‘The Acolyte’ Has Been Cancelled After Just One Season

In the lead-up to the release of The Acolyte last June, the Star Wars franchise seemed set to expand in exciting ways.

Set roughly 100 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the series was billed as a mystery-thriller that would introduce audiences to the beloved era of the High Republic.

(L-R): Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) and Tasi Lowa (Thara Schöön) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, season one, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Now, roughly one month since the Season 1 finale of The Acolyte, the series has been canceled.

‘The Acolyte’ Failed to Deliver Ratings

According to a new report from Deadline, Lucasfilm has decided to pull the plug on the series, which eventually proved to be divisive amongst Star Wars fans.

Photo: Lucasfilm

For a Star Wars series devoid of familiar characters, The Acolyte got off to a strong start. The series brought in 4.8 million viewers on its first day of streaming, giving Disney+ its biggest premiere of the year.

In its first five days of streaming, The Acolyte delivered 11.1 million views and cracked the Nielsen Top 10 originals chart.

Photo: Lucasfilm

As the series progressed, however, it was unable to hold its audience. According to Deadline, the show fell out of the Top 10 by its third episode and failed to chart again until its finale. Speaking of The Acolyte Season 1 finale, the series is believed to have the lowest-rated finale for a Star Wars series, with 335 million minutes streamed.

The Show Proved to Be Divisive Among Fans

Also working against The Acolyte was how the show was received by Star Wars fans. Before the series aired, conservatives attacked it as “woke,” a charge that only got louder as the show went on.

(Center to right): Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon (Dafne Keen) and Master Lakshay (Paul Bullion) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Additionally, fans took umbrage with some of the series’s creative decisions, which they argued broke canon and undermined the stories that came before it. Fans even protested that Osha and Mae’s mysterious birth diluted the story of Anakin Skywalker.

In the End, It Came Down to Numbers

In the end, however, the cancellation of The Acolyte likely came down to money. Disney reportedly spent $180 million to create Season 1 of the series. With a budget like that, The Acolyte needed to be a hit, and it simply wasn’t.

Photo: Lucasfilm

Prior to today’s announcement, The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland had been open about wanting to continue the series. She even revealed that she had ideas for Season 2. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

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