The Star Wars franchise has entertained audiences since the 70s, and its reputation has never been the same since the original trilogy. The franchise has become infamous for being the most divisive in Hollywood with fan wars and immense toxicity prevalent now more than ever. The prequel and modern trilogy were a considerable step down from the original trilogy.
With the introduction of the Star Wars shows, the majority of them have been disappointments except for the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and Andor. The Acolyte is now the latest show to face the wrath of fans for its lackluster narrative and lazy writing. While Kathleen Kennedy blamed the male-dominated fan base for the franchise backlash, fans lambasted Kennedy for her tone-deaf views.
Fans Shut Down Kathleen Kennedy Blaming Male-Dominated Fanbase for Franchise Failure
Star Wars‘ latest offering The Acolyte has been met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from fans. While its first two episodes were promising, fans were very critical of the third and fourth episodes as it went downhill concerning its narrative consistency, and the show became frustratingly convoluted. It currently has a 14% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
While there has been the extreme side of the fanbase where they bring their political agenda to criticize any Star Wars content no matter what, there are indeed legitimate criticisms for The Acolyte and aspects to like about it. Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy recently told The New York Times how women working in Star Wars, including The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland, struggle due to the fanbase being so male-dominated.
Fans were not happy with Kennedy blaming the fanbase for the failure of many of its Star Wars projects, instead of owning up to their mistakes of constantly delivering them underwhelming content. Some pointed out how films such as Rogue One and Tomb Raider, which are led by female protagonists, did not struggle and went on to become huge hits. Here are some of the reactions,
Curious. Tomb Raider and Aliens have female leads and a male dominated audience and they don’t seem to struggle at all. Rogue One had a female lead and everyone loved it.
Could it be that The Acolyte is just trash? pic.twitter.com/8M1DpmF3mc
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 22, 2024
Exactly. And Rogue One is the best Star Wars movie ever. (Just my personal opinion)
— Meleern (@Meleern) June 22, 2024
Female leads aren't the problem.
That's never been the problem.
Bad storytelling is the problem.
Always has been.
Kennedy and Co. have simply prioritized an agenda over good storytelling.
Period.
It's like going to a lecture nowadays.
— Anonymous Troll Demon (@TrollDemonAnon) June 22, 2024
And it’s a ridiculous statement anyway, even leaving political implications aside. Since when do men hate watching pretty women run around on screen? As I recall, Charlie’s Angels and Baywatch did pretty well.
— Steve Salerno … ᴀs Eᴅᴇɴ sɪɴᴋs ᴛᴏ ɢʀɪᴇғ. (@iwrotesham) June 22, 2024
You don't even have to go back that far. How about Amazon's FallOut series? The main character is a woman, despite their fanbase being mostly men. I haven't heard a single bad thing about her portrayal.
— V (@V4vendetta14) June 22, 2024
As many have pointed out, having a female lead or a female director in any franchise has nothing to do with how it is received. Except for the extremely toxic group of the fanbase, people will judge a film or show based on its narrative, and recent Star Wars shows have failed to deliver in that respect.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Teases What’s Next For Rey In Her Upcoming Star Wars Film
After 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars franchise will be returning to theatrical films with its upcoming film centered on Daisy Ridley’s Rey. The director of the film, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, recently talked to Sirius XM about what fans can expect from it.
Obaid-Chinoy stated that the film will be a natural progression of Rey’s story following the events of The Rise of Skywalker. She also teased that the upcoming feature will follow Rey’s adventure in a Jedi Academy and create a world that is led and defined by who Rey is. The director said,
This world that they want young viewers to sort of walk into and have an understanding of the world, at the heart of it, for me, is Rey Skywalker. It’s Daisy Ridley and her story, and taking her on an adventure to a Jedi Academy, and sort of creating a world that is a natural dovetail to the story that we’ve seen her go through in the last three episodes.
Obaid-Chinoy further revealed how he is having conversations with J.J Abrams, George Lucas, and Dave Filoni to perfect the story of the film. She is taking her own sweet time with its story and wants it to do justice to the character. It remains to be seen whether the director can shift the negative discourse around the franchise with this new film.
Fans can watch The Acolyte on Disney+.
