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Despite a brilliant start and rave reviews, “The Acolyte” is surprisingly ending after just one season. What are the reasons for the unexpected cancellation?
The “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” has been canceled after just one season, as was recently announced. This news hits the fan community hard, especially since the series started with high expectations and was received positively by critics. But what led to this abrupt end? The reactions of fans and critics are mixed, and the reasons for the cancellation are varied.
Controversial series “The Acolyte” ends prematurely
Despite a strong start and good reviews, the series “The Acolyte” ends surprisingly after just one season. The reasons are varied. © Christian Black/Capital Pictures/Imago (montage)
“The Acolyte” launched on June 4, 2024 with a double episode on Disney+ and achieved an impressive 4.8 million views – the best start of a Disney+ series this year, according to Filmstarts.deThe series, which was developed by Leslye Headland, was intended to shed light on the dark machinations in the “Star Wars” universe and was set before the events of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”. The main characters were the young Osha, played by Amandla Stenberg, and the Jedi Master Sol, played by Lee Jung-jae.
The plot revolved around a series of murders of Jedis, which Osha and Sol had to solve together. In addition to Stenberg and Jung-jae, Charlie Barnett and Carrie-Anne Moss also played important roles. The series promised to explore new and exciting aspects of the “Star Wars” universe, writes Focus.de.
Reactions and criticism: praised and controversial
The critics were mostly impressed by “The Acolyte”. Rotten Tomatoes The series received a rating of 78% from the trade press, making it one of the better-rated “Star Wars” productions. However, the reaction from fans was less positive. The audience rating was only 18%, which is the lowest rating for a “Star Wars” series on the platform.
Sea Focus.de Some fans criticized the series as being too “woke” and complained that it strayed too far from the established canon. “The Acolyte” was also controversial due to its diverse cast. Amandla Stenberg, who identifies as non-binary, reported receiving racist comments because of her role. Despite the positive reviews from the trade press, the series failed to convince the broad fan base.
- “The worst series of all time”
- “Star Wars has the worst fans”
- “Oh God that was bad”
“The Acolyte”: Streaming figures and economic aspects
A decisive factor in the cancellation of “The Acolyte” was the streaming numbers. According to Nielsen, the last episode of the series recorded only 335 million minutes streamed within a week – the weakest finale of a “Star Wars” series on Disney+. In comparison, “Andor” achieved 9.9 million views per episode and “The Mandalorian” an impressive 24.8 million views.
With a budget of $180 million, “The Acolyte” was the second most expensive “Star Wars” series season, only surpassed by “Andor,” according to Filmstarts.deBut unlike “Andor,” whose viewership increased towards the end, “The Acolyte” did not follow this trend. The consistently low streaming numbers and the high budget ultimately led to the decision to end the series after just one season.
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“The Acolyte”: What comes next?
Although the series has been cancelled, there is hope that the story of The Acolyte will continue in another form. There is speculation that the storyline could be continued in books or comics to fill in the gaps and satisfy fans. However, there have been no official announcements on this yet. However, Star Wars fans can look forward to other upcoming projects that were announced at D23. These include new series and films that will further expand the Star Wars universe.
