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Credit: Inside the MagicDisney made headlines this week when it finally pulled the plug on the much-maligned Star Wars: The Acolyte after the series caused tremendous backlash among fans. However, could it still be saved?
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that can certainly be said of this controversial Star Wars series. Although it was made with the best concepts and story beats, it ultimately didn’t deliver on what all the build-up promised.
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While producers blame the toxic fanbase for review bombing the series on social media, the smoking gun points to the controversial actions of Lucasfilm director Kathleen Kennedy and Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland. Even so, they have still managed to sway a large portion of the Star Wars fanbase to their cause.
Set during the High Republic Era, 100 years before the Skywalker saga, The Acolyte follows Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) as he and his former Padawan (Amandla Stenberg) uncover the secrets of a dark-sided coven and a mysterious Sith Lord (Manny Jacinto). As exciting as that concept was, it only lasted the first two or three episodes.
Although The Acolyte had some marvelous ideas and provided fans with a different vision of the galaxy far, far away, it was ultimately bogged down by a ham-fisted narrative that sought to promote an obvious agenda while dismantling and disrespecting both the source material and its fans. Yet, there still might be a chance at redemption.
Petition Launched to “Renew ‘The Acolyte'”
Out of all the fanbases in popular culture, Star Wars fans are perhaps the most divided. The controversial Disney+ series only further drove a wedge between fans of all demographics, but thousands have united to pull it from the brink of the Outer Rim.
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As of now, a petition surfaced on change.org aimed directly at the The Walt Disney Company. The petition prompts the studio to renew the acolyte for a second season after previously expressing no interest in returning to the series. Launched by a user known as “Blue Smith,” the creator shares the following plea for support on the official page.
“The Acolyte opened the doors for so many ‘Star Wars’ fans, new and old, to feel seen. To feel welcomed and accepted by an IP and fandom that hadn’t previously been so for anyone who didn’t check off certain boxes. Not only that, but ‘The Acolyte’ became a beacon for representation that many fans have felt was lacking in the Star Wars universe for decades. “
“With both creators and actors that truly understood the world of’ Star Wars,’ ‘The Acolyte’ quickly became a fan favorite because of the clear passion and love shown in the work, and the drive to give us something new and fresh to fall in love with. New characters with new stories that still existed within the same galaxies we cherished. “
“Regardless of the orchestrated review bombing by a small faction of loud trolls, and all of the other obstacles this show had to face straight out the gate, it trended repeatedly throughout and after the show aired. It has a very dedicated fanbase, willing to fight for its continuation. It’s a story that deserves to be told.”
Although their heart is certainly in the right place, and the petition currently has 30,716 out of the 35,000 signatures at the time of writing, it’s, truthfully, not going to matter. At the end of the day, Disney has the final say over what will happen to their intellectual property, and The Acolyte proved to be absolute poison.
A Great Disturbance in the Force
The statement made on the petition is truly an emotional display, but it’s also what we in the business like to call “wrong.” Although the writer pleads the case for inclusion, representation, and passion for the franchise, these claims are contradictory to what we have seen from the show’s production team.
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Although the series did include a multicultural cast with varying ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, much of the talk around representation focuses primarily on the queer-coded aspect and representation of the LGBTQ+ community, primarily thanks to Headland’s involvement.
The showrunner outwardly boasted about creating the “gayest Star Wars ever,” and yet she did so by casting the show’s queer characters as some of the most frightening Dark Side Force-users in the canon.
Star Wars has introduced multiple queer-coded characters before, but the decision to make them connected to one of the darkest figures in the lore might have done more harm than good.
That’s not to say members of the LGBTQ+ can’t be great villains or don’t deserve a place in the franchise, but it feels counterintuitive to portray them as a coven of witches who practice blatantly evil arts and go to war with a group of Jedi depicted as religious zealots.
Having queer-coded characters in a popular piece of media isn’t a new thing, but the blatantly anti-religious overtones and unsettling depictions of their power might come off as a slap in the face. However, that might also be the least of the show’s problems.
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The description on the petition also mentions a great deal of passion and dedication for the show, but that is also the complete opposite of what went into making it. One of the biggest sins committed in the production was Headland’s choice of having writers and producers with minimal experience with the source material.
In an interview with Indie Wire, Headland boasted with pride that her creative team featured members who hadn’t even seen any Star Wars media. Yet they were chosen to spearhead a full-length series?
Headland stated,
“There were people like myself that were like later-in-life [Dave] Filoni acolytes. I literally had one writer that was like, ‘I have never seen any of them. I’ve never seen any “Star Wars” media.’ And she’s texting me before we started the room, she’s like, ‘Luke and Leia are brother and sister, what the…?’”
Creative decisions like this were truly responsible for The Acolyte’s demise. It wasn’t gay bashing or review bombing; it was a complete and utter disregard for the audience and the source material.
Even if the petition meets its 35,000 signature requirement, a revival of the series is likely not going to happen. Disney will ultimately do whatever makes the studio the most money, and 35,000 out of millions of Disney+ subscribers is just a drop in the bucket.
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Disney heard the outcry of the majority of the fanbase and responded swiftly by canceling the show. The studio will not invest in something that will cost even more viewers, and no petition will change that.
In this writer’s opinion, the show’s cancellation was a mercy killing. Disney and Lucasfilm are cutting their losses and pulling focus to things that will satisfy the fans. Gotta give the people what they want.
Do you want Disney to renew The Acolyte? Tell Inside the Magic in the comments below!