Amandla Stenberg Wasn’t Shocked by ‘The Acolyte’ Cancellation

Amandla Stenberg is speaking out after Disney canceled Star Wars series The Acolyte after only one season.

“I’m gonna be transparent and say it’s not a huge shock for me. For those who aren’t aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was announced,” Stenberg (who uses she/they pronouns) said In a 10-part story posted to Instagram Aug. 28.

“It became inarguable for me at a certain point that in order to continue to be myself, I would have to honor my value system by being vocal, even within the context of working for Disney and working within the large, massive IP that is Star Wars,” Stenberg said.

Amandla Stenberg on ‘The Acolyte’.

Disney+

Stenberg led the series in a twin role as Osha and Mae, powerful warriors in training on opposite sides of the Force. Though the series was praised by many for featuring the most diverse cast in the entire Star Wars universe, Stenberg experienced firsthand poisonous backlash against the series from some online trolls.

“We started experiencing a rampage of, I would say hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudiced hatred, and hateful language towards us,” Stenberg said. “This really affected me when I first got the job, because even though I anticipated it happening, it’s not something you can fully understand what it feels like until it happens to you.”

“For me it became a situation where there was no option but for me to honor my sense of ethics and belief system,” Stenberg said of speaking out about bigoted criticism.

The Acolyte was daring both in its casting and story choices. Creator Leslye Headland set the series in the final days of the High Republic and accrued a staggering Jedi body count over its slim eight-episode season. But when asked by Entertainment Weekly in June if plans for season 2 were already being drawn out, Headland responded that she had heard “nothing” from Disney about a second season renewal. The series was then canceled August.

Stenberg’s costar Lee Jung-jae reacted with sadness to news of the cancellation, saying that “even though my character had died already in the first season, I was actually personally really looking forward to watching a season 2 with [Headland] at the helm.”

Amandla Stenberg and Carrie-Anne Moss on ‘The Acolyte’.

Lucasfilm

Despite the experience with online trolls, Stenberg still took time to “let those people out there who supported us vocally, despite and in the face of all the vitriol that we received, and targeted attacks we received by the alt right, that you are deeply loved and appreciated, and it made this job all the more worthwhile for me.”

The Bodies Bodies Bodies and The Hate U Give actor also expressed that “it has been an incredible honor and dream for me to be in this universe.” Though they’re “very sad about the show being canceled,” they “still feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it, and that people loved it, and that people were so responsive.”

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The Acolyte also stars Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, and Carrie-Anne Moss, and features a final episode appearance from Yoda. “I had grown men crying on set,” Headland recalled.

Stenberg closed by extending a “thank you to Lucasfilm for being a f—ing awesome team…so wonderful to work with.”

Credit: ew.com