The Acolyteis a show with a lot of problems, but it’s also a rare example of a creator in charge of aStar Warsproject trying something new. It earned some controversial reception, though a lot of the hate that people dumped all over it came in bad faith. It’s a messy show with a lot of promise and several unimpressive moments. It failed to deliver on some of its details, but some shows need more than a single season to grow. Of course, Disney proves again that one season’s worth of dodgy viewership numbers and pitiful internet rage is enough to kill anything.
Disney has proven itself not to be a perfectsteward of theStar Warsbrand. The latest trilogy demonstrates their willingness to cave to petty complaints from unpleasable jerks on the internet. Shows likeThe Book of Boba FettandObi-Wan Kenobiprove that their default desire is to pump out dull garbage that sells itself entirely on nostalgia.The Acolytefelt like a counter to both of those issues. By canceling it immediately, Disney has proven that it hasn’t learned a thing.
The AcolyteWon’t Get Its Second Season
ThoughThe Acolyteclearly sets up its story for a follow-up, Disney canceled the series just over a month after it came out. The show had a sizable budget, costing Disney around $180 million. That’s a bit hard to quantify because almost none of the other Disney+Star Warsshows put their budgets out there. The show was unique in theStar Warsfranchise for many reasons. It tells a bizarre story, withelements ofRashomonandKill Bill. It has a bit ofwuxiaand a lot of esoteric, unreliable narrator stuff. The show earned mixed reviews from critics and audiences. While it was definitely far from perfect, tons of people considered it the most interesting new frontier for the franchise in years. Those fans, and anyone invested in seeing the characters develop over future seasons, have nothing to look forward to. The show is dead and all the conversations about it are now rendered pointless. Congratulations to themany alt-right YouTube goonswho can now celebrate their successful propaganda campaign against any series that dares employ a non-white non-male.
Even People Who HatedThe AcolyteShould Be Disappointed
Fans ofThe Acolyteare taking to social media in droves toswear off theStar Warsfranchise. Streaming services canceling shows after a single season is something of a hot topic right now. The modern era sees companies dispense with their programming left and right, frequently earning the ire of whoever liked those shows. It’s hard to create a show, especially with theStar Warsbrand attached, and not draw in a considerable fan base. Unfortunately, a fan base needs to be in the hundreds of millions to make a dent in Disney’s bottom line and that’s their only interest. Setting aside the pathetic, anhedonic outrage peddlers who seek to paint anything diverse as the end of western civilization, plenty of people havelegitimate concerns aboutThe Acolyte. Even those who don’t care for the show should be a bit upset to see it die so soon.
Star Warsis becoming increasingly empty
For all its faults,The Acolyteis something new. It brings a new voice to the franchise, working with a much-needed new body of influence. The show introduces and centers on a cast of new characters. Beyond that, the new fixtures don’t feel extremely similar to existing names from the 1970s.The Mandalorianis about two new characters, but Din Djarin is a replacement for Boba Fett, and most people only know Grogu by another character’s name. Novelty comes at a premium in modernStar Wars.Andorwas the onlyStar Warsmasterpiece on Disney+, and though it stars the male lead fromRogue One, it still innovates. The death ofThe Acolytedemonstrates Disney’s excitement about returning to safer territory. They now know that a massive contingent of the fanbase is happy with reheated schlock and angry whenever a creator tries something new. That practically guarantees another few years of dragging back old actors and redoing old stories.
New creators can’t rely on the franchise
Leslye Headland wouldn’t be the first person anyone would look to while making aStar Warsproject. Now that other potential directors and showrunners have seen how the franchise treats anyone who dares to try something new, the list will continue to grow smaller. This is similar to Marvel’s issue with filmmakers.Last year’sThe Marvelswas a massive flop, a disaster that Marvel excitedly blamed on its director, Nia DaCosta. They put the blame on her, while the SAG-AFTRA strikes prevented stars from promoting the project, and several previous Marvel films guaranteed a total loss of goodwill. DaCosta famously described the project as “a Kevin Feige production” and “his movie.” Marvel continues to struggle with its filmmakers. Theirattempt to makeBladekeeps hitting snags as one creator after another leaves the film, citing creative differences. Disney is not kind to its creative professionals. How many talented people would waste their time onStar Warswhen they knew it wouldn’t amount to anything?
Disney doesn’t let anything develop
There’s a popular tweet going around right nowproclaiming thatThe Clone Warswould never receive the seasons it got if it were released today. The modern streaming system discourages any show that doesn’t immediately becomeStranger Things. If it doesn’t guarantee a multi-billion-dollar merchandise empire, it’s dead after eight episodes.The Clone Warsisn’t the bestStar Warsproject of all time, but it developed into something compelling. The animated side of the franchise tends to be more experimental and consistent than anything live-action. The movie that launched the series raised a ton of fan outcry, earned terrible reviews from critics, and made comparatively little foraStar Warsmovie. Modern Disney would never have allowed a show based on that film to proceed.Star Warsmisses out on so much by killing off shows before they find their voice. Plenty of beloved shows needed time to develop, but the current studio system can’t allow anything to grow.
The AcolyteDeserved Better
For all its faults,The Acolytewas a worthwhile project.UnlikeThe Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka,orObi-Wan Kenobi,The Acolytehad something new worth exploring. It was the kind of show that fans claim to cry out for, but many have taken on the same risk-averse attitude as the studio. Since so manyStar Warsprojects are terrible, a lot of fans don’t hold out hope that things will be good. This guarantees that they won’t turn up for anything they aren’t already interested in. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Disney believes that the only thing fans want is nostalgia-bait, so that’s all they put out. Fans watch a bunch of the projects turn into garbage, demand a return to form, and gradually accept the standard of quality sliding downward.With projects likeThe Acolytedying before they get a chance to live, the future ofStar Warslooks like a much worse version of its past.
