Last August, we got word that Lucasfilm/Disney had decided not to movie forward with a second season of The Acolyte despite several major storylines and character arcs being left unresolved by the end of the season 1 finale - including the introduction of Darth Plagueis.
The decision was met with a mixture of indifference and disappointment, but it seemed very clear that a lot of Star Wars fans - and some of the actors involved with the show - were surprised by this development.
Showrunner Leslye Headland was hoping to be able to continue her High Republic era-set tale, and rumor has it that the studio was planning a second season up until fairly recently.
Despite speculation that the negative backlash from many Star Wars fans contributed to the show being canned, reports emerged that The Acolyte was cancelled because it didn't get enough viewers, plain and simple.
However, a more recent Nielsen report appeared to reveal that the show actually did reasonably well, which brought a lot of people back to the original theory that Disney declined to renew the series for other seasons.
Dafne Keen, who played doomed Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon, was asked about the show's axing by Screen Rant while being interviewed during the recent Saturn Awards.
"It's definitely, I think, overwhelming for all of us. I think we were all very proud of what we created. I know I'm very proud [of my character], I was very proud of how my friend Amandla handled the situation. And honestly, I'm a huge nerd myself, so I was just really happy that I got to play a Jedi. Bucket list ticked."
Since her character was killed off, Keen probably wouldn't have been involved with a second season anyway. She is, however, expected to reprise her role as Laura/X-23 in the MCU after her recent appearance in Deadpool and Wolverine.
You can check out some of Keen's Instagram photos from the Saturn Awards below.
How do you feel about The Acolyte's cancellation almost six months later? Drop us a comment down below.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.
Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.
"I really wanted to tell a story about the Sith," Headland told EW in a recent interview. "That was kind of my dream Star Wars idea. But it felt like the time period to do that in would be something pre-Phantom Menace. That seemed to be the most interesting trajectory for the Sith: How did the Sith go from the Rule of Two and being quote-unquote 'extinct' to Palpatine coming into power without the Jedi knowing about it?"
Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored The Acolyte.