Summary:
- The Acolyte has been canceled after one season, despite its unique approach to the Star Wars universe and mixed reactions from fans.
- Meanwhile, Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew, debuts on December 3, followed by the final season of Andor in 2025 and a second season of Ahsoka in development.
“The Acolyte” won’t be returning for a second season. Lucasfilm has decided not to move forward with the “Star Wars” Disney+ series, which explored the rise of the Sith about 100 years before the events of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.”
The news is both surprising and expected. It’s surprising because the Season 1 finale ended on a cliffhanger, setting up several storylines for a potential second season. However, it’s not entirely unexpected, given the mixed reactions from fans and the decline in viewership after the series premiered in June.
Leslye Headland, the creator of “Russian Doll” and a big “Star Wars” fan, set out to create the first “Star Wars” story outside the main timeline of the franchise, which runs from “The Phantom Menace” to “The Rise of Skywalker.”
The show followed twins Osha and Mae, both played by Amandla Stenberg, who were separated as children and wrongly believed the other had died.
Some critics and fans appreciated how the show challenged the idea of the Jedi being perfect and always virtuous, especially through the character of Jedi Master Sol (played by Lee Jung-jae), whose decisions led to Osha being taken from her family and separated from her sister.
However, some fans felt that these creative choices went against the traditional good-vs-evil narrative of “Star Wars” and were critical of how the show expanded the mythology of the Force.
“The Acolyte” also faced review-bombing, a harmful tactic often used as a form of digital protest against inclusive casts featuring actors of color and LGBTQ characters—such as Osha and Mae’s mothers, portrayed by Jodie Turner-Smith and Margarita Levieva. This kind of trolling was similarly seen with the 2017 film “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Despite the backlash, “The Acolyte” received a lot of positive reactions, especially after the twist revealing that Manny Jacinto’s character, initially introduced as Mae’s clueless sidekick Qimir, was actually the masked Sith warrior commanding Mae to kill the Jedi who separated her from Osha.
One scene, where Jacinto disrobes along a rocky coastline to seduce Osha to the Dark Side, caught a lot of attention, leading to numerous fan posts on social media. The show also featured a strong cast, including Carrie-Anne Moss, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Dean-Charles Chapman, and Joonas Suotamo.
Lucasfilm’s next “Star Wars” series for Disney+, Skeleton Crew, premieres on December 3, and it’s a stark contrast to The Acolyte. With a cast primarily made up of children, the show embraces an Amblin-style adventure reminiscent of 1980s kid-centric films.
Following Skeleton Crew, the second and final season of Andor, the epic political drama starring Diego Luna, is slated for release in 2025, and a second season of Ahsoka is currently in development.
Deadline was the first to report that The Acolyte would conclude after just one season.
