Spoilers for Season 1 of The Acolyte
And just like that, Season 1 of Disney’s latest addition to the Star Wars Franchise, The Acolyte, is in the books. The finale was action-packed and full of reveals and cliffhangers. While I agree with the criticism that the show had uneven pacing in its earlier episodes, I genuinely enjoyed it and looked forward to watching each week. I loved that we abandoned all of the usual characters and finally got to see some new storylines and other aspects of canon that we haven’t seen before. Hell, we didn’t even get a glimpse of two famous characters until they briefly flashed across the screen during the finale! Before Season 1 even ended, speculation has already begun about a second season. It hasn’t been renewed yet, which I personally think is a shame. You do not give us Manny Jacinto’s abs, arms, killer lightsaber skills, and mysterious background and then just suddenly take it all away.
Has The Acolyte been renewed? Disney and Lucasfilm haven’t announced a renewal yet. However, in an extremely in depth interview with Nerdist, Headland promised a satisfying conclusion to the first season while implying there’s still a lot more story she’d like to unpack.
“We definitely aren’t going to leave you hanging,” she said. “You do a show like this, you take a lot of risks, you don’t really save a lot of those types of questions for season 2.”
When asked, “Do you know if you’re definitely getting a season 2?”
She laughed and replied, “No!” then continued, “I have no idea. Well, not that I have no idea. I would say there are conversations. And I don’t know when that will happen. I don’t know when that decision will be made.”
What would a second season of The Acolyte be about? When the show was announced in 2020, LucasFilm President Kathleen Kennedy, described the show on Disney Investor Day by saying, “The Acolyte is a mystery thriller that will take us into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging Dark Side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”
The series follows a Padawan who seeks out her former Jedi Master to investigate a series of Jedi murders. That Padawan is Amandla Stenberg, playing both Osha and Mae, twins who were split from one consciousness using the Force. And Osha appears to have some romantic feelings for Jacinto’s Qimir, which could be a key point if the show gets a season 2.
Who would be in the cast? In season 1, the show starred Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, Margarita Levieva, Lauren Brady, Leah Brady, and Harry Trevaldwyn. Anyone who lives through the first eight episodes could potentially make a return.
While Forbes doesn’t think that The Acolyte will get a second season, I’m thinking positively. I’ve read a lot online about people being mostly bored with the twins’ storyline, but I think it finished strong. I want to point out that in the Filoni Era, most of the Star Wars series that we’ve come to absolutely love, like Clone Wars, have had slow starts with their first seasons. The Acolyte really picked up after the groundwork was laid in the earlier episodes.
After those cliffhangers, I’m all-in for a second season. I want to know what happens with Qimir and Osha! Showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed that the creature in the cave was none other than Darth Plageuis himself. Since we know the Rule of Two states that there can only be two Sith, the master and the apprentice, and we know that Emperor Palpatine eventually becomes Darth Plagueis’ apprentice, I’m so curious to know what’s in store for Osha and Manny Jancito’s hotness. I also want to know what happened to Qimir when he was Vernestra Rwoh’s apprentice and what his relationship with Sol was. And where is Mother Koril, who has to still be alive, out there somewhere?! It can’t be a coincidence that she’s the same species as the Nightsisters and future Sith apprentice Darth Maul. There’s so much storytelling left to tell! So that’s where I stand. I am more than willing to watch a second season of The Acolyte. I hope Disney ignores the naysayers and gives us more.