A little over a month ago, The Acolyte Season 1 concluded its eight-episode run to Disney+ subscription holders, and it left many lingering plot threads behind, including Osha going to train in the ways of the Dark Side with Qimir, the tease of Darth Plagueis and Vernestra Rwoh going to meet with Yoda. Unfortunately, we won’t see said threads be further explored onscreen. The Acolyte Season 2 will not be on the list of upcoming Star Wars TV shows, and while I’m disappointed about its cancellation, I’m more hopeful that the franchise finds another way to follow up on these cliffhangers.
As first reported by Deadline, Lucasfilm has decided not to keep The Acolyte going. While an official reason for the Disney+ show being cancelled wasn’t provided to the outlet, the article does note that while it got off to a strong start when it premiered at the start of June, viewership dwindled in the weeks to follow. It was also mentioned that while The Acolyte earned decent reviews from critics, it was a divisive entry in the canon among fans, to the point that the Star Wars series got review bombed.
Although The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi both only ran for one season, those were originally envisioned as miniseries, whereas there was the potential for The Acolyte to run as an ongoing show. As a result of this decision, though, it’s now the only one in this category of Disney+ Star Wars shows to not run for multiple seasons. This news comes three months after The Bad Batch wrapped up with its third and final season, and four months ahead of Skeleton Crew premiering on the 2024 TV schedule.
While I’m annoyed that The Acolyte didn’t run longer, I can’t say this news is shocking. There are plenty of other Disney+ shows that have been cancelled after just one season, including Willow, National Treasure: Edge of History and, more recently, Renegade Nell. Still, given how the Star Wars franchise is one of the key cornerstones of the Mouse House’s streaming service, I assumed that would have given The Acolyte some leeway to run at least another season, if not several. Clearly I was wrong.
Even though The Acolyte’s time in TV is finished, I sincerely hope that Star Wars doesn’t abandon this corner of the franchise. Namely, it’s be great if these cliffhangers could be resolved in either a book, a series of books or a comic series. How did Osha and Qimir’s relationship further develop? What happened to them that resulted in Plagueis selecting Palpatine as his new apprentice? What was Vernestra’s past with Qimir? How would Yoda have factored in? These are questions that deserve to be answered rather than just ignored.
If Lucasfilm announces it will continue The Acolyte narrative in a different medium, we’ll let you know. Until then, Skeleton Crew is set to drop on December 3, and the next Star Wars movie up is The Mandalorian & Grogu, which hits theaters on May 22, 2026.
