The Acolyte, despite some bold claims about its openings during its initial episodes, has been canceled by Disney. After a lot of outcry from fans about the show’s canon-breaking tendencies, Disney seems to have finally heard what fans have to say about the show, pulling the plug on an ailing plotline that would have served no purpose but to enrage the larger fandom, which Disney desperately seems to be wanting back.
While Leslye Headland’s show was criticized for the character work that they brought in, it seems the writer has a history with studios rejecting the way she writes characters, which boils down to the fact that they just don’t seem like something her target audience is going to pay to watch.
A producer was sure no one was going to watch Leslye Headland’s Bachelorette
Leslye Headland wrote Bachelorette, a film that allegedly had very realistic dialogue, according to on producer. However, she revealed in an interview with Vulture what the entire note from the producer was for her script. They said:
This is well written and definitely how women speak and might be how women behave, but they’re not going to pay to watch it.
Of course, the film did end up being made, with lukewarm reviews from critics. However, this moderate and passable success failed to resonate with fans of The Acolyte, which led to the show being canceled, despite the great initial run it had on the streaming service.
Star Wars seems to be finally listening to fans
After what seems like a great winter of experimenting, Star Wars’ cancelation of The Acolyte seems like a step towards course correction by the company. After trying to go in a new direction since about 2015, there seems to be a focus on trying to bring back the main fandom back into the fold. With Dave Filoni helming as Mandalorian and Grogu film, it finally feels like Star Wars could make good on its promise to put the Skywalker saga to rest.
Star Wars has a very expansive universe that could merit moving forward and creating new content that keeps the ethos of the franchise front and center. There are enough concepts from the EU that can become a part of the franchise’s future. Star Wars as a property needs to figure out a way forward to cater to its core fan base, which it has arguably ignored since it conceived and executed the Sequel trilogy.
The Acolyte can be streamed on Disney+
