Summary
Star Wars: The Acolytemight be dead on Disney+, but it’s followed up a previously announced companion project with another in kind, ensuring that more characters, concepts, and plot points from the short-lived show will live on and get more development.
The Acolytewas a unique prospect from the beginning, having more in common with the High Republic rollout of books and comics than any of the otherStar Warsshows available. While many fans were excited about its premiere, the show quickly became a polarizing experience that had a good portion of the fanbase rooting against its success. That faction would pretty much win the day when it was confirmed thatThe Acolytewouldn’t be renewed for a second season despite extensive plans and easter eggs in the show’s finale. The flurry of online discourse following the cancelation led to a lot of angst among fans of the show, many of whom feared thatDisney could potentially remove the cannedStar Warsseries from streaming entirelyfollowing an issue with the show’s merch.
It was confirmed in late September thatanAcolyteprequel book that was announced was still alive despite show’s cancellation, and now fans of the show have even more to console them following its cancelation. At the recently held 2024 New York Comic Con event, the Star Wars franchise confirmed yet another young adult novel based on characters fromThe Acolyte.Whereas the first project,Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker,was written as a prequel centered on Vernestra Rwoh, the newly confirmedStar Wars: The Acolyte: The Crystal Crownwill focus on Padawan Jecki Lon and Jedi Knight Yord Fandar and release as part of the High Republic-era rollout.
The new book is a cheery sign of the execs givingThe Acolyteand those who enjoy it permission to keep existing within the franchise despite the show getting scrapped. As far as the choice of characters to focus on, there seems to be a need to build upon what fans saw on the show. This sort of character-focused storytelling could have been a more direct means to tackle the idea thatthe Jedi are just not that interesting to someStar Warsfans anymore, rather than the more subversive lane thatThe Acolytekept to over its one-season run. Rather than focusing on characters from the other side of the Force divide, having the books tell Jedi stories with a fresh tone could keep the spirit ofThe Acolytealive sans the controversy.
The Acolytepresents a great way forward for newStar Warsshowsdespite it being canceled prematurely. The introduction of new genres to the franchise could be just what the subset of fans who enjoyedThe Acolyterequire to say well-served within the fandom. While that show is now in the dust, the books are a great compromise until another innovative, subversive live-action project comes along and piques their interest. In the meantime, the mainline franchise seems set to return to the big screen to serve the majority of the fanbase, and that’s a good thing.
