The Acolyte split opinions when it premiered on Disney+ in 2024. However, the series was also a target of apparent review-bombing in the days leading up to its release, while female and non-white cast members faced online abuse and trolling.
The show took some big swings with Star Wars lore, and that's always a risk for a franchise this beloved. The news of The Acolyte's cancellation didn't come as a huge surprise, but Season 2 not happening means several plot threads are left unresolved. As a result, fans have since been left with a long list of unanswered questions (the biggest ones all relate to a surprise appearance from Darth Plagueis).
An "Art of" book for The Acolyte went on sale this week, and while it stops short of revealing what a second batch of episodes would have looked like, it contains insights into scrapped ideas that may have factored into future episodes.
The Acolyte's original title was The Lost Sister, and despite the backlash and cancellation, series creator Leslye Headland still views the show as a success.
"When we set out to make The Acolyte, I hoped to create a new expression of Star Wars, inventing something to expand on the storytelling I have loved since I was a child," she shared (via SFFGazette.com). "And since it premiered in 2024, the fans of the series have affirmed this: We succeeded."
Elsewhere, the book confirms that Manny Jacinto's Qimir, a.k.a. The Stranger, is "a secret Sith master," seemingly putting an end to the speculation (as we previously reported, the plan was to eventually reveal him as the founder of the Knights of Ren).
Addressing Darth Plagueis's long-awaited live-action debut, it's said that Headland was inspired by the villain's appearance in Expanded Universe content and the Muuns depicted in previous Star Wars adaptations.
"I had always wanted the end of the season to introduce Plagueis," she explained. "Having him come in in the middle felt like it was going to be too loaded. So we decided to establish the era, the main characters, and the storyline, and then put Plagueis in as the larger threat."
"Before we even designed anything, I knew I wanted to do what they did with Gollum in The Fellowship of the Ring, where you get a sense of this character, the size of the eyes and his colouring, but I didn’t want to do something in full-on daylight," Headland continued. "When you see his hand move, with your point of view being the main character's, it feels like you know about the threat before the main characters do."
The book also details a slightly different ending for the series, set to take place right before Yoda's cameo. "There was a moment where I think you understood Vernestra’s choice to betray Sol," Headland notes. "As she was leaving [the Galactic Senate Building], she walked out and looked up as Senator Rayencourt said, 'Welcome to the world of politics.'"
"But as we were cutting things together, it did seem a little odd to end Vernestra’s story, but then come back to her talking to Yoda."
The Acolyte Season 2 isn't happening, and with Lucasfilm moving on from The High Republic Era in both live-action and publishing, the fate of this show's characters will likely remain a mystery to us. At the very least, it would be nice for a comic book to tie up some loose threads.
The Acolyte is now streaming on Disney+.