The showrunner behind the latest foray into the Star Wars saga, Leslye Headland, has now responded to the “review bombing” that has been aimed at The Acolyte on Rotten Tomatoes and elsewhere. Addressing the issue in a new interview with Collider, Headland says that everyone “knows what review bombing is like,” but doesn’t think it will affect the viewership or opinion in any way.

“Oh, yes. Everybody knows what review bombing is like. Truly when the show first came out, my publicist was like, "OK, with the review…" I was like, "Does anybody take that seriously anymore?" Perhaps the average… I understand the point of it, which is that the average viewer would look at the site and say, "Oh, the user review is really low."

But I think that, if you're in the Star Wars fandom, I think you already know what review bombing is. So I guess if you're totally new to the fandom and you're considering watching the show, it could affect you. But I also think that my work in the past has been very word-of-mouth anyway, so I don't know if it… I think that because behind the scenes, we all know what it is — it's not that it's not concerning — but I think it's pretty expected. I would say.”

While The Acolyte has been well-received by critics, standing at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, the ‘audience score’ is a paltry 14% thanks to the review bombing tactic. Thankfully for Headland, this doesn’t appear to have affected viewership, with The Acolyte drawing 11.1 million views across its first five days, and thus becoming the biggest series premiere of the year on Disney+.

Leslye Headland Says 'Star Wars Is My Dream'

Despite the more toxic side of the Star Wars fandom making The Acolyte their latest target, Headland likes to focus on the positives, and revels in the fanart, fan fiction, and memes that have stemmed from the series. Besides, it sounds like the negativity from some fan will never tarnish Headland’s excitement over being part of the Star Wars franchise.

"I'm certainly amazed by it. Because that was my type of fandom in adolescence and early adulthood when the prequels were coming out, it was so, “create my own world based on the prompt of Star Wars media.” So the idea that I, first of all, getting to work in Star Wars is my dream, it is my career high.

I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do after this. So being able to be a part of that and create Star Wars media and then have people doing what I did is very surreal and absolutely, like you said, it's a vote of confidence that this is fitting into the world that I love so much.”

Starring Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Manny Jacinto, The Acolyte follows a former Padawan who reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes.

The Acolyte is currently airing on Disney+ , with the penultimate episode due to debut on July 9, 2024.