Disney cancels The Acolyte after one season

In information that may delight some and disappoint others, Disney has canceled Star Wars collection The Acolyte after only one season, Deadline Hollywood reviews. The eight-episode collection bought off to a reasonably robust begin, with largely constructive critiques and stable rankings, albeit decrease than prior Star Wars collection. But it surely could not keep and construct upon that early momentum, and given the manufacturing prices, it is not particularly shocking that Disney pulled the plug.

The Acolyte arguably wrapped up its main narrative arc fairly neatly within the season finale, but it surely additionally took pains to set the stage for a potential sophomore season. On this streaming age, no collection is ever assured renewal. Nonetheless, it will have been good to see what showrunner Leslye Headland had deliberate; when given the prospect, many reveals hit their stride on these second-season outings.

(Spoilers for the collection under. We’ll provide you with one other heads-up once we get to main spoilers.)

As I’ve written beforehand, The Acolyte is about on the finish of the Excessive Republic Period, a couple of century earlier than the occasions of The Phantom Menace. On this interval, the Jedi aren’t the underdog rebels battling the evil Galactic Empire. They’re on the peak of their energy and characterize the dominant mainstream establishment—not essentially a benevolent one, relying on one’s perspective. That is a big departure from most Star Wars media and maybe one purpose why the present was so divisive amongst followers. (The present had its points, however I dismiss the profoundly unserious lamentations of those that objected to the female-centric storyline and presence of individuals of shade by dubbing it “The Wokelyte” and launching a review-bombing marketing campaign.)

The Acolyte opened on the planet Ueda, the place a mysterious masked girl wielding daggers attacked the Jedi Grasp Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) and killed her. The murderer was rapidly recognized as Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg), a former padawan now working as a meknek, making repairs on spaceships. Osha was arrested by her former classmate, Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), however claimed she was harmless. Her twin sister, Mae, died in a hearth on their dwelling planet of Brendok once they had been each younger. Osha concluded that Mae was nonetheless alive and had killed Indara. Osha’s former Jedi grasp, Sol (Lee Jung-jae), believed her, and subsequent occasions proved Osha proper.

Mae’s targets weren’t random. She was out to kill the 4 Jedi she blamed for the fireplace on Brendok: Indara, Sol, Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman), and a Jedi Wookiee named Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo). The quartet had arrived on Brendok to demand they be allowed to check the twins as potential Jedi.

The twins had been raised by a coven of “Pressure witches” there, led by Mom Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), who believed the Jedi had been misusing the Pressure. Whereas Mae was eager to comply with of their mom’s footsteps, Osha wished to coach with the Jedi. When the fireplace broke out, each Mae and Osha believed the opposite twin had been killed together with the remainder of the coven. How the fireplace actually began, and the id of Mae’s mysterious Grasp who skilled her at the hours of darkness aspect of the Pressure, had been the first mysteries that performed out over the course of the season.

(WARNING: Main spoilers under. Cease studying now if you have not completed watching the collection.)

Lightsabers and wuxia

From the beginning, The Acolyte was a little bit of a departure from a typical Star Wars collection, weaving in components from wuxia movies and detective tales whereas remaining true to the established Star Wars aesthetic and design. That alone made it an intriguing effort, with contemporary characters and new takes on basic Star Wars lore. And the martial arts-inspired struggle choreography was intelligent and enjoyable to observe—particularly within the stunning, action-packed fifth episode (“Night time”).

However there have been some apparent shortcomings as properly, most notably the clunky dialogue—though that is type of a long-standing attribute of the Star Wars franchise. (Alec Guinness notoriously hated his dialogue as Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope.) The pacing lagged at occasions, and there was a surprisingly excessive physique depend among the many central characters.

That alone might need made a second season difficult. I imply, they killed off Moss’ Jedi grasp within the first 10 minutes (though she reappeared in flashbacks), with Torbin and Kelnacca assembly the identical destiny over the following few episodes. By the point the ultimate credit rolled, virtually all of the Jedi lead characters had been lifeless. And senior chief Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) opted guilty the murders on Sol (RIP) slightly than Mae’s grasp, who turned out to be Vernestra’s former apprentice, Qimir (a scene-stealing Manny Jacinto)—now apprentice to Sith lord Darth Plagueis. (This was strongly implied within the finale and subsequently confirmed by Headland.)

In the end, nonetheless, all of it got here right down to the rankings. Per Deadline, The Acolyte garnered 11.1 million views over its first 5 days (and 488 million minutes considered)—not unhealthy, however under Ahsoka‘s 14 million views over the identical interval. However these numbers declined sharply over the following weeks, with the finale incomes the doubtful distinction of posting the bottom minutes considered (335 million) for any Star Wars collection finale. That merely did not meet Disney’s threshold for renewal, so we can’t get to study extra in regards to the Qimir/Darth Plagueis connection.