The Force was not with “The Acolyte.”
The “Star Wars” series — deemed “woke” by many online fans — was recently canceled after only one season, which came as a surprise to some of the cast members.
Lee Jung-Jae, who played Master Sol in the Disney+ show, reacted to the cancellation in an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Friday.
Created by Leslye Headland, “The Acolyte” is set in the Republic Era and follows an investigation into a spree of murders that pits a Jedi Master (Jung-Jae) and his former Padawan (Amandla Stenberg) against forces of evil long thought to be extinct within the galaxy.
Jung-Jae noted that while his character was killed in the Season 1 finale, he was hoping the show would return for Season 2.
“I wouldn’t have appeared in the second season if there was one anyway,” the South Korean actor told EW. “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,” he added.
The “Squid Game” star also said, “Honestly, I’m hoping that maybe there could be changes in the future. 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.”
Manny Jacinto, who played Qimir, reacted to the cancellation news on Instagram by posting the final shot of him and Stenberg, 25, holding hands.
Jacinto, 37, used a simple red heart emoji in his caption.
It was hinted at that “The Acolyte” might not return for Season 2 when Headland, 44, told EW last month that she hadn’t heard anything about the show’s renewal.
The 8-episode series has faced intense online backlash for its progressive themes, with many fans calling out the alleged overt LGBTQ propaganda that was part of the show.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an 18% rating from the audience.
Headland, the first openly queer person to create a major “Star Wars” project, addressed “The Acolyte” hate while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in June.
“I don’t believe that I’ve created queer, with a capital Q, content,” she said.
Headland went on, “I’m proud of being a gay woman who’s accomplished this feat, and certainly, if my content is called queer, I don’t want to disown whatever queerness is in the show. I would be proud to create something that inspired queer people.”
“Honestly, I feel sad that people would think that if something were gay, that that would be bad,” she also said. “It makes me feel sad that a bunch of people on the internet would somehow dismantle what I consider to be the most important piece of art that I’ve ever made.”