Disney Cancels The Acolyte

The series created by Leslye Headland will not be returning for a second season.

The Acolyte has been cancelled a little over a month after it’s final episode according to Deadline. The Acolyte’s large budget, reportedly $180 million, meant that it had a high viewership threshold at Disney+ which the series was unable to meet it seems. The series had also split views among Star Wars fans with some loving the series and others hating it.

Set at the end of the High Republic era, roughly 100 years before Star Wars Episode I, the series featured a team of Jedi sent to investigate a series of murders. Lee Jung-Jae played Jedi master Sol who encounters his former pupil Osha, played by Amandla Stenberg, who is wrongly accused of the murders. The two set out to uncover the mystery as to who is really behind the crimes.

Leslye Headland, creator of Russian Doll, pitched a multi-seasoned series to Lucasfilm in 2020 and was revealed to be the showrunner in April of the same year. The first episode of The Acolyte was released on Disney+ on June 4th of this year. While the viewing figures were reportedly strong and made it the biggest premiere on Disney+ for 2024, they did not last. By the 3rd week it had dropped out of Nielsen’s Top 10 originals chart.

Michael and Taylor discuss the cancellation on the latest episode of The Cultured Nerd Podcast.

The Acolyte also starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen and Rebecca Henderson is streaming on Disney+.