Disney Spent $49 Million on ‘The Acolyte’ In Pre-Production Alone
As a Star Wars fan, I cannot wait for The Acolyte to land on Disney+ next year.
The new series promises to take the franchise in a myriad of directions that Star Wars has never gone before. Set in the era of the High Republic, the show will take the traditional Star Wars format and turn it on its head. The protagonist of the show will not be an outnumbered rebel or a wise Jedi, but a young Sith apprentice.
Additionally, as it is set during the High Republic, The Acolyte will be a Star Wars series without “war.” I, for one, can’t wait!
Disney Is Spending ALOT On ‘The Acolyte’
Interestingly, in recent financial reports, Disney revealed that it spent $49.2 million on pre-production of The Acolyte. That staggering number is $5.5 million more than it spent on 2016’s feature film Rogue One.
Even 2017’s The Last Jedi only spent 17% more than The Acolyte in pre-production. In The Last Jedi, Disney assumed they had a box-office hit.
While last year’s hit Star Wars series Andor spent 38% more than The Acolyte in pre-production, the show was created at the height of the pandemic and thus had to invest heavily in COVID-19 protocols.
A Gamble For Disney
At a time when The Walt Disney Company continues to cut costs, it will be interesting to see how The Acolyte fairs. Earlier this year, Bob Iger stated that the company needed to “reduce costs on everything that we make because, while we’re extremely proud of what’s on the screen, it’s gotten to a point where it’s extraordinarily expensive.”
Iger has also propped up The Acolyte as the kind of game-changing content that Disney+ can deliver.
“Just last night, I got a clip of a Star Wars series that will air on Disney+ in 2024 called ‘The Acolyte,’ that looks brilliant. Television series is working for [Lucasfilm],” Iger said.
The Acolyte will stream exclusively on Disney+ in 2024.
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