Streaming culture has become the Wild West and unfortunately, the most deserving often loses. Most recent on the chopping block is fan favorite Star Wars property, The Acolyte.
Though the series inspired a heavy amount of discourse, all Star Wars series need to be graded on a curve. The fandom surrounding the sci-fi franchise is without a doubt one of the most vitriolic and toxic places to live in. Let’s not forget that Moses Ingram of Obi-Wan fame and John Boyega were the subjects of hateful racism. Even though The Acolyte got some of the same treatment, the series seemed to be doing well. It had one of the highest numbers for a Star Wars premiere, and introduced new characters in a somewhat unfamiliar world.
True to her word, showrunner Leslye Headland had been trying to accomplish something different. Star Wars often falls into the trap of rehashing Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) heroic journey, when it could be telling more interesting tales. Headland went to task by introducing the inverse of the hero’s story. Instead, she shined a light on the hypocrisy of the Jedi Order, and how it can turn some of the best of us to the Dark Side. Despite a captivating story, and showing the first live-action glance of the infamous Dark Plagueis the Wise, fans will get no satisfaction. Many took to X to express their disappointment.
Plagueis was only a shadowy figure in one brief moment of the series, but it was implied he’d show back up if the series got a season 2. The Stranger (Manny Jacinto) had to learn his craft from somewhere, and adding to the lore of the Sith was an intriguing prospect. This was a point that many fans couldn’t let go of. Mourning what could have been continues to unfold on social media.
The subtext of many of these posts clearly implies that the fan hate was the reason that The Acolyte isn’t getting its time in the sun. Even those who weren’t avid fans of some of the show’s choices couldn’t believe that the series would get cancelled after introducing such a highly anticipated character. Viewers have been waiting to see Darth Plagueis since Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) meme-able speech to Anakin (Hayden Christensen) in The Revenge of the Sith. And now it appears that fans will never really see the tale of Darth Plagueis the Wise for themselves. This cancellation is just another example of how anything original is cast aside while studios are only interested in recycling the same thing over and over. We can only hope that the end of The Acolyte is the wake-up call that the industry needs to break out of this content plateau.