The Star Wars Universe has continued to expand since 1977, bringing several new stories that kept audiences hooked. However, projects like Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte series have ignited quite a lot of controversy. Initially hailed as a fresh perspective on sci-fi lore, it has now hit rock bottom in the audiences’ minds, which heavily affected its overall audience score.
The show is the latest point of dispute as it has received harsh reviews on the review aggregation websites, but is especially evident on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Acolyte Received a Harsh Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes
Star Wars has long been associated with controversies over the years due to different projects and now The Acolyte has become the hot topic. When the series was announced, it made us believe in exploring the Force’s dark side during the High Republic Era but things are looking bad as the series has met with overwhelming disappointment and criticism.
As per Rotten Tomatoes, the series has earned an overall 14% audience score which is way less when compared to another panned project, Star Wars: Holiday Special. The latter sits at 23% audience score, despite citing as among the worst TV specials ever made.
As brick.mafia Instagram account shared the comparison on their account, fans were quick to express their opinions on what went wrong with Leslye Headland’s created Disney+ series.
One user wrote, “Horrible writing, horrible fight choreography, taking a big flaming dump on established lore, but yeah blame the toxic fans that have dropped billions on this franchise since 1977.“
Another reflected, “Two things lucas did wrong made the holiday special and sold out to disney.” A third user said, “I give the show, so far, a 5/10. Doesn’t make me feel like I should watch the next episode. The idea is there, but the execution is poor…”
A fourth user added that the audience score “is too high,” expressing their disappointment with the show. The comparison to the 1978 show is notoriously bad as it was critically panned for its bizarre music, and incoherent storylines among other reasons left fans in awe. Since the new show has attained an even lower audience score than the old one, it showcases the depth of failure that fans feel with the project.
The Acolyte Creator Addressed the Backlash
Leslye Headland who is known for co-creating Netflix’s Russian Doll, also contributed to the creation of the sci-fi series, set at the end of the High Republic era. Although the show is the first in the franchise to be made by a woman, it garnered immense criticism, particularly from fans, for several reasons.
However, the show was criticized for handling or mishandling its established lore as many pointed out that the show heavily deviated from traditional Star Wars storytelling. Many pointed out that the show’s direction, particularly with new characters and plots was galaxies away from the core elements of the saga.
While almost everything is pretty much heated up online, the creator addressed a controversy specifically countering claims that the show is overtly “Queer with a capital Q.” She told THR,
I was surprised by the question. Amandla and I just burst out laughing because that’s our knee-jerk reaction to being asked that, but to be honest, I don’t know what the term ‘gay’ means in that sense. I don’t believe that I’ve created queer, with a capital Q, content.
She continued,
Honestly, I feel sad that people would think that if something were gay, that would be bad. It makes me feel sad that a bunch of people on the internet would somehow dismantle what I consider to be the most important piece of art that I’ve ever made.
Among the audiences’ criticism, the show is well-received among the critics, earning an 85% critical response on Rotten Tomatoes. Given the major gap in the show’s reception, it can be said that fans are showing their active concern about where the franchise is going forward with the creative aspect.
The Acolyte is available for streaming on Disney+.
