Will there be The Acolyte Season 2? Everything we know so far

The Jedi Order have become Star Wars villains thanks to showrunner Leslye Headland, but is there enough drama to warrant The Acolyte Season 2?

If you watched The Acolyte week after week, you’ll know it’s a new TV show that’s been especially exhausting. Not only has it changed the Star Wars timeline for good, but it’s split fan opinion wider than it ever has been.

Through ups, downs, and accused “wokebaiting”, The Acolyte has fostered some of the best hand-to-hand combat scenes in Star Wars history, largely boiling down to the reveal of Qimir as The Stranger.

Not everyone enjoyed it, but nobody can deny that the show has made its mark. Still, is there enough interest and storyline for The Acolyte Season 2 to ever happen? Warning: Possible spoilers ahead!

Will there be The Acolyte Season 2?

No, The Acolyte will not be returning for Season 2. News comes by way of a report from Deadline, as Lucasfilm sources informed them the show is not being picked up for a second batch of episodes.

While the show’s first and only season divided the Star Wars community, many plot threads were left open for a second season. Now, we won’t get a continuation of the story, nor is it likely we’ll ever see these High Republic-era characters brought to life again.

According to earlier reports from ScreenRant, actual viewership figures were more than healthy enough to warrant further action. After 14 days, the series was “the second most successful in terms of streaming and engagement, outperforming the average top 100 TV show by a factor of six.”

However, it still didn’t outperform smash hits such as Andor or The Mandalorian.

On top of this, showrunner Headland was raring to go regarding more episodes.

“There are a lot of things at the end of this season that I think are narrative threads that are not tied up, for sure,” Headland told Collider earlier this year.

She followed this up with Nerdist a few months later, adding “We definitely aren’t going to leave you hanging. 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.

“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,” she continued.

Storylines were originally held back in case of Season 2

In Episode 5 of The Acolyte, the big reveal is Manny Jacinto as our new Big Bad – but, according to Headland, the role was originally set up as a Season 2 tease. When she saw Jacinto’s test screenings, it was moved forward.

Speaking to Inverse, Headland explained “He was much more of a tee-up for a second-season arc. But I saw Manny’s screen test early on in pre-production, and I just thought, ‘There will be riots in the streets if I don’t [go further]. Here we go. I guess I’m rewriting an episode.’ Manny was so impressive in every aspect.”

Because the goalposts shifted with the reveal of Mae’s master, it would be remiss to think Headland doesn’t have a backup plan — according to Entertainment Weekly, she has several.

“And then I’d say there are four to five major mysteries and plot points that have to get hit in Season 2,” she adds. “But until we get a proper pickup, I worry that spending a lot of time in that world – especially being in a period where I’ve worked so long on this project that honestly I’m exhausted by it coming out – to kind of jump right into like, ‘All right, season 2…’

“It will probably be more that I know what needs to happen, and I know what the character development needs to be in order to hit the plot points and the character points for a second, third, or fourth season. So I look forward to working on that, but right now, I haven’t.”

Thanks to The Acolyte Episode 8, we have a good idea of what these mysteries could be. Cameos from both Darth Plagueis and Yoda have been teased, with Mae tasked by Vernestra to bring her former student – Qimir – to the Jedi Council.

On top of this, Osha has crossed over to the ‘dark side,’ working with Qimir after causing some lightsaber bleeding and killing Sol.

Plot theories and fan backlash put the brakes on plans

While Forbes believes the cost of The Acolyte Season 2 could have outpriced its healthy viewership, the vocal negative reaction the show has received put plans for future seasons in the bin.

Paul Tassi wrote “Estimates of the cost of The Acolyte put it at $180 million for what are effectively eight, thirty-minute episodes. That’s an absolutely wild amount of money for a Star Wars thing that is nowhere near theaters, but rather the sixth Disney live-action Star Wars series instead.

“And while I think the show has a solid aesthetic, no, it does not look like a $180 million production, and you have to wonder where much of that money went.”

The fan reaction online will be no surprise to anyone, although a campaign to renew The Acolyte for Season 2 emerged ahead of Episode 8.

Fans described previous episodes as “garbage”, review-bombing sites such as Rotten Tomatoes before it came out because of the show’s focus on a range of diverse and/or female Star Wars characters.

While it’s fair to assume The Acolyte isn’t as negatively thought of as the internet might lead us to believe, there’s still an overarching commitment to the High Republic Era that Disney will want to deliver on regardless.

Continue to jump into hyperspace with everything we know about Skeleton Crew and Tales of the Jedi Season 2. You can also read our Star Wars The Acolyte explained guide for more specific details.

Or, for big screen adventures in the galaxy, look ahead to Star Wars movies like New Jedi Order, Dawn of the Jedi, or the Lando movie.