Director Teases More Sith Lords and Yoda in Potential ‘The Acolyte’ Season 2

Disney’s latest Star Wars project, The Acolyte, has sparked considerable debate and faced significant review-bombing, making it one of the franchise’s most controversial entries yet. Despite this, the series concluded its first season after eight episodes, with many fans feeling that the final episodes redeemed the series in several ways.

Key factors in this redemption include the appearance of Darth Plagueis, a major lore character revealed to be connected to Qimir, one of the series’ main characters, and a cameo by Master Yoda in the final episode.

In an exclusive interview with ScreenRant, Director Hanelle M. Culpepper discussed her work on the series and revealed intriguing details about a potential second season. She hinted that characters like Darth Plagueis and Master Yoda could receive significantly more screen time in the upcoming season.

As mentioned, Hanelle M. Culpepper, who directed Episodes 6 and 8 (both crucial episodes) of The Acolyte, gave an exclusive interview to ScreenRant. During the interview, she discussed the two major cameos in the final episode of the first season, revealing the following:

SCREEN RANT: You had the opportunity to bring the famed master of Palpatine himself, Darth Plagueis, to live-action in The Acolyte’s finale. The way he looked out from that cave was perfectly creepy. What was it like bringing this important Star Wars character and moment to life?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: It was kind of wild, because you’re so excited about what it can possibly be. But, you know, so much of it is crafted in post, and so it was also just interesting seeing how they took what we shot and then made it into what he is. For us, it was a man in a gray suit, and getting the movements right and getting the framing right so that we can see enough to see who it is and make it provoke questions and make the audience wonder why is he there and what does this all mean.

SCREEN RANT: Darth Plagueis wasn’t your only major cameo in this finale. You also got to bring Yoda back to live-action! What was it like to direct Yoda, however brief his appearance may be? Was there anything more you may have done with him that audiences didn’t get to see? And did you use the same puppet that was used for The Last Jedi?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: I’m not sure which puppet they used for The Last Jedi. I mean, I know what it looked like, but I don’t know what the logistics are, so I can’t answer to that.

I can tell you that I was like a kid when I learned that I had the opportunity to work with Yoda. The day that we shot that, it was quite magical, I’ll say, because you see Yoda—and when you first see Yoda, and he’s in his trunk, you’re still like, “Oh my God, it’s Yoda,” right? But then, a puppeteer literally brings Yoda to life, literally, and so it’s kind of a mind thing when you know you’re looking at a puppet, but you’re like, “No, he is real now!” And I remember Leslye [Headland] and I were just giddy and would talk to Yoda in between takes.

It was very cool. It was a fun day, and it was exciting, and I knew that if I was jumping out of my skin with excitement about the fact that we were doing this, then I was just like… this is just the perfect ending for this episode.

Source: ScreenRant

Ultimately, she was asked about a potential second season and revealed that we would definitely see more background stories. This implies that we could see more of the Sith and the Jedi, particularly Plagueis and Yoda, in the potential second season.

SCREEN RANT: Lastly, it’s no secret that Leslye Headland is hoping for a season 2 to continue telling this story, and a lot of fans want that, too. Has she told you anything about a potential season 2, perhaps a few subtle hints?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: I haven’t gotten any hints. In fact, I wanted to better say what I said earlier, because I think you were asking about wanting to see more about Qimir’s backstory, and I said well hopefully we’ll get a season 2, we’ll learn more—and that wasn’t coming from me knowing anything or implying that that’s gonna be the case. All it is is, like the rest of the fans, I want a season 2 and whatever we’re gonna learn in season 2 and add to the story, expand the story, is going to be, I’m sure, very cool and exciting and make us want a season 3!

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