After a controversial summer that had Star Wars fans divided, Lucasfilm’s next steps are under immense scrutiny.
Credit: Lucasfilm
Back in June 2024, The Acolyte made its debut on Disney+, offering a bold new vision of a galaxy far, far away. Set in the waning days of the High Republic, the series—helmed by Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland—took an ambitious swing by diving into the shadowy rise of the Sith. However, not all fans were on board.
Despite its ambitious premise, The Acolyte quickly became heavily discussed online, facing backlash on everything from lore decisions to its diverse casting. The show, led by Amandla Stenberg, was criticized by some who dismissed it as “woke” for its emphasis on representation, while others praised it for pushing Star Wars in a fresh direction.
With its nine-episode run now in the books, fans were left with more questions than answers—particularly regarding Darth Plagueis’s live-action reveal and Yoda’s potential involvement in the Brendok disaster. But just as speculation about a second season began to swirl, The Acolyte was officially canceled, with reports pointing to underwhelming viewership numbers.
Some fans argue that Lucasfilm caved to the relentless online criticism, with members of the cast—including Stenberg (Osha/Mae Aniseya), Lee Jung-jae (Jedi Master Sol), and Manny Jacinto (Qimir/The Stranger)—speaking out against the backlash. With Willow (2022) previously being wiped from Disney+, there’s also concern that The Acolyte may meet the same fate, disappearing from the streaming library entirely.
Disney’s Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, broke his silence on the series’ fate late last year, offering insight into Lucasfilm’s next steps.
“So as it relates to Acolyte, we were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season two,” Bergman explained. “So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.”
While many of the cast spoke out at the time, such as those aforementioned as well as Jodie Turner-Smith (Mother Aniseya), another prominent member of the show has also weighed in on the cancellation.
Speaking to ScreenRant, Dafne Keen–who was also seen in last year’s Disney hit, Deadpool & Wolverine–explained how the cancellation of the show made her reflect on being part of Star Wars history.
“It’s definitely, I think, overwhelming for all of us. I think we were all very proud of what we created,” the actress said. “I know I’m very proud [of my character], I was very proud of how my friend Amandla handled the situation. And honestly, I’m a huge nerd myself, so I was just really happy that I got to play a Jedi. Bucket list ticked.”
While many assumed this was because of significantly low viewership (and others still presume that the vitriolic backlash also pushed it towards being scrapped), new information came to light that proved The Acolyte was actually watched quite a bit.
“Fans of The Acolyte, which still mourn its cancellation, were outraged when it was revealed from Luminate data reporting that the show actually ended up being the second most-watched series on Disney Plus for 2024, second only to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the adaptation of the famous books,” Forbes wrote.
“The Acolyte had 2.7 billion minutes viewed, while Percy Jackson had 3 billion, putting The Acolyte ahead of both Marvel shows, Echo and Agatha All Along,” the outlet added. It seems that while The Acolyte was watched it was not watched nearly enough considering its budget. That said, did Lucasfilm and Disney put too much pressure on a show that was challenging the canon, introducing new characters, and taking place in an era not seen before in live-action?
For now, it seems that the unresolved threads in The Acolyte will be resolved in the already announced new novels as well as additional media that will no doubt come further down the line.
During his discussion on The Acolyte, Bergman also touched on Skeleton Crew, the Star Wars series from Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) director Jon Watts and Christopher Ford that followed The Acolyte on the Disney+ platform.
“Skeleton Crew is in process now, so we’ll see,” he said at the time. “We’ve seen some growth on that. We’ll see how that goes. As you said, the reviews have been excellent on Skeleton Crew, so we’ll have to see how that all plays out as it moves forward.”
However, things aren’t looking much brighter for Skeleton Crew. The series, which debuted on Disney+ on December 2 with a limited theatrical release, struggled to find an audience. With a hefty $136 million budget—though still less than The Acolyte’s—the Jude Law-led series risks facing the same uncertain future.
“It may be too early to know anything for certain about viewership, but it seems that the double-episode premiere did not break into Luminate’s top 10 streaming list for that week when The Acolyte’s premiere at least was at #7,” Forbes reported a few weeks ago. “That may not tell the whole story, but it’s certainly not an ideal start.”
Presently, there are just the second seasons of Ahsoka and Andor in the pipeline for the live-action TV front. “…we’re looking at a number of additional series that are in development,” Bergman added. “We’ll see what we decide to do. As I said earlier, they have to be great, and when we’re in the position where we think we have what we want, we’re going to move forward.”
On the big screen, the drought will finally end in 2026 with the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu, Jon Favreau’s first feature-length Star Wars film. The movie could replace The Mandalorian Season 4 and serve as a stepping stone toward Dave Filoni’s Mando-Verse crossover event.
Do you think there is more to the story of The Acolyte‘s cancellation? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments below!
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