Star Wars: The Acolyte Showrunner Addresses Multi-Season Plans

Many Star Wars series have been thoroughly planned out from the start, which means they come with intentionally planned season orders, and while Star Wars: The Acolyte is only confirmed for a single season, showrunner Leslye Headland revealed that she pitched the concept as being able to run for multiple seasons. She didn't, however, deliver a storyline in Season 1 that was merely meant to set up future seasons, so fans can rest assured knowing they'll be given a complete storyline and, if the project resonates with viewers, we could get subsequent seasons. Star Wars: The Acolyte is set to premiere on Disney+ on June 4th.

"I would say that when I pitched it, I definitely pitched it as a multi-season show. There are a lot of things at the end of this season that I think are narrative threads that are not tied up, for sure," Headland confirmed with Collider. "However, I am the type of writer that is not interested in an emotional cliffhanger. I want you to feel like you've had a particular type of catharsis, and an emotional experience in watching those eight episodes because I like rewarding the audience with that." 

She added, "I still think that means you can pepper in things that are like, 'I wanna see where that's gonna go,' and, 'Oh, I didn't realize that person was related to that person in this way, and I'd like to see more.' But there isn't something where you feel like you're on the edge of your seat to have that catharsis, and then you have to wait two years. These things take forever to make, so I would hate to make a season that didn't feel complete, even if it was still open for more story."

The new series marks an ambitious opportunity for the galaxy far, far away, as it will be the first live-action exploration of The High Republic, an era set more than a century before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. While this point in time has been explored in novels and comic books, if fans really connect with these characters, it could unlock a number of new storytelling avenues for the franchise.

In regards to how quickly a Season 2 could take shape, Headland noted, "We could make it pretty quickly. We definitely have a timeline. I have a lot of ideas, and again, a lot of it was stuff that I told [Lucasfilm president] Kathleen [Kennedy] early on, in terms of where I would like the season to go, and the conflicts that I see happening, specifically in the second season. But I have been working nonstop on this for a very long time, so I am definitely taking a much-needed break before we get the writers' room going. And I'd like to see how the show performs. I'm very interested in that." 

She continued, "I'm interested in seeing, like you said, the ratings and seeing what are the things that people ... I don't wanna say it's in reaction to fan reaction, but you do get feedback at the end of the season, which is kind of nice, to just be like, 'Okay, those people hated that.' It doesn't mean we don't do it, it just means we're armed with the information that that was an unpopular thing. So we can do it anyway, but knowing that stuff, I think, is really good. I think they would love to start it immediately. They're very happy with the series. But I need a break."

Star Wars: The Acolyte will premiere on Disney+ on June 4th.

Would you like to see the series get multiple seasons? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!