Star Wars fans torn over potential Acolyte season 2’s lead character

I still can’t quite fathom The Acolyte’s cancellation.

For years, fans held out hope that Star Wars may finally explore the High Republic era in a live-action setting; they yearned for the day they might finally hear the tale of Darth Plagueis the Wise.

The Acolyte offered both of those things, plus an intriguing mystery and an interesting cast of new characters.

Finally, Star Wars was delivering us something new, completely distanced from the mainline series of films.

And yet, it was rapidly revealed that a second season would not be produced.

It’s an odd one because the series fared well with critics and it spawned plenty of fan activity on social media.

Every week, my feed would be filled with Qimir edits or complex theories about where the story might be headed.

Unfortunately, so too was The Acolyte review bombed.

A quick trip over to Rotten Tomatoes will reveal that criticism largely stems around the idea that the series had “a certain agenda in mind” by which I’m pretty sure people mean … a female protagonist.

Some users criticise the “bad” writing or lack of understanding of Star Wars’ canon but when that’s accompanied by one measly star, it feels a tad like a hate tirade rather than a fair judgement.

Unfortunately, it seems The Acolyte’s naysayers won which is a great shame for fans and doesn’t exactly reflect well on Disney who hasn't explained the reason for the series’ cancellation.

Still, steadfast fans remain dedicated to their mission to secure The Acolyte a late renewal.

Tags relating to that goal have regularly trended on social media, with star Rebecca Henderson (Vernestra Rwoh) recently posting the following message to social media: “Thank you for all your love and support #renewtheacolyte #AcolyteSummer”.

I’ll be honest, I’m extremely dubious Lucasfilm will make a u-turn; I’m equally worried about the fate of the stellar Skeleton Crew which hasn’t been renewed or cancelled despite most definitely deserving the former.

Even still, fans are theorising what a second season of The Acolyte might have looked like.

It likely would’ve unpacked Plagueis’ backstory and explored Osha’s fall to the Dark Side.

Of course, I also expect that Yoda cameo would’ve been explored further, as would Vernestra’s relationship with Qimir.

With so many plot threads to continue, you have to wonder who the series’ protagonist would’ve been as The Acolyte began, to me, to feel like an ensemble piece.

“I would love to see it unfold that Qimir and Osha are more of a force cult, unrelated to the Banite line of Sith and the little teaser we got was of Plagueis finding out about them as the Apprentice,” wrote Reddit user xSaRgED.

“Less twins/witches and more Plagueis/Qimir,” Emergency-Falcon-915 added. Personally, I’d like both but there’s no denying that Qimir was the standout star.

As I said, I really don’t think a renewal is likely but I’d love to be wrong.

With Andor having drawn to a close, I hope Star Wars future isn’t one purely centred around the same handful of characters; we need the bold new storytelling of series like Andor, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte.