Manny Jacinto and Amandla Stenberg in The Acolyte
Star Wars fans have been dealt another blow following reports that the TV spin-off The Acolyte will not be getting a second season.
The Acolyte began streaming on Disney+, and centres around a Jedi investigation into a set of crimes that took place a century before the original Skywalker trilogy.
Starring Amandla Stenberg (in dual roles) and Manny Jacinto, the sci-fi series received mostly positive reviews and garnered a loyal following across its eight episodes.
However, this seemingly wasn’t enough to save it from the axe, with
Deadline reporting on Monday (which just happened to be Manny Jacinto’s birthday) that the show would not be returning.
The news was not received well by fans of The Acolyte, who criticised bosses for cutting the show short before it had time to really hit its stride:
seriously what is the point of even watching anything anymore? nothing gets a second season. the whole point of streaming services was the watch at your own leisure and now if you don't watch the entire thing immediately it's canceled. irritating. waste of time.
https://t.co/6ZuLYIlIh2 — sam ? (@sambutwithbooks)
August 20, 2024
i’m at a complete loss for words right now. why even invest myself in a story if it’ll just get canceled??? the acolyte gave us something new, took risks, and deserves better. what a damn shame.
— Braddington (@bradwhipple)
August 19, 2024
I HATE THIS. Leslye Headland, the first woman to create a Star Wars series, tapped into something fresh and exciting in the fandom with S1 and while I had my notes she absolutely deserved a second season to let those ideas cook. We all lose with this.
https://t.co/Yms50LYwAH — Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis)
August 19, 2024
outside of maybe kenobi and andor, Acolyte has genuinely been the best new star wars media I've seen.
but disney isnt trying to make art. theyre trying to make money.
https://t.co/3x7lgk7HvR — Gay cape salesperson (@notCursedE)
August 20, 2024
Acolyte being canceled sucks. Deeply imperfect show but at least it was TRYING to branch out with new ideas, characters, and stories from what we are used to. It had *something* behind it even if the execution wasn’t there all the time. Such a shame, makes me sad.
— joe bro (@jbromovies)
August 19, 2024
The Acolyte is literally everything I could have wanted from a Star Wars show. It’s a damn shame if this news is true. I want so much more of this story
— Modelo Michael (@LocalFirstOrder)
August 19, 2024
I'm late, but THE ACOLYTE not getting renewed casts a real shadow over the future of Star Wars –– it had its flaws, but this franchise so desperately has to move beyond self-referentiality, and Headland was the first Star Wars storyteller in years who saw a new path. This sucks
https://t.co/Vwmz00IygX — an especially dangerous dug called Brendan (@metaplexmovies)
August 20, 2024
It’s a generally bleak time for television; not just because of The Acolyte. Everything gets cancelled. Nothing gets a chance to find its footing like before. Companies wonder why no one’s watching and it’s because no one wants to get invested in an inevitable unfinished story.
— Riley ⧗ ⊃∪∩⪽ ? (@rileyanntoine)
August 20, 2024
The ironic thing is that even with the most beloved animated Star Wars shows, like THE CLONE WARS & REBELS, it's widely agreed that the first seasons were a bit rough as the shows were still finding their footing.
Why not grant THE ACOLYTE that same kind of leeway?
— Andrew J. Salazar (@AndrewJ626)
August 19, 2024
acolyte cancelled so i guess we’re never getting a cool new star wars thing again. here’s to 5 billion seasons of grogu and ahsoka doing fuck knows what i guess
— keaton (@wlwanidala)
August 19, 2024
Cancelling The Acolyte on Manny Jacinto's birthday seems particularly cruel
— Silvi Vann-Wall (@SilviReports)
August 20, 2024
TV 20 years ago: "it starts out clunky but if you suffer through the first 45 episodes it starts to almost get good!"
TV now: "If this 8hrs of tv doesn't break all viewing records within the first 20 minutes of its release we're going to shoot the cast"
— artemisscribe (kinda back?) (@noolivesthnx)
August 20, 2024
Others were also irked that a series with such a diverse cast and storytelling crew was not being given the opportunity to progress, with some going as far as accusing Disney of pandering to more closed-minded sections of the Star Wars fandom:
Cancelling The Acolyte is one of the worst decisions ever. It was a series that was finally pushing Star Wars into new fresh directions and was set up for an even better second season
But a bunch of babies couldn’t handle that and now we’ll be stuck with more of the same forever
— Jack (-_•) (@captaincupkicks)
August 19, 2024
Star Wars continues to fold under the pressure of the worst, smallest, loudest part of the fanbase. This is so wildly disappointing. Such a shameful move on Disney's part to abandon great stories and storytellers because of trolls. The Acolyte deserves better.
#RenewTheAcolytehttps://t.co/YawViXc1ye — Matt Covarrubias (@MattCovarrubias)
August 19, 2024
The worst part about THE ACOLYTE being canceled isn't the cancelation itself, but knowing exactly which part of the Star Wars fanbase Disney listened to in order to go ahead with this decision. Stop caving to pressure and stand your ground if you've made something bold FOR ONCE.
— Shaurya Chawla (@_ShauryaChawla)
August 19, 2024
The Acolyte being cancelled is just another example of toxic internet hate. The show never got a chance to breathe and half the people hating on it never even watched an episode.
It’s not my favorite piece of Star Wars content but it certainly didn’t deserved to be axed.
pic.twitter.com/xAb8BTRT0D — Alec? (@alecsm7)
August 19, 2024
The Acolyte being cancelled is only going to fuel the most annoying people in the fandom who led a full-on hate train without even watching it because they don’t know how to think for themselves. Disney needs to stop catering to these losers.
— Riley ⧗ ⊃∪∩⪽ ? (@rileyanntoine)
August 20, 2024
It doesn't matter if you enjoyed The Acolyte or not. The show was set up to fail from the start, with review bombers keen on hating a show that was written by a woman, starring a black femme, and featuring a diverse cast. Cancelling it just a month after it ended speaks volumes.
— Sawyer ? || #RenewTheAcolyte (@sawyeurism)
August 20, 2024
If the reports are true….shame on
#Disney for not renewing
#Acolyte for a second season. You continue to give power to the worst amongst fandom.
— Jedimind1207 (@JediMind1207)
August 19, 2024
Seeing that The Acolyte has been cancelled after 1 season. What a real shame. This is was a genuinely great show with an incredible cast and a great storyline, despite what all those loudmouth incels ranted on about
#TheAcolytehttps://t.co/QrJr6EfX6P — Anthony Hortin ?? (@maddisondesigns)
August 20, 2024
HuffPost UK has contacted Disney+’s press team for additional comment.
Last month, showrunner Leslye Headland admitted she wasn’t sure if the show would get a second run, but shared with
Forbes that she did already have ideas for future storylines.
She also voiced her gratitude at the social media campaign dubbed #RenewTheAcolyte, intended to show Disney that there was still plenty of interest in more stories set in this universe.
Other Star Wars spin-offs including The Book Of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi also only got one season each, while a series based on the character Lando Calrissian is
being adapted into a film instead.
READ MORE:
| #qimirpeers (@camandfilm) August 19, 2024
