24:00 into the interview.)