As Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte edges closer to its Season 1 finale, rumors persist that Lucasfilm has axed lead actor Amandla Stenberg. But was Amandla Stenberg really fired from The Acolyte?
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Did Lucasfilm Fire The Acolyte’s Amandla Stenberg?
No, Lucasfilm hasn’t fired Amandla Stenberg from The Acolyte – or anything else, for that matter. True, the Hate U Give star isn’t currently attached to any additional Star Wars projects, however, that’s not the same as being shown the door. Plenty of actors exit the franchise without being fired – and we don’t even know for sure that Stenberg has exited! Neither Lucasfilm nor Disney+ have given any indication that Stenberg’s stint in a galaxy far, far away is over. But even if it is, Stenberg almost certainly wasn’t fired.
So, why are so many Star Wars fans convinced she was? It’s hard to pin down the exact origin of the Stenberg firing rumors, but there are two probable sources. As noted by The Mary Sue, YouTuber Mike Zeroh claimed Lucasfilm had let Stenberg go in a June 25 video. Zeroh’s video subsequently went viral on X (formerly Twitter), with some X users citing Stenberg’s Acolyte-inspired Instagram diss track as the reason for her supposed dismissal. None of the above has been verified by studio representatives, however.
Per Coming Soon, there’s also a chance fans have confused a recent breach of contract lawsuit filed by one-time Acolyte producer Karyn McCarthy. McCarthy was indeed axed from the Disney+ series – but that has nothing to do with Stenberg!
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Has Lucasfilm Canceled The Acolyte?
No, Lucasfilm hasn’t canceled The Acolyte – although the studio hasn’t renewed the Star Wars show yet, either. Lucasfilm and Disney+ will likely wait until The Acolyte Season 1 airs its eighth and final episode before giving Season 2 the thumbs up or down. That said, showrunner Leslye Headland has said on more than one occasion that her original pitch for The Acolyte covered multiple seasons.
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“[W]hen I pitched [The Acolyte], I definitely pitched it as a multi-season show,” Headland told Collider in March 2024. “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.” The showrunner doubled down on these comments in an Entertainment Weekly interview three months later. According to Headland, “four or five major mysteries” are already lined up for The Acolyte Season 2, should Lucasfilm green light it.
The Acolyte Season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Tuesdays.
