Posted in: Disney+, Movies, Star Wars, streaming, TV | Tagged: disney plus, lucasfilm, star wars, The Acolyte

The Acolyte: Disney Cancels "Star Wars" Series After 1 Season (Report)

Reports are that Disney has canceled Leslye Headland's Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae-starring Star Wars: The Acolyte after one season.

It would appear that Leslye Headland's Amandla Stenberg & Lee Jung-jae-starring The Acolyte will not be returning for a second season, with Deadline Hollywood reporting the news exclusively. Though getting off to a strong two-episode debut (11.1 million global views over the course of its first five days), the streaming series would drop out of Nielsen's Top 10 with the third episode – only returning to the chart with the finale.

The Acolyte Honors/Challenges "Star Wars" Ethos: Amandla Stenberg

During an interview with C Magazine, Stenberg shared how Headland pitched to series to her. "All the artwork was conceptualized with my face, and Leslye was like, 'So I've been working on this for about three or four years for you. I don't know what I'm going to do if you don't do it. No pressure," Stenberg revealed. "So I was sent to the moon, of course."

Filmed mostly at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire, England, Stenberg found the experience quite different from past productions. "The crews are so hardcore, they're so hardworking, and it's very kind of hierarchical and competitive, and people work their asses off. It's very different, I think, than what I've experienced on most American sets," she explained. Another big difference between The Acolyte and Stenberg's previous work? "I have a really, really heavy load in this show, an abnormal load," she adds.

While she's understandably under strict "no spoilers" watch, Stenberg was able to discuss the show's thematic goals and the perspective that it's taking. "In the context of the Star Wars universe, it's a time of great peace, theoretically. It's also a time of an institution, and it's a time in which conceptions around the Force are very strict. And I think what we're trying to explore within our show is when an institution has a singular conception of how power can be used…we try to provide a lot of different perspectives and answers to that question," Stenberg explained. "The idea is to kind of honor the ethos of Star Wars and ideas around the Force and also challenge them, hopefully harmoniously."

Disney+, Lucasfilm, and Headland's The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (Nine Perfect Strangers), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Margarita Levieva (Revenge, The Deuce), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), and Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo as the Wookie Jedi Kel Naka. Headland directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102) – with directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) rounding out the lineup of directors. Along with Headland, Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King, and Jason Micallef will executive produce (with Rayne Roberts and Damian Anderson set to produce).

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