The Acolyte is one other installment in Disney+’s expansive Star Wars universe providing, set 100 years earlier than the occasions of The Phantom Menace. It’s been well-received by critics however completely trashed by audiences, with a mean of 1.5 stars on Google Critiques. Does that imply it’s been canceled earlier than it’s even completed its season 1 run? There are many rumors to unpack.
Associated: All of the completely different lightsaber colours, defined
The hypothesis first began on That Park Place, with an unnamed supply supposedly from LucasFilm saying, “Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte is DoA [dead on arrival]. Except there’s a miracle of rankings, it is a one-and-done proposition.” He defined, “It appears to be like to me like John Knoll is now not going to be actively assembly with Headland to collaborate on S2.” (We’re unsure how this specific outlet vets their sources, FYI).
The insider mentioned that the present’s alleged cancellation wasn’t due to “aggressive trolls” that flooded the trailer on YouTube with destructive feedback and greater than half 1,000,000 dislikes. “For now the destructive response for the trailer is being labeled as aggressive trolls irrelevant to the market,” they mentioned.
So is The Acolyte canceled?
Not formally, no—Disney+ has neither confirmed nor denied the present will proceed. Showrunner Leslye Headland could have hinted on the existence of a second season when she revealed {that a} main plot level—the Sith Lord—had been reserved for season 2 however the actor’s screentest was so good, they fast-tracked it.
“That is an attention-grabbing tidbit: Initially, even up till capturing, The Stranger was not in a number of the remainder of the season. He was way more of a tee-up for a second-season arc,” she instructed Inverse. “However I noticed Manny’s display take a look at early on in pre-production, and I simply thought, ‘There shall be riots within the streets if I don’t [go further]. Right here we go. I assume I’m rewriting an episode.’ Manny was so spectacular in each facet.
There’s one other solution to interpret this, although. Headland may be saying {that a} season 2 now not exists, which is why they bumped up the large reveal.
Talking with Leisure Weekly in an interview revealed on June 27, Headland used the phrase “if” when discussing The Acolyte season 2. “[Qimir] needs freedom to have the ability to be who he’s and wield his energy the way in which he needs to. However he additionally needs freedom on a second stage that I feel we’ll get extra into if we get a season 2.”
She continued: “I’ll let you know my philosophy on first seasons. One thing that I’ve observed is first seasons will finish on what ought to have been the break into Act Two. It seems like everybody’s actually anticipating to get a second season, and I don’t really feel that’s a good suggestion,” she mentioned.
“I feel you must put every little thing you possibly can into the primary season and provides the viewers a pleasant decision that feels satisfying, however sufficient nods to mysteries that you’d wish to see a second season. So it’s somewhat little bit of each. You don’t wish to depart it so wrapped up that, like Obi-Wan or a standalone mini-series, that there’s no motive to observe a second season, however I feel there’s sufficient stuff in the previous few episodes that you’d wish to have answered.”
The Acolyte is accessible to stream on Disney+ with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.
