Lee Jung-jae Is ‘Quite Surprised’ Disney Canceled ‘The Acolyte’ After Season 1: ‘I Am Hoping’ for ‘Changes in the Future’ So We Get Season 2
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “The Acolyte,” which is now streaming on Disney+.
Lee Jung-jae is “quite surprised” the Disney+ “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” is ending after its first season despite showrunner Leslye Headland’s intention for the show to continue. The first season finale left several plot threads dangling for a potential Season 2, including the surprise appearance of Yoda.
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“To hear the news, I was quite surprised personally as well,” said Lee, who played Master Sol in “The Acolyte.”
In one of the show’s biggest twists, Sol is Force-choked to death by his former Padawan Osha (Amandla Stenberg). Lee was unlikely to return for “The Acolyte” Season 2 for this reason, although he certainly could’ve come back as a Force ghost or in a flashback, considering the first season of the show jumped around in time. Carrie Ann-Moss’ Jedi character was killed in the first episode, for instance, but she still appeared in several episodes.
“As you know, my character had died already in the first season,” Lee said. “So I wouldn’t have appeared in the second season if there was one anyway. But personally speaking, I really loved Leslye’s writing. I thought that she was a great writer and director who was very talented in the storytelling, as well as creating characters and creating meaningful structures within the story. So I was actually personally really looking forward to watching a Season 2 with her at the helm.”
“Honestly, I am hoping that maybe there could be changes in the future,” Lee added. “Because you never know what’s going to happen. So on a personal level, I really hope we could get to see further stories of Leslye’s second season.”
“The Acolyte” depicted the rise of the Sith roughly 100 years before the events of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” The story followed twins Osha and Mae, both played by Stenberg, who were separated as children and led to believe the other had been killed. Per Variety: “Some critics and fans loved how the show challenged the traditional perception of the Jedi as infallible and wholly virtuous … Other fans, however, felt those creative choices were antithetical to the good-vs-evil nature of “Star Wars” storytelling, and strongly objected to the show’s expansion of the mythology of the Force.”
Lucasfilm’s next “Star Wars” series for Disney+, “Skeleton Crew,” debuts on Dec. 3. Lee, meanwhile, will be back for the second season of Netflix’s “Squid Game,” streaming Dec. 26.
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