What Does ‘The Acolyte’s Cancellation Mean for the Future of ‘Star Wars’?

[WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Acolyte.]

Well, it seems Star Wars fans may never know what Darth Plagueis was doing in that cave.

On August 19, Deadline announced that Disney has decided not to renew The Acolyte for a second season. This makes it the first Star Wars show to be officially canceled, rather than labeled as a limited series or put on indefinite hold — and in light of that, it’s difficult not to wonder where the iconic galaxy far, far away is going next.

Here’s what we’re pondering, days after The Acolyte’s official ending.

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Unanswered Questions

Any cancellation usually leaves lingering questions, and The Acolyte’s is no different. While showrunner Leslye Headland mentioned in several interviews that the first season could stand as a complete story, the writers clearly had aspirations for a second, from the finale appearance of an excellent David Harewood as a senator suspicious of the Jedi to a post-credits Yoda tease. Plus, viewers were left with Qimir (Manny Jacinto) and Osha’s (Amandla Stenberg) blossoming romance, Mae’s (Stenberg) switch to the Light Side, and the connection between Master Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) and Qimir, whom the finale implied had once been her padawan.

While the first season had notable flaws in pacing and dialogue, The Acolyte did seem to be finding its footing as the weeks and episodes progressed. After the flashback episodes were out of the way and the central mystery was solved, the show seemed to have a destination in mind. A second season would’ve likely delved further into the mysteries and power dynamics of the Sith and the Rule of Two, as well as a continued interrogation of the moral complexity at the heart of the Jedi Order. Now, given its cancellation, we won’t have a chance to see how the show might have improved in a second outing, or how its story would have expanded the franchise.

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The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Forgotten

For many longtime fans — or those more familiar with the gritty details of Star Wars lore — the largest lingering question will involve Darth Plagueis. Many found it exciting to at last get a live-action look at the Sith Lord who trained Palpatine. Speculation erupted over what brought Plagueis to that cave on Bal’demnic, whether or not Qimir was his apprentice, and how Osha and Mae’s implied status as beings created through Force manipulation could bring them into Plagueis’ orbit. (Plagueis was, after all, obsessively searching for the secret to eternal life.)

It’s frustrating that such a major figure in the Star Wars universe finally appeared in live-action, but with The Acolyte ended, there’s a chance he’ll never show up again. How frustrating would it have been if Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka mentioned Grand Admiral Thrawn in The Mandalorian, but that plot thread had never gone anywhere? How about if Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) had taken Jabba’s Tatooine throne in a post-credits scene, and that’d been the last we saw of them? Perhaps the closest comparison in the franchise is 2018’s doomed feature-film prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story, which saw Darth Maul — long thought dead to anyone who’d not been watching The Clone Wars animated show — appear briefly in the movie’s final minutes. That too was a thread that dissolved before it could be woven into a sequel, a TV series, or another live-action appearance. It’d be a tragedy if the same fate befalls a character as noteworthy as Plagueis.

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Confusing Continuations

For fans of The Acolyte, it might serve as both comfort and insult to injury to know that, as of last month, a few show tie-ins were being planned. Lucasfilm publishing announced Acolyte-related books at San Diego Comic-Con, including an adult novel centered around Vernestra, a Young Adult novel focused on Jecki (Dafne Keen) and Yord (Charlie Barnett), and a 200-page art book that delves into the making of the show. Some of the projects are as yet untitled, and it’s unclear how far along they are in the creation process. With the show’s cancellation, it’s also unclear whether they’ll make it to print. If they do, it’ll be a great chance to see a few of the show’s major characters again—perhaps for a final time.

It is possible, however, that Lucasfilm intends to continue The Acolyte’s storyline through means outside of television or film. In the case of Solo, Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra eventually received a run of comics dedicated to her leadership of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Qimir seems a superb candidate for a comics run, along with Osha. And for those looking for more Darth Plagueis content, James Luceno’s (now in a non-canon gray area) prequel novel Darth Plagueis is an excellent exploration of the Plagueis and Palpatine dynamic, and the inner workings of the Sith.

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Goodbye, The Acolyte

Whether or not the show’s characters live on in print, it’s still sad to say goodbye to the good aspects of The Acolyte. The fight choreography was stellar. Its fifth episode, “Night,” is one of the most brutal and shocking hours of Star Wars television. Once the show stabilized, characters like Qimir, Osha, Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), and Senator Rayencourt shone. It’s hard not to wonder if The Acolyte might’ve benefitted from an all-at-once drop, rather than a weekly release model, or how its storytelling and characters might’ve had time to breathe with ten or 12 episodes, rather than eight.

Going forward, it’ll be intriguing to see what Star Wars takes from The Acolyte. The show was unique because it offered a set of completely new characters in a completely new time period: a direct rebuke to criticism that a galaxy far, far away has grown quite small and packed with appearances from familiar faces. The next Star Wars television project arrives in December with the Stranger Things-esque Skeleton Crew, and in 2025, the critically acclaimed Rogue One prequel Andor will air its second and final season. It’s tragic that The Acolyte won’t show up on the slate again. Hopefully, we’ll continue to see shows set in different time periods within the franchise, and hopefully some of The Acolyte’s themes continue to be explored—even though the show is now one with the Force.