It appears unnecessary complaints from that small but loud section of toxic Star Wars fandom may have influenced Lucasfilm to cut short the life of The Acolyte too soon. The series from Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) pushed the boundaries of the light and the dark side with its High Republic-era story starring Amandla Stenberg (soon to be seen in Children of Blood and Bone), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), and Jodie Turner- Smith (Tron: Ares). It became a hot topic among Star Wars fans last year over its ambitious take on the lore, and data has now revealed that it was Disney+’s second most watched series of the year.
Deadline shared the stats, citing research from Luminate which broke down television’s highs and lows of 2024. And while it noted that it was a rough year for franchises—”Marvel, Star Wars, and Rings of Power all underperformed last year”—it attributed specific fumbles to shows like Marvel’s Echo and Agatha All Along. However, IP franchises still did the best on the platform: Percy Jackson and the Olympians got the top spot with “with over three billion minutes viewed,” and The Acolyte came in second place with 2.7 billion. That suggests Acolyte had major viewership, which has made its cancelation make even less sense.
It’s interesting that the WandaVision sequel series didn’t get the same heat as Acolyte. And while Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) may not be getting another season, at least it’s been teased that she and Wiccan (Joe Locke) may be going into other Marvel stories. That’s something Star Wars fans hope for Stenberg and Jacinto’s characters from Acolyte; that season finale was an all-timer and we sorely miss Oshamir. While a good portion of the Star Wars fandom loved the show and are still mad about its cancelation, the fact that it ended so suddenly speaks to the ineffectiveness of Lucasfilm to stand up against the relentless online bullying targeting its actors. If anything it once again felt as if the company bent to the dark side of the fans for their dollars, and then appealed to them with the nostalgia-riddled Skeleton Crew.
Not letting Star Wars be challenging is such a shame. While we look forward to Andor season two, it’s concerning that the franchise will seemingly lean more heavily into the Grogu-inification of its fare, ultimately betting on safer choices when Star Wars needs to be a series that inspires hope—now more than ever.
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