Speaking with Empire Magazine, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland discussed the 2024 Disney Plus series that ran for a single season before it was cancelled, leaving fans of the show hanging – and a lot of lore teetering on the edge of full canonicity – and asked about the show she made clear she’d return, should time offer ever arise.
“I would still want to do it! Absolutely. As more people discover it, I think people may want to see some form of the story come back.”
“We did have a lot of stuff that we wanted to explore- including tying in lore to the sequels. Getting into who exactly Manny [Jacinto]’s character is, his connection with [Jedi Master] Vernestra, his connection with [Sith Lord] Plagueis, and then his connection with other sequel-established things.”
With The Mandalorian and Grogu currently out in cinemas and the recently completed first season of Maul – Shadow Lord in the books, the ebb and flow of fandoms tastes means that while some fans are satisfied, others are left wanting.
“I’m having a resurgence of The Acolyte in my real life. I speak with people who are really big fans, and were disappointed in the cancellation. was like, I went to a play last night, and somebody ‘I just have to tell you that I loved it.””
“The guy I saw last night loved the additional lore and the fight sequences. Another woman loved the allegory for a religious experience. Somebody else really loved the way the Jedi were portrayed.”
Famously, The Acolyte received the harshest of treatment from certain quarters of the fandom, something lifelong fan Headland was acutelty aware of.
“The initial enthusiasm and curiosity became really bombarded. It killed the momentum.”
“The weather changes with Star Wars. There was a real negative reaction to [the Prequels], especially from a particular generation. And 25 years later, Hayden is at Celebration.”
Thoughts? As always, email us on news@fanthatracks.com and we’ll discuss on Making Tracks.
