The story of Osha and The Stranger will not continue. Disney+'s latest Star Wars series The Acolyte has been cancelled after just one season, according to a report from Deadline, whose sources inform the outlet that Disney has decided to not proceed with Season 2. Disney has not yet shared an official announcement on whether or not the series will continue. The news on the decision comes more than a month after the eight-episode first season of the show, from creator, executive producer, director, and showrunner Lesley Headland, ended its run on Disney+.
As Deadline's report pointed out, the viewership of The Acolyte started strong, bringing 11.1 million views in its first five days of streaming, but its momentum fell, dropping out of Nielsen's weekly Top 10 chart in its third week. It would return to the #10 spot in the Top 10, however, for the season finale. The series received a 78% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, but its audience score of 18% shows that it divided Star Wars fans, which was reflected in the show's overall viewership.
Set in the High Republic era,100 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the mystery thriller centered on a former Padawan (played by Amandla Stenberg) who reunites with her respected Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) to investigate a series of shocking crimes and then discovers the forces they confront are darker than they ever anticipated.
The first season ended with Osha killing her former master Sol via Force choke and then bleeding her kyber crystal to shift the color of her lightsaber from blue to mostly red — a sliver of blue left at the top. Osha set to train with The Stranger (Manny Jacinto) while her twin sister Mae agreed to have her mind wiped before being taken into Jedi custody. In interviews, Headland revealed that she has pitched her ideas for Season 2 and has expressed her hopes for a renewal.
Star Wars: The Acolyte's starred Amandla Stenberg in dual roles as Osha and Mae, Lee Jung-jae as Master Sol, Manny Jacinto as Qimir (The Stranger), and Rebecca Henderson as Mirialan Jedi Vernestra Rwoh. Other cast included Dafne Keen as the half-Theelin/half-human Jedi Jecki, Charlie Barnett as the Jedi Knight Yord Fandar, Carrie-Anne Moss as Master Indara, Dean-Charles Chapman as Master Torbin, Jodie Turner-Smith as Mother Aniseya, and Joonas Suotamo as Kelnacca, the Wookiee Jedi.
What's the next Star Wars TV series?
Even though The Acolyte won't be renewed for a second season, Lucasfilm still has a bunch of Star Wars shows coming to Disney+. At this year's D23 Expo, Disney premiered the first trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Skeleton Crew, which is set to premiere on December 3, 2024. The video gave us a first look at the show's protagonists: Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), KB (Kyriana Kratter) and the mysterious Jedi, Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law).
There show also features a droid named SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost), the decrepit first mate of the Onyx Cinder. Addition cast includes Kerry Condon and Tunde Adebimpe, who have undisclosed roles.
Andor Season 2, starring Diego Luna, was also confirmed, and it's set to premiere sometime next year. Disney and Lucasfilm also confirmed second season of Ahsoka is also in development, but no official premiere date has been announced yet.
