The Acolyte Is Dead. But Its Impact on Star Wars Canon Can’t Be Erased.
The Disney+ series may be canceled, but that doesn’t mean it’s going away.
Star Wars has done the unthinkable: it canceled a live-action show. While other Disney+ series like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka have been left to live in limbo, Lucasfilm reportedly dropped the axe on The Acolyte, putting an end to any hopes for a Season 2 that could resolve the show’s many loose threads and unanswered questions.
But while The Acolyte is no more, the show’s legacy will live in some surprising ways. Not only did Leslye Headland’s show change Star Wars canon for the better but the characters she introduced aren’t going away anytime soon. Here’s how The Acolyte will continue to influence this galaxy far, far away.
Acolyte Expanded Universe
The Acolyte’s characters will appear again, but not in live-action. At San Diego Comic-Con, Random House Worlds announced two novels about Jedi from The Acolyte. One, written by author Tessa Gratton, follows Jecki and Yord, the two fan-favorite Jedi duo who were brutally murdered in The Acolyte Episode 5. There’s no word about the title or plot yet, but fans can expect it in July 2025.
The Acolyte’s characters and setting will live on in novels and comics.
The other, from well-known High Republic author Justina Ireland, is Wayseeker, a novel following Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh. Ireland wrote the first two novels where Vernestra appeared, but in those, the character was still a teen prodigy Jedi Knight. Still, many of Vernestra’s traits from the series were reflected in these novels, including her slow aging, her headstrong nature, and even the hyperspace sickness her padawan alludes to.
Wayseeker is set 20 years before the events of The Acolyte. The title refers to the High Republic-era title for a Jedi who operates independently of the Jedi Council. That might explain why Vernestra never told the Jedi about the events she was dealing with in The Acolyte. Wayseeker will be available for purchase on May 6, 2025.
Finally, Kelnacca (the Wookiee Jedi who Mae was hunting down) will get his own one-shot comic from writer Cavan Scott in February 2025.
A larger view of the Force
Even Kelnacca will get his moment in the spotlight.
But beyond those characters, the effects of The Acolyte will ripple out forever. Newly canonized concepts like Cortosis and Force-powered memory wipes, along with the live-action debut of a Kyber crystal bleeding and Darth Plagueis the Wise, all irrevocably change Star Wars for the better. From James Mangold’s prehistoric Dawn of the Jedi movie to future installments of Ahsoka and the Rey Skywalker movie, the way the Force works and the history of the Jedi has been forever altered.
And because The Acolyte is set in the past, these reveals form the basis of everything else in the Star Wars universe. When the Witches of Brendok are shown as a Force-using group outside of the Jedi and Sith dichotomy, it opens the door for all sorts of sects and factions with their own practices and philosophies. Star Wars canon is now free to explore countless different interpretations of how the Force works beyond the strict Dark and Light binary. Those witches may have interpreted the Force as a thread, but there are so many different ways to view it.
The Skywalker Saga is over, and The Acolyte marked the beginning of a bold new era for Star Wars. Even if the show won’t continue, the ideas it gave us aren’t going anywhere.
