Disney+ Cancels ‘The Acolyte’: ‘Star Wars’ Series Ends After One Season

The Acolyte story will not continue, as Lucasfilm has decided not to film a second season of the Star Wars spinoff starring Amandla Stenberg, a source told Deadline.

The news comes more than a month after the eight-episode first season of the series, from creator, director, executive producer and showrunner Leslye Headland, ended on Disney+.

The news isn’t a total surprise. While Acolyte was well-received by critics, earning a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was divided among Star Wars fans, which was reflected in the overall viewership numbers.

Buoyed by interest in the venerable space series, Acolyte got off to a strong start when it debuted with two episodes on June 4, garnering 4.8 million views on its first day on the streamer, making it the biggest series premiere on Disney+ this year. After five days of streaming, that number increased to 11.1 million worldwide. Looking at Disney’s data, the series debuted at number 7 on Nielsen’s Top 10 Originals chart in its first week (488 million minutes watched), rising to number 6 the following week.

However, Acolyte couldn’t maintain its momentum, dropping out of the top 10 in its third week, remaining there until it returned to number 10 after the release of its finale (335 million minutes, considered the lowest time for a Star Wars series finale).

Like other global streamers Netflix and Prime Video, Disney+ also has a high threshold of viewers renewing high-quality, big-budget series with production costs well over $100 million per season.

In an interview, Headland revealed that he had pitched ideas for a second season and expressed his hopes for a renewal.

Lucasfilm’s first and most successful Disney+ series to date, The Mandalorian, will continue and move into feature films with the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu. The company’s predecessor series, The Acolyte, has been renewed for a second season.

The Acolyte was a mystery thriller that took viewers to a galaxy filled with dark secrets and rising dark forces in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan teams up with a Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they face are darker than they expected.

In addition to Stenberg, the cast also included Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, and Carrie-Anne Moss.