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Credit: LucasfilmThe Acolyte is the latest entry in the Star Wars franchise, and it’s easily the most divisive addition since the much-maligned holiday special. As chapter eight hits Disney+ tonight, many subscribers will heave a sigh of relief as Disney and Lucasfilm will likely lay the series to rest.
What was billed as a murder mystery starring Jedi Knights and fledgling Sith Lords set during the High Republic Era had such good prospects and potential but was quickly marred by sloppy storytelling, unexpectedly gratuitous violence and sexual content, and controversial comments made by the show’s cast and creators. Simply put, Disney and Lucasfilm might never recover from this.
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As the series comes to a close, its future hangs by the threads of the Force it so heinously ripped. With a bloated budget and a quickly decreasing fanbase, it just doesn’t make sense to keep funneling funds toward the most hated entity in the Star Wars universe.
A Great Disturbance in the Force
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and there is perhaps no finer example of that maxim than The Acolyte. Although Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, and Carrie-Anne Moss all gave stellar performances as a mix of Jedi Knights, Sith Lords, and Padawans past and present, the show ultimately strayed too far away from the core values of the galaxy to live up to expectations.
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Not only has the show been reviewed to the depths of the proverbial Sarlacc pit, but Disney and Lucasfilm have spent billions of dollars bringing the world of The Acolyte to life, apparently all for naught. A report from Forbes‘ Paul Tassi shared that the loss of budget and viewership might ultimately kill the series.
Tassi writes,
“Estimates of the cost of The Acolyte put it at $180 million for what are effectively eight, thirty-minute episodes. That’s an absolutely wild amount of money for a Star Wars thing that is nowhere near theaters, but rather the sixth Disney live-action Star Wars series instead. And while I think the show has a solid aesthetic, no, it does not look like a $180 million production, and you have to wonder where much of that money went.”
The contributor also shares how the blown budget and declining fan reception will ultimately cease production. Despite Leslye Headland’s plans to further the lore or Disney’s interest in the High Republic, the matter of cost versus viewership will ultimately be the nail in the coffin.
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Of course, the heart of the matter is much more than money or reception, but more about how the show and Lucasfilm, by extension, have treated its loyal and vocal fanbase. Along with wrongfully casting its fans as misogynistic and diminishing their input, the series is a clear demonstration that the creators and producers have forgotten why people love Star Wars in the first place.
Abandoning The Acolyte
Why do people love stories like Star Wars? It’s not because of a strong desire for more morally gray characters, alternative perspectives, or some form of empowering doctrine like the creators have been accused of pushing. It’s because of an overwhelming desire to see the forces of good triumph over the powers of evil.
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The original film premiered during a trying time in history. The wounds of a post-Vietnam-War were still healing, the Cold War was brewing, and turmoil spread like wildfire.
Enter George Lucas with his fantastical space opera, a tale of the heroic Rebellion standing up to the evil Galactic Empire. Throw in fantasy elements and the religious allegory of the Force, and you get Star Wars.
The Acolyte so blatantly and painfully drops the ball because it eliminates the core tenants of the franchise. Moreover, the show portrays clearly sinister characters doing sinister things, yet it expects the audience to root for them.
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At the start, the show had everything it needed to set up the events of a historic moment in the Star Wars timeline. The Sith appeared for the first time in ages, with mysterious forces at work, dark secrets waiting in the wings, and a heroic Jedi master ready to fight back against the new threat to the peace and justice of the galaxy. It was the perfect setup.
Lucasfilm and Disney promised the fanbase something that showed a different side of the established universe, but they received a spiraling show with a pandering narrative that divided the viewers even further than before. As Disney draws the curtains on the misguided series, fans can at least cling to the hope Skeleton Crew might bring or whatever Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau can cook up for Grogu and the Mandalorian.
Are you expecting Disney to end The Acolyte? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!