Lucasfilm has officially announced two more Star Wars: The Acolyte projects – despite the overwhelmingly negative response to the Disney+ series.
There’s a saying on the internet that nobody hatesStar Wars quite likeStar Wars fans, and nothing has proven this more thanThe Acolyte.
The Disney+ series follows Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) as he investigates the murders of several Jedi Masters with the help of his former Padawan, Osha (Amandla Stenberg). Together, they uncover a dark conspiracy that endangers the Jedi Order, orchestrated by Osha’s twin sister, Mae (also played by Amandla Stenberg), and a shadowy Sith Lord (Manny Jacinto).
While some of the show’s plotlines may not have been the most skillfully delivered in the world, The Acolyte was overall well-received by critics. Fans, however, were much more divided. On Rotten Tomatoes, the Tomatometer score sits at a respectable 80%, while the audience score is a meager 17%.
For many, the show’s biggest flaw was its supposed “woke” commentary. Long before it premiered, a select group of fans took issue with its lead, Amandla Stenberg, for being female, Black, and using both she/her and they/them pronouns. With showrunner Leslye Headland being both openly queer and the first woman to lead aStar Wars project, the show earned the nickname “The Wokelyte” from early on.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy (who’s no stranger to hate-fuelled attacks fromStar Wars fans) spoke out against the negative response to the show. “Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s terrifying,” she toldThe New York Times.
“I think Leslye has struggled a little bit with it. I think a lot of the women who step into Star Wars struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal.”
The show certainly wasn’t perfect. Some dialogue was clunky, and the storytelling didn’t expand the world like it could. However, for some fans, the criticism was personal, not practical.
Most commonly, they picked apart several elements that didn’t align with their vision of what Star Warsshould be. When it was revealed that Mae and Osha were born of the Force, for example, fans took offense to the fact that Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christen) – who was conceived the same way, as perStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – was no longer ‘special.’
Statistically, it doesn’t sound likeThe Acolyte was the best-performing show in the world, which isn’t overly surprising considering the commotion around it. Before it debuted, Headland had expressed her hopes that it could run for a second season. While we’re still waiting for the verdict on that one, Lucasfilm has made an announcement suggesting that it has much more faith in the show than some thought.
At its San Diego Comic-Con panel, Lucasfilm revealed that it is developing two prequel novels centered around the characters from The Acolyte.
The first is a novel focused on Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) and Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen), both of whom famously met their ends in the fifth episode of the show. Written by Tessa Gratton, itis due for publication in July 2025 and will apparently follow the two characters through a Padawan ritual gone wrong. Check out the full synopsis below.
While their Jedi Masters clean up a political mess left behind by one of their own, Jedi Padawan Jecki and her least favorite fellow Padawan Yord are drawn into a planet-wide coming-of-age ritual as featured guests. The first ritual goes well, but when the final event is interrupted, Jecki and Yord will have to use all of their abilities and work together to keep each other–and their new friends–safe from danger.
Notably, this seems to retcon the claim inThe Acolyte that Jecki’s first mission was to find Mae.
The second prequel, Star Wars: The Acolyte – Wayseeker, follows Jedi Masters Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) and Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) as they struggle to find their place in the shifting Jedi Order.
Before ‘The Acolyte,’ Vernestra Rwoh must find her place in the Jedi Order. Vernestra Rwoh has spent over a decade exploring the Outer Rim as a Wayseeker, answering to no other authority but the Force itself. When a request from the Jedi Council orders her back to Coruscant, Vernestra initially refuses, feeling that her first priority should be to the beings she’s already serving.
But after Jedi Master Indara arrives to ask for Vernestra’s aid in person, Vernestra finds herself pulled back into Coruscant’s complicated world of Republic politics and underworld crime. As the two delve further into their investigation, the lines between Jedi and Republic business blur, and Vernestra must reconsider what it means to serve for Light and Life.
This will be written by Justina Ireland and will be released on May 6, 2025.
Whether or not these books are received better thanThe Acolyte remains to be seen. However, one thing worth noting is that time tends to soften fans’ opinions ofStar Wars projects. Give it 15 years, and we wouldn’t be surprised if we were in the midst of a Hayden Christensen-style renaissance for the show.
Are you excited forThe Acolyte prequels?
