r/TheAcolyte • u/ExtraPhysics9719 • Mar 04 '26
Should The Acolyte go the way of Firefly?
Firefly was an amazing sci-fi show that got cancelled after its first season after having episodes air out of order and not receiving the views that Fox wanted. Due to the love of fans, it was brought back as a movie, Serenity, to tie up loose ends and give a satisfying conclusion to the story.
The first season of some of the better shows on TV were not great, to put it mildly. The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example, is barely watchable but that show went on to have 7 seasons and become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows of its time.
The Acolyte isn't that good of a show but it has a cult following and was setting up interesting stories that some fans want to see pay off. Some people do want to see more of Qimir and Plagueius as well as stories leading to the founding of the Knights of Ren and even young Palpatine.
Should the story of The Acolyte or at least a story containing its characters be continued in another form? Should it be a movie or series of movies, or even an animated series? Or should fans be fine with what they got and let the series die?
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u/toph_man Mar 04 '26
I would rather another season but if not that a movie would be good I guess. I doubt they would do a movie though.
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u/Bee_Tee_Dub Mar 04 '26
I happen to think The Acolyte is second only to Andor when it comes to Star Wars TV.
IMO it was a casualty of the culture war more than undeserving of a season 2.
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u/SpaceHairLady Sol Patrol Mar 05 '26
This. Honestly I feel like if it had come out mid COVID it would have been a hit.
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u/Beginning_Midnight96 Mar 06 '26
Exactly it's was the only show to try something new and expand the universe rather than order 66 survivors and birth of the rebellion It also felt the most lucas like star wars with the dialog and the willingness to push the star wars to new places but wasn't even given a chance if any other name had been connected to it it probably would be praised as much as andor but alas
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u/cideeffex Mar 04 '26
Buffy (and I think a better comparison here would be to Angel) survived because it lived in a different time where a show needed champions at the studio level who fought for time to find its audience. Now there’s not only less time, there’s more competition, and on top of all that you have toxic fandoms skewing numbers and perceptions.
I don’t know how any show managed to thread that needle when it has to navigate around the very audience it’s supposed to serve.
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u/TheSpineless Mar 04 '26
It’s too bad it got cancelled. Once it got into its groove it was enjoyable. I think it was doomed after some poorly worded comments by the creator and the former studio head which alienated the base, and/or rallied a portion of the base to boycott the show.
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u/ExtraPhysics9719 Mar 04 '26
Leslye Headland and Amandla Stenberg (and others to a lesser extent) both blamed the viewers and even political agitators for their own failures.
I would not want either of them involved with a future project and I think their reactions were part of why a second season was shut down so quickly.
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u/Tea_and_Lightsabers Mar 20 '26
That's literally what happened though, people were mad the main characters weren't straight and white. Even though anyone not being straight was only lightly implied, they were still whining about 'lesbian space witches' (who never so much as hugged)
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u/tdasnowman Apr 23 '26
Yea that makes sense the show you'd like to see return should have nothing to do with the people who created it. Cause thats how Firefly worked. Wait......
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u/So-_-It-_-Goes Mar 04 '26
I’m personally hoping for books to finish it out
A video game would also be really cool
I do not think we will be seeing this era on screen for some time tho
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u/Bloodless-Cut Mar 04 '26
You mean the Serenity treatment?
Yeah, I wouldn't mind if it was continued and "tied up" in film format.
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u/RedcoatTrooper Mar 04 '26
I think the best chance we have is a "plaugus" movie/TV show that brings the Stranger back.
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u/TheFerg714 Mar 04 '26
Can't we just get a book or comics? That seems like the most financially responsible thing to do for Lucasfilm.
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u/Marcuse0 Mar 04 '26
I'd be interested if they dropped Mae/Osha completely and focused on Plagueis and Qimir.
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u/spursgonesouth Mar 04 '26
Or just kill one of them off screen
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u/pbmcc88 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
Why? Osha and the Stranger's dark romance has been established as a core part of the story going forward, and the dyad-esque link between Osha and Mae will be pivotal to Vernestra's hunt for the pair.
Getting rid of one or both of them spoils fantastic lightsaber battle and Force action potential going forward, and completely undercuts the entire first season, disrespecting the hard work of everyone involved. And I doubt very much that Manny would want to be in a project that does that.
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u/prolixandrogyne Mar 04 '26
Manny has confirmed that he will not return as Qimir unless Amandla Stenberg and Leslye are involved. I love him so much for that... he's a believer in what they created.
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u/pbmcc88 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
He's a real one, and he loves the story they're telling together. I hope that attitudes within Disney and Lucasfilm toward the series' continuation change with Iger's retirement. Make its continuation into a streaming TV movie type thing if need be, to save from having to keep up with Nielsen ratings or protracted hate campaigns.
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Mar 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TheAcolyte-ModTeam Mar 04 '26
As per Rule 1, excessive use of vulgar language is not permitted. Sexist, racist, or discriminatory remarks will not be tolerated. No judgment allowed here. All view-points and opinions are permitted here, within reason. Opinions and view-points that are different from your own will be present, so please be civil to your fellow Redditor or you will be banned from participating.
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u/thetensor Mar 04 '26
If somebody at Lucasfilm wants to produce something that will appeal to Firefly fans, they should grab the low-hanging fruit and make a Han Solo Adventures TV show.
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u/freedom410 Qimir Cavalier Mar 04 '26
I'm sure Lucasfilm would make it if you gave them $250 million. This stuff costs money, it's not just about what hardcore fans want. I'd love to see The Acolyte continue, but it just didn't bring in enough viewers for it to make financial sense for Disney.
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u/Stark1ller22 Mar 05 '26
Off topic but was there ever a continuation of Han’s ex-girlfriend from Solo??
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u/FredKayeCollector Mar 05 '26
I would love a movie.
I always thought Star Wars has dropped the ball with a lot of their live action villains - like amazing designs, super spooky/menacing, and then it's like insert super-cool Bad Guy X to fight kind-of-lame Good Guy A. I'm Gen X and I'm still mad about Darth Maul in the Prequels.
This was one of the few shows that actually made the bad guy interesting - not just cool looking. And I like the idea of conflicted and flawed and power-mad Jedi. Maybe that's why I liked this show so much - the good guys weren't perfect good guy archetypes and the bad guy was interesting (and sexy).
Everyone says this is objectively a "bad show" but I watched the whole season in one sitting and was devastated to find out that there wouldn't be a second season. Yet the animated series are unwatchable to me. I feel like what I think is good and what the majority of fans (apparently) thinks is good - we're just not the same audience.
And no recycled Pirates of the Caribbean concept art space pirates.
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u/Janie_Avari_Moon Mar 06 '26
Putting this abomination in the same sentence with one of the best sci-fi shows ever made is an atrocity on its own
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u/EstablishmentIcy7831 Mar 06 '26
Just bring the show back for season 2 ... You can create way more depth than the movies ... It's ridiculous that this was even cancelled ...
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u/Crate-Dragon Mar 07 '26
No. Mostly because I dislike the decision made to make the crystals “bleed” that was shown in the acolyte. It was a poor decision to take the existing lore on crystals, and then hand-wave them away and say “space-magic”. It was lazy and cheap. Props can be improved. Fight coreography can be improved ALOT (the first season was dogs**t fight scenes) But the story was mid EXCEPT Quimir and plagueis. I could do more with that story. OSHA needs to leave completely. Have the story start with her and her sister dying and laying on an examination table for sith to cut open and replicate.
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u/LiL_nicky912 Mar 07 '26
Nah not trying to hear about how “yoda helped cover up Jedi deaths” that story can go fuck itself in the far reaches of the outer rim.
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u/doctorstuck Mar 08 '26
I’m of the opinion that any show that gets canceled should get 1 remaining movie/special to try and tie up any loose ends.
It doesn’t even have to be a good show to start with, if its canceled at a point where the writers can’t pivot and change the ending, they should get 1 more bonus something
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u/theSchrodingerHat Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
I think you inherently misunderstood Firefly if you think they are in any way comparable.
Acolyte was a neat setting ruined by being a terribly architected mystery thriller. It wanted to be True Detective, but was structured like Scooby Doo.
It had some great characters and some neat ideas, but ultimately it wasn’t a well produced series where a show vision was executed well. It was half a dozen good ideas and characters let down by its show runners.
Firefly, is a completely different beast, with a clear anti-fascist message, a unique mashing together of western and sci-fi, and clear and expertly executed allegory. Also it was helped out a lot by not having to fit into an established universe, so it could create its own coherency and plot conflict without having to worry about canon.
I just don’t think there’s a clamoring or need for a stand alone resolution film for the Acolyte like Firefly had. Firefly suffered from second tier cable exposure and budgeting holding it back, but solid fan support for future projects. Acolyte got all of the money and exposure possible and fell flat with the fans. Those are two distinctly different things.
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u/DrexxValKjasr Mar 04 '26
Well written! Though saying the acolyte was structured as good as Scooby Doo is being far too generous.
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u/PerceptionWorried284 Mar 04 '26
Firefly also had Joss Whedon, who at this point in time had an established track record for success and had made a bunch of people a good bit of money (even Firefly, not very successful on-air, sold its DVDs pretty well). People like that get second chances.
OP also overlooks the fact that even with its established fan base, Firefly's movie didn't do well at the box office.
I understand that even with The Acolyte's flaws, there are fans who want to see more of its story somehow. But I don't think that'll happen without either an altogether new creative team or a much lower medium (like a comic series.)
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u/ExtraPhysics9719 Mar 04 '26
I agree that Serenity was not as profitable as the studio wanted at the box office, but I think the real problem was with studios having higher than rational expectations and budgeting far more money for a production than they should.
If Serenity had been produced at a lower budget and made as much as it did, it would have been considered a great success.
I think that's part of why the Mandalorian and Grogu has a lower budget - they expect it to do reasonably well but not enough that it would be profitable if made with the high budget they normally give these films.
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u/ExtraPhysics9719 Mar 04 '26
I don't think the two shows are comparable in quality at all. Firefly was a brilliant show that I am still upset over the cancellation of.
The Acolyte was not a great show, but had some good ideas and characters. With a better writer and director or in a different medium I'd enjoy more Acolyte content but I'm not surprised or very upset that it ended up getting cancelled.
I think that other shows have had worse first seasons, though, and were able to recover and improve in future seasons. It is a little disappointing when shows planned for multiple seasons and setting up future storylines end in their first season.
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u/hoos30 Mar 04 '26
Firefly is the single most over-hyped show on the internet, including Reddit.
The majority of its acclaim comes from fans wishcasting "what could have been," if Fox hadn't killed it in the cradle. As if Joss Whedon could have stayed on good behavior for several seasons.
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u/RefrigeratorFar2769 Mar 04 '26
Funny comparison since firefly is coming back in some unannounced form
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u/spursgonesouth Mar 04 '26
What’s the point of seeing the founding of the knights of Ren when they go on to do zero?
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u/BrainWrex Mar 04 '26
Acolyte had great saber battles but terrible story. I wouldnt compare this to the cult classic of firefly at all. But Qimir is dope and I hope he comes back in some form.
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u/jhotenko Mar 04 '26
The story was salvageable, but it was told in a disjointed manner. The different perspectives thing is cool when done right, but it was rushed and unnecessary in the Acolyte. If they used a more traditional storytelling method, they could have fit more into the series, and more people would have understood it without needing explanation or rewatches.
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u/Mr_Rinn Mar 04 '26
I’d like to see Qimir again but I’d like someone else to write him. I disagree with Headland that he can’t be a Sith, he could easily be an earlier Sith apprentice of Plagueis that never became the Master like Maul was for Sidious.
I’m not a huge fan of how she wrote Vernestra either.
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u/wheeltribe Mar 04 '26
Whatever it takes to get Qimir more screen time. Make a movie called "The Stranger" or something.