The Acolyte Canceled Despite Star Wars Hinting Season 2 Would Happen

Star Wars fans were hopeful that The Acolyte Season 2 would happen. Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that the series has just been axed.

The Acolyte is the latest live-action Star Wars series. It debuted on Disney Plus on June 4, 2004, with its first two episodes. The next six episodes were released weekly and many loved them. Numerous were even waiting for the second season to be greenlighted. Trekkies rallied for its renewal, and it scored 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the newest development of the series left many disappointed.

Lucasfilm decided not to proceed with The Acolyte Season 2, sources confirmed to Deadline. The production company made the decision over a month after the series wrapped up. The outlet noted that while the show had a good start and generated 4.8 million views on its first day on the streamer, it failed to maintain the momentum. The series made it to Nielsen’s Top 10 originals chart during its premiere week at No. 7 and climbed up to No. 6 the following week. However, it dropped out of the Top 10 in Week 3 and returned to No. 10 when the final episode was released.

The news surprised many fans, especially because Star Wars had just hinted The Acolyte could return for a second season. Star Wars’ official X account referred to the show as “The Acolyte season 1” in a post earlier this month. In addition, a new Star Wars book, which serves as the official behind-the-scenes companion to the Disney Plus series, seemingly suggests a sequel as it was titled The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte (Season One). Although there was a lack of official announcement, many took it as a sign that Disney Plus would soon announce the second season, per Screen Rant. Apparently, it wasn’t the case, leaving many Trekkies heartbroken.

The Acolyte, created by film and TV director Leslye Headland, is set at the end of the High Republic era, about 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It follows Sol (Lee Jung-jae), a respected Jedi Master, investigating a series of crimes that led him to a former Padawan learner, Osha (Amandla Stenberg), who left the Jedi Order due to her connection to the Force. Osha has a twin sister, Mae, who was initially presumed dead but later re-emerged as a dangerous warrior using the Force’s dark side. While the series was off to a great start and the initial critic reviews were generally positive, the full series reviews were not as favorable. Also, many criticized the writing, and a lot of viewers didn’t like it. Some certain fans allegedly review-bombed the show. Overall, The Acolyte was divisive among Trekkies and its low viewership was certainly the reason the second season was canceled.

It’s understandable that some find the cancelation disappointing. However, the decision to axe the series is not a complete surprise, considering its poor performance. Although The Acolyte’s premiere was impressive, with its first two episodes being watched for 488 million minutes, its viewership was lower than the premieres of other Star Wars series like Andor (642 million minutes), Ahsoka (829 million minutes) and The Mandalorian Season 3 (823 million minutes). Overall, The Acolyte is worth watching, but Disney probably thinks it will not give them enough returns.

Star Wars: The Acolyte streams on Disney Plus.

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Source: Deadline