Disney pulls the plug: "The Acolyte" is cancelled after just one season. The former series hype ends with disappointing viewing figures and harsh criticism.
Criticism and slump in ratings: from hype to disappointment
A new hope: "Skeleton Crew" to win back Star Wars fans
I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
It's over for "The Acolyte": Disney is said to have decided to cancel the Star Wars series after just one season. This is reported by the highly reliable industry magazine Deadline, which in turn cites insider sources. This means that the story of the Neo-Sith acolyte Osha is unlikely to be told to its conclusion - at least not in a live-action format.
The news does not come as a complete surprise. "The Acolyte" had one of the most successful series launches ever on Disney+. But in the long term, the series from the "High Republic" era was not able to hold the audience's interest. The season finale was even the least-watched finale of all the "Star Wars" series. With a production budget of 180 million dollars - only "Andor" has ever cost more - a poor result.
Instead, Leslye Headland's "Star Wars" series struggled with harsh criticism from fans even before its release, who initially criticised Disney's political agenda and later, above all, the weak character writing, the ludicrous story and the breaking of the canon - to put it mildly. This can also be seen on the rating platform Rotten Tomatoes: With an audience approval rating of just 18 per cent, "The Acolyte" was downright punished.
It remains to be seen whether Osha's story will be continued elsewhere. If so, the character played by Amandla Stenberg would suffer a similar fate to Qi'ra from "Solo: A Star Wars Story". Qi'ra, played by Emilia Clarke, is still at the very beginning of her career as the future gangster boss of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. However, because "Solo" did not become a film series, Lucasfilm continued her rise to fame primarily in novels and comics. The next reunion with Qi'ra is in the upcoming Ubisoft game "Star Wars: Outlaws".
It remains to be seen whether Disney will soon regain its footing with "Star Wars". Fan goodwill has suffered in recent years. The next chance for the House of Mouse to redeem itself is with "Skeleton Crew". In the style of a 1980s Amblin entertainment film by Steven Spielberg, the film centres on a group of 10-year-old suburban kids who get lost on an alien planet and have to find their way home. They are supported by a (supposed) Jedi, played by Jude Law.
