The Acolyte Won’t Return for Season 2

It’s a sad day in a galaxy far, far, away. Deadline reports that the Star Wars Disney+ show The Acolyte has been canceled after its first season. Lucasfilm confirmed to io9 it won’t be moving ahead with a season two, which had never been officially greenlit.

Set during the era of the High Republic, The Acolyte told the story of two sisters, Mae and Osha, whose mysterious existence raised a number of questions for the Jedi and Sith of the time. In the end, the pair switched roles, with the former Jedi apprentice Osha siding with the evil Sith, the Stranger, and former Sith apprentice Mae ending up with the Jedi. It was a fantastic show that told a bold, exciting new Star Wars story. Which is probably why audiences rejected it.

After a debut that put up very good numbers, those numbers dwindled as the series went on so news of its cancelation isn’t a total surprise. However, fans like myself certainly hoped that the exciting direction season two was teeing up, as well as the inclusion of a fan-favorite character at the end, may have given it a second chance. But it seems there’s no luck.

The move also makes The Acolyte the first Disney+ Star Wars show to be out-and-out canceled. While shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett have not returned for second seasons, there has yet to be any official word on either. (Plus, in the case of Kenobi, a second season doesn’t make much sense.)

Next up for live-action Star Wars on Disney+ is Skeleton Crew, which similarly to The Acolyte faces an uphill battle without any recognizable characters. That’ll be followed by season two of Andor in 2025 and after that… we don’t know. Season two of Ahsoka is in development; the first movie since 2019, The Mandalorian & Grogu, is in production. Any number of other other movies are in various stages of development.

The Acolyte seemed as if it was going to be a great place to fit new, exciting Star Wars stories. But now, it seems we’ll never find out the tale of Darth Plagueis the Wise, what was next for Osha and the Stranger, and how the Jedi would react to their blatant disregard for decency. See? Doesn’t that all sound awesome? I’m going to go cry now.

Created by Leslye Headland, The Acolyte starred Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, and Joonas Suotamo. You can, at least for now, stream the entire series on Disney+.

Update 8 p.m. August 19: We added Lucasfilm’s confirmation to the story. 

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