Following the news that Star Wars: The Acolyte will not be renewed for a new season, David Ferguson analyses the series and the heated debate that formed around it.

The news recently broke that Star Wars: The Acolyte will not be getting a second season. Coincidentally, I had just binged the entire season and was planning on recommending the series. Something that is still worth doing in light of the many arguments being made for and against the series, with the word “woke” being thrown around by some.

The Acolyte is set during the High Republic Era, a time 100 years before all the existing movies. In it, a respected Jedi Master called Sol (Lee Jung-jae) investigates a series of murders of Jedis. This brings him into contact with a former Padawan learner, Osha (Amandla Stenberg), and it is discovered that dark forces are involved.

The showrunner is Leslye Headland, a queer creator known for co-creating Russian Doll and a big fan of Star Wars. One of the criticisms was that Headland, openly queer and the first woman to create a Star Wars series, was pushing an “LGBTQ+ agenda”. The only openly queer thing about the series is that Osha has two mothers and lives amongst a group of women. While not much, this took the queer representation in the franchise a step further from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lesbian kiss in one of the movies.

Another “issue” for certain fans was the prominence of women and people of colour. This includes the casting of Amandla Stenberg as the lead. Stenberg, a queer person of colour who uses “she/her” and “they/them” pronouns, has been outspoken about her political beliefs in her interviews and on social media. She is an intersectional feminist, has called out cultural appropriation and signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to Joe Biden, President of the United States, calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Acolyte gave cohesive story telling, a fresh new villain, WAS CANON ACCURATE and gave us a door way to the era of Plagueis that could’ve led to the rise of Palpatine on screen

Expansion of the Star Wars universe is needed but dumbass fan can’t grasp shit#RenewTheAcolyte pic.twitter.com/9qOlqoTYTj

— Louie🥁 (@Lou7023) August 20, 2024

Other cast members include Lee Jung-jae, a South Korean actor known for his role in Squid Game; Charlie Barnett, a queer POC who starred in Russian Doll; Dafne Keen, known for her role as Laura in the Wolverine movie Logan; Jodie Turner-Smith, a person of colour who was excellent in the Netflix series, Nightflyer; Carrie-Anne Moss, of Matrix fame; and Abigail Thorn, the first out trans actor to star in Star Wars.

The series premiered on June 4 and received 4.8 million views on its first day on Disney+, a record for 2024 for the platform. The show reportedly received 11.1 million views over the first five days, beating the likes of Doctor Who and X-men ’97. Despite negative reviews and “review-bombing” by angry fans and bigots, it still scored 78% amongst critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

‘The Acolyte’ has been canceled after 1 season at Disney+. #StarWars #TheAcolyte pic.twitter.com/MsOm9qQzJz

— SoundsOfSeries (@SoundsOfSeries) August 19, 2024

In 1978, planetary scientist Carl Sagan said of the original Star Wars (1977) movie, “It’s extremely unlikely that there would be creatures as similar to us as the dominant ones in ‘Star Wars.’ And there’s a whole bunch of other things; they’re all white.” I think in 2024, it is sad that Sagan’s thinking is not the norm.

On the other hand, if you are critical of the series because you disliked the story or the writing, you are more than welcome to that opinion. I found The Acolyte to be an interesting new angle on Star Wars, as it asked new, interesting questions about the Jedi. Setting it in a time that was not mired in continuity or having to overly rely on fan service was a clever move. It makes it more accessible to the casual fan.

I enjoyed the diversity of characters, especially as the they were played by talented actors. Still worth checking out even if you don’t get to see the rest of the story.