Star Wars: The Acolyte was a divisive, uneven, and daring stab at a different type of Jedi story. But decent reviews and an average viewership apparently wasnāt enough to convince Disney to invest in its future. The streaming platform is canceling Acolyte after just one season.
Deadline broke the news that Star Wars: The Acolyte wasnāt getting renewed for season 2, dashing fansā hopes of seeing Manny Jacintoās Qimir and Amandla Stenbergās Osha explore the dark side of the force together following the grim events of the first eight episodes. Unlike many other Jedi-centric Star Wars stories, TheĀ Acolyte leaned into the hubris and fallibility of the space wizards and their religious order.
There were some cool ideas there, even if the show rarely managed to pull them off between the rough writing and short episodes. But thatās what second seasons can be for, helping creators reflect on what worked and what didnāt, and focusing in on the threads that resonated most with audiences. Lots of shows donāt find their identity until season 2 or 3, though most donāt have the luxury of waiting that long in the current hyper-competitive streaming wars.
Acolyteās unorthodox take on the Jedi and its diverse casting also made it a target for a certain subset of extremely toxic Star Wars fans who waged a relentless campaign against the show. In addition to being hyper-critical of every promotional interview from the cast, apparent plot discrepancies and retconned lore blew up into weird micro-controversies.
Showrunner Leslye Headland had previously said sheād pitched Disney on the her ideas for a second season and was hoping for renewal. Executives at the house of mouse apparently werenāt convinced. Deadline reports that Acolyte quickly fell off Nielsenās top-10 list for weekly viewership, and was believed to have the worst performing season finale of any Star Wars show.
Acolyte is hardly the only one not to get renewed for a second season, though. The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi also didnāt pan out. But Disney did move ahead with The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Andor, whose second season begins streaming in 2025. The Skeleton Crew will be the companyās latest experiment in a galaxy far, far away. The coming-of-age kids rescue story stars Jude Law and debuts on December 3.
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