Fearing that the general moviegoer might forget about Star Wars, the studio execs wanted George Lucas to bridge the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back with another project. This resulted in the creation of the infamous 2-hour-long Star Wars Holiday Special that George Lucas has been ignoring since its inception back in 1978, which also saw the original cast returning.
But despite airing just once and never being released on home video, the bootleg versions created by people have immortalized its existence. Although it held the record for the lowest audience score for a Star Wars project on the Tomatometer, it has finally been broken.
The Acolyte Registers Even a Lower Score than George Lucas’ Biggest Nightmare
To say that The Acolyte hasn’t sat well with Star Wars fans would be an understatement, as opposed to the Holiday Special‘s 21% audience score, the Disney Plus show has been sitting at 15%. However, the critic’s score tells a very different story, as it currently holds an average of 72% score among the site’s top critics. But unlike the Holiday Special, which is next to unwatchable at some points, the unbridled hate against the show seems like a culmination of fans’ frustrations over Disney’s treatment of the IP over the years.
Some accused The Acolyte of breaking canon and undermining the story of Anakin Skywalker, who was believed to be uniquely conceived, while others were left unimpressed by its dialogues. Many have also reserved their judgment for the show until all the episodes are out, while review-bombing might’ve also added to its low score. But despite its low audience score, the show has done great numbers for its streaming platform, as it became Disney Plus’ biggest premiere of the year so far.
George Lucas Would Destroy Every Copy of the Holiday Special If He Could
The backlash against The Acolyte is a sum of many factors, ranging from people who are having issues with its quality to those who aren’t too keen on its themes. However, in the case of Star Wars Holiday Special, the answer is quite uncomplicated, as it’s objectively bad to the point that George Lucas once reportedly said:
If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it.
There’s a reason he took his name off the 2-hour long film, which was written by Variety Show Comedy Writers, who had no experience in the realm of sci-fi.
Moreover, following Lucas’ commitment to The Empire Strikes Back, the director was only able to spend 12 hours with the writers. Thus, he had no way of controlling its quality. But despite being objectively the worst Star Wars entry, the Holiday Special, which aired once at Christmas of 1978, has sort of become a running joke among fans of the franchise.
The Acolyte is available to stream on Disney Plus.
