Behind the Scenes: The Acolyte goes old school to capture original Star Wars grit

 he production of recent Star Wars TV spin-offs have taken different paths. While The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka were filmed largely on Industrial Light & Magic’s StageCraft video wall, Andor was filmed at Pinewood and locations throughout the UK. That’s the route taken by The Acolyte too in a bid, it seems, to capture the pre-CGI analogue quality of the original films.

“It was decided very early on that The Acolyte was not going to be a Volume show,” explains Chris Teague who photographed four of the season’s eight episodes. “Sets and locations would fit really well with an aesthetic that was a little bit more handmade, if you will. More textural, less glossy and clean, basically.”

This is Teague’s first foray into the Star Wars universe, as it is for series showrunner Leslye Headland with whom he shot episodes of Netflix drama Russian Doll. He is a fan, though, and like many, he reveres The Empire Strikes Back as the best of the franchise’s features.

“I remember having this distinct feeling as a kid watching how it ends on this downbeat note which was striking and surprising to me,” he says. “I didn’t know you could tell a story that way.

“Plus, I just loved the look of it. It’s this futuristic world but at the same time, everything feels very rough around the edges.

“The colour palette resonated too. The original films...