Summary
With news ofThe Acolyte’s cancelation, there are a lot of loose threads about the short-lived show left, but it doesn’t mean the story is over. WhileThe Acolyteenthusiasts will be sad that they won’t get to see Qimir, Osha, and Mae’s story play out onscreen, there’s still hope for these characters to have their story finished. Reactions toThe Acolytewere widely varied, and theStar WarsTV show was even a victim of review bombing before episodes even dropped.
SomeStar Warsviewers dislike certain storylines inThe Acolyteand cite bad writing and choppy dialogue as their biggest complaints. Others who lovedThe Acolytelooked past some issues the show had and immediately connected with characters likeYord (Charlie Barnett)andMaster Sol (Lee Jung-jae). Despite this,The Acolyteepisode 5, which featured a Jedi massacre and some of thebest lightsaber duelsseen in years, easily making it the show’s best episode. It’s disappointing thatThe Acolytedidn’t get the chance to live up to its potential with more seasons, but the story isn’t over.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 2: Cancelation, Franchise Future, & Everything We Know
Will The Acolyte season 2 happen, and if it does then what’s next for this ultimate Star Wars prequel? Here’s everything we know to date!
The Acolyte’s Story Can Still Wrap Up—Just in Book Form
Star Wars Fans Can See These Characters Live On
WhileThe Acolytewon’t be returning for a season 2, there’s no doubt that showrunner and creator Leslye Headland had a larger arc planned for these characters.The Acolyteseason 1 truly felt like an origin story, with season 2 exploring Osha’s place in the Sith and Jedi likeVernestra Rwohnavigating how to cover up Sith involvement.It wouldn’t be too hard to see these ideas and story points adapted into aStar Warsnovel. In fact, it would provide the characters' inner thoughts and may help audiences relate to them a little bit more.
Star Warshas a long history of publishing novels that help expand audiences' knowledge of a galaxy far, far away. All books published before 2012 are part of theStar WarsExpanded Universe (also called Legends)and are no longer considered canon. Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, certain aspects of Legends have slowly been re-canonized.The Acolytecontinued this trend by re-introducingcortosis ore, and having Darth Plagueis appear as a Muun inThe Acolyteseason 1 finale.With so few canon novels set beforeStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, adaptingThe Acolytewould help fill that gap.
Darth Plagueis was established as a Muun in James Luceno’sDarth Plagueisnovel, which is part of Legends. In canon, Plagueis' species was never disclosed.
The Acolyte’s Season 2 Arc Would Work Great As A Book Series
Leslye Headland Must Have Many Ideas to Keep This Story Going
With so many complex characters introduced inThe Acolyte,a book trilogy or series might be the best way to wrap up all of these very complex storylines.
While standaloneStar Warsnovels are not uncommon, some of the best novels are a part of a series. Book trilogies like Timothy Zahn’sThrawnandThrawn: Ascendancyare incredibly popular, as well as E.K. Johnston’sQueen’strilogy, which follows Padmé Amidala and her loyalhandmaiden Sabé. With so many new characters introduced inThe Acolyte,a book trilogy or series might be the best way to wrap up all of these very complex storylines. It would also give the authors time to construct the story in a meaningful and entertaining way.
It’s hard to imagine that when Leslye Headland pitched and wroteThe Acolyte, she didn’t have an ending pictured in her mind. After all, the events ofThe Acolytecouldn’t hinder anything that came after it in theStar Warstimeline, meaning she had to have a plan for how this story ended. Having all these plot points already established means that a book series would have direction. Instead of planning for a two or three-season arc,if Headland and her team could pivot to a trilogy, they still might be able to tell the story they sought to tell.
Lucasfilm announced multipleThe Acolytebook spin-offs at San Diego Comic-Con, including ones that focused on Vernestra Rwoh, Yord Fandar, and Jecki Lon.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode Guide - Cast Members, Biggest Takeaways & Easter Eggs
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Star Wars Has a Precedent of Canceled Storylines Becoming Novels
It’s Been Done Multiple Times
It’s unfortunate, but a part of the entertainment business, that not every idea and story arc can make it to the screen. However, Lucasfilm has been great at adapting scrapped storylines into successfulStar Warsnovels.One example is Christie Golden’s novelDark Disciple, which was adapted from a canceled arc inStar Wars: The Clone Warsseason 6.The book was a hit and allowed for an interesting character study of both Jedi Quinlan Vos and former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress.
This has also happened withSolo: A Star Wars Story.Solowasn’t a commercial success, meaning many loose threads needed to be resolved, especially when it came to Qi’ra’s role in Maul’s Shadow Collective. This led to a comic series that revolved around Qi’ra and tied up many questions about what happened to Han Solo’s first love. WhileThe Acolyteenthusiasts may have preferred the show to continue, seeing these character’s stories continue in book form is just as good.The Acolytemay be canceled, but audiences may see these characters again.
The Acolyte
Cast
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
