Lucasfilm Cancels The Acolyte After Mixed Reception on Disney+

Lucasfilm has decided not to move forward with a second season of "The Acolyte", the Star Wars spinoff featuring Amandla Stenberg. The decision comes just over a month after the first season, an eight-episode run created and helmed by Leslye Headland, finished its stint on Disney+.

While "The Acolyte" received a decent 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it faced mixed reactions from Star Wars fans, which was reflected in its viewership numbers.  Initially, the show garnered strong interest, premiering on June 4 with two episodes that attracted 4.8 million views on the first day, making it Disney+'s biggest series debut of the year. Within five days, global views had risen to 11.1 million. The series even appeared on Nielsen's Top 10 Originals chart, debuting at No. 7 with 488 million minutes viewed, and climbing to No. 6 the following week. However, the series struggled to maintain this momentum, and eventually dropped out of the Top 10 in its third week and only returned to the list at No. 10 after the finale aired, drawing 335 million minutes-reportedly the lowest finale viewership for a Star Wars series.

Meanwhile, Lucasfilm's flagship Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian", continues to thrive, with plans for a crossover feature film, "The Mandalorian & Grogu", and  "Ahsoka" has already been renewed for a second season.

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller set during the final days of the High Republic era and explores shadowy secrets and rising dark-side powers. The plot followed a former Padawan and her Jedi Master as they investigated a series of crimes, only to face more sinister forces than they had anticipated.

The ensemble cast included Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, and Carrie-Anne Moss.