Nearly six months after its final episode aired on Disney+, many fans are still mourning the cancellation of “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (read /Film’s review). While the High Republic series certainly had its flaws, it was something distinctly different from the other fare that Lucasfilm has put up on the streaming platform — a mystical, Jedi-centric story from an era never seen before in live-action. It also featured some of the best lightsaber choreography the franchise has had in years, but that wasn’t enough to prevent Disney from giving “The Acolyte” the chop after just one season.
In an interview with Vulture, Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman discussed the official reasoning behind Disney cancelling “The Acolyte,” and unsurprisingly, it came down to money. “As it relates to ‘Acolyte,’ we were happy with our performance,” Bergman said, referring to the show’s strong critical reviews and high ratings early on. “But it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season 2. So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.”
‘Cost structure’ isn’t quite the same as just saying that the series was too expensive, but it’s not hard to discern what Bergman is likely referring to. According to a report from Forbes earlier this year, “The Acolyte” wound up being over budget at $230 million — just $20 million less than the reported production budget for “Andor” season 1, which has four more episodes and double the runtime due to the much briefer installments of “The Acolyte.”
The Acolyte may have been doomed from the start
Going off of Bergman’s explanation, it seems that “The Acolyte” was canceled mainly because its high cost didn’t match with the actual scope of the show. The first and now only season is eight episodes — not unusual at all for a genre streaming series. However, the longest episode of the bunch is only 43 minutes long once you cut the credits, and the shortest is only 28 minutes. A common complaint while the show was airing was that its episodes were just too short, yet even with that less substantial runtime, certain production elements — namely, set and costume design — also received criticism for looking cheap compared to those from other “Star Wars” shows.
TV productions — especially ones for major franchises with tons of special effects and different locations — are huge undertakings. There’s never just one explanation for why things didn’t line up the way the creators may have hoped. If Disney was happy with viewership for “The Acolyte” but canceled it due to its “cost structure,” then the main issue may have been in the conception stage.
The show was already targeting a more young adult, CW-style tone, which was novel for live-action “Star Wars.” That kind of series doesn’t necessarily need the biggest budget to thrive. “The Acolyte” also starred all new characters, and the High Republic era is a complete unknown to most casual “Star Wars” fans. With a more reasonable budget, maybe its viewership numbers would have made more sense for a season 2.
The Acolyte could still return in another form
If the main reason for “The Acolyte” being canceled really was its cost structure, there’s still hope for fans that the story could be continued in a different form somewhere down the line. Manny Jacinto’s mysterious dark side character, the Stranger, was the clear breakout favorite from the show, and given how much praise Jacinto earned for his performance and stunt work, it would be great to see him reprise the role down the line. The Stranger’s arc with Amandla Stenberg’s Osha ends on a big cliffhanger and a tease of Darth Plagueis, leaving tons of fun canon material on the table. The High Republic still has a lot of potential in live-action “Star Wars,” though there are no official plans yet to return to that part of the timeline on Disney+.
It’s more likely, though, that if we do see these characters again, it will be in comics or novels — the realms where the High Republic was built, and where exorbitant production budgets aren’t an issue. In his interview with Vulture, Alan Bergman stated that Disney’s current focus with “Star Wars” on streaming is “Andor” season 2 and “Ahsoka” season 2, as well as the currently ongoing “Skeleton Crew.”
While Bergman’s rationale for “The Acolyte” getting canceled makes sense, it still hurts that a show that received such vicious hate from “anti-woke” internet grifters got the axe so fast. Given how “The Acolyte” actors like Stenberg were left out to dry by the company while facing major backlash online, they may not even want to come back and reprise their characters if given the chance.
