The Acolyte was the most controversial Star Wars project in years, and it was doomed from the start. But not because of any “woke” cultural issues: it simply cost way, way too much.
Lucasfilm is currently in something of a soft reboot of the Star Wars franchise. After a half-decade without theatrically released films set in a galaxy far, far away (the last being the indifferently received The Rise of Skywalker in 2019), the studio is currently developing both The Mandalorian & Grogu and an unnamed sequel starring Daisy Ridley for 2026 and 2o27, respectively.
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At the same time, the studio is pivoting from focusing Disney+ Star Wars series exclusively on the “Mandoverse,” especially as Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni insists on forcing his Clone Wars characters into the series. New shows like Young Jedi Adventures and the upcoming Skeleton Crew are courting a younger audience, while Andor and The Acolyte have attempted to position themselves as more mature, morally ambiguous stories set in the universe.
While Andor may be critically acclaimed and has a second season in the works, The Acolyte has been canceled after a single batch of episodes. The Leslye Headland-created show starred Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, and Dafne Keen and took place a century before The Phantom Menace (1999), during the High Republic years of the Jedi Order.
The show immediately generated a firestorm of accusations of “wokeness” for daring to have a cast of mainly POC and feature elements like “lesbian space witches” and Darth Plagueis. It was consistently review-bombed within moments of new episodes premiering and, in short, had a target on its back from its premiere.
The Acolyte was apparently canceled after a single season (though Lucasfilm has yet to make an official announcement), but this appears to have little to do with the vitriolic backlash from the conservative side of the fanbase. Instead, the already expensive show cost even more to make than previously reported.
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Forbes reports that the series went over budget at “$230.1 million (£172.7 million) when it was only part of the way through post-production,” despite Lucasfilm previously stating that the show was consistent with financial expectations. United Kingdom financial disclosures confirm this. This is an estimated $50 million over what was previously reported, making a huge financial investment an even bigger debacle.
Despite all the cultural hubbub about The Acolyte, it seems its failure was simple. As always, it was about the money.
Do you think The Acolyte deserved a Season 2?