‘The Acolyte’s Run Is Short but It’s Already Proving to Be Mighty

The Acolyte is the latest addition to the galaxy far, far away, bringing with it a compelling mystery of good, evil, and everything in between—all with a fun, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde twin twist. As the series continues to progress, here’s what you can expect from its Disney+ run.

It’s safe to say that no one knew what to expect when Lucasfilm first announced a new Star Wars show from showrunner Leslye Headland. The Acolyte takes place during the relatively unexplored High Republic era, marking the first time this time period—roughly 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace—has been depicted in live-action. And even though the first two episodes have already been review-bombed to the high heavens by a small (and unfortunately for us, very vocal) corner of the fandom, so far, genuine reactions have been generally positive.

Starring Amandla Stenberg as Force-sensitive twins Mae and Osha, the two-part premiere follows Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), his Padawan, Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen), and Jedi Knight Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) on a dangerous mission to capture and (wrongly) arrest Osha after she’s framed for the murder of Jedi Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss). But the investigation gets a whole lot more complicated after our heroes discover a hidden plot involving Mae’s sister, who was presumed dead over 16 years ago—and things are only revving up. Even though the High Republic is remembered as being a time of great prosperity, peace, as said by definitely-not-a-Sith-Lord Qimir (Manny Jacinto), “is a lie.”

Mysterious Dark Siders, the Jedi at their prime, an adorable little droid (I love you, Pip), aliens galore…this baby’s got it all. And we’re only getting started, as luckily for us, there’s more of The Acolyte left to come.

How many episodes of The Acolyte will there be?

Now that episode 1, titled “Lost/Found,” and episode 2, “Revenge/Justice,” have arrived on Disney+, we only have about six weeks before the debut season wraps up, as The Acolyte consists of just eight chapters. New episodes roll out on the streaming platform every Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m., meaning the finale will drop on July 16.

Sadly, eight episodes is pretty standard for live-action Star Wars shows these days, though 2021’s The Book of Boba Fett and 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi received just seven and six episode runs, respectively. On the other hand, animated Star Wars shows like Star Wars: The Bad Batch (RIP) and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (also RIP) had the luxury of 10+ episode seasons, but given how much The Acolyte cost to make (a staggering $180 million, according to The New York Times), it’s not exactly surprising that Disney allowed the show just eight half-hour installments.

Still, it remains possible that Disney will give the go-ahead on The Acolyte season 2, as there’s no denying the High Republic era is rich for storytelling. Although the studio has plenty of upcoming Star Wars projects in the pipeline (Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu, Ahsoka season 2, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey movie, to name a few), Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy seems all-in on The Acolyte, though only time will tell if the show can deliver longterm.

For now, fans can look forward to catching more of The Acolyte when episode 3 premieres on Disney+ on June 11, 2024.