The Acolyte's cancelation was big news last summer, especially because the show had stirred up so much online discourse and controversy, but one year after the show's premiere, did Lucasfilm really make the right choice by not reviewing the show? The Acolyte debuted with a two-episode premiere one year ago today, although the show had already drawn plenty of criticism before episodes had even been released. This stemmed from a number of places, ranging from backlash to the show's diverse cast to the idea that the show was changing (or 'ruining') Star Wars.

The Acolyte certainly isn't the only project among The Acolyte season 2 wasn't coming after all (despite many expecting it) actually threw those online conversations into even more chaos, rather than settling things down. With all this history, you have to wonder: was deciding not to renew The Acolyte for season 2 really the best decision Lucasfilm could have made?

The Acolyte's Viewership Didn't Justify Its Massive Budget

This Show Was Simply Too Expensive Based On Its Audience

While some of The Acolyte's budget, a staggering $230 million, actually makes it one of Star Wars' most expensive shows to date, although beaten out significantly by Andor.

In part, this was an audience issue. Yes, Star Wars is among the biggest movie franchises out there, alongside the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Trek, but the franchise has struggled with TV shows over the years. While The Mandalorian, which began years before The Acolyte, continues to be lauded as one of Star Wars' best TV shows, others, like The Book of Boba Fett and even Obi-Wan Kenobi to a certain extent, have struggled quite a bit more. This put The Acolyte, yet another live-action series, on a bit of a backfoot.

The bigger problem in the case of The Acolyte was the newness of the story. Some in the Star Wars fanbase will always watch a new show or movie, no matter the focus. Others, though, will tune in just for the shows starring characters they know and love. Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett struggling therefore suggested just how difficult an uphill battle The Acolyte had. This, added to the fact that it was a brand-new era of the Star Wars timeline being shown on screen, meant lower viewership from the jump compared to other Star Wars shows.

The bigger problem in the case of The Acolyte was the newness of the story.

What's more, streaming has also changed over the years, which made The Acolyte particularly challenging to budget for. In fact, showrunner of Andor Tony Gilroy recently declared that streaming is dead, in part referring to the fact that Disney simply isn't going to continue to shell out this kind of money for streaming shows. Unfortunately, that was a realization that came too late to prevent The Acolyte going significantly over budget, which didn't help its chances for a renewal (and only intensified the criticisms of the show).

It May Not Have Been Perfect, But The Acolyte Had Real Potential

The Finale Left Some Very Interesting Possibilities On The Table​​​​

ittedly, even I had some problems with The Acolyte, though none of them had anything to do with diversity or even the cast/acting in general. There were legitimately some issues with the structure of the show, such as the relatively short episodes combined with their only being 8 total episodes. This isn't an issue unique to The Acolyte—it's a growing frustration when it comes to streaming shows—but because The Acolyte had so much ground to cover in of backstory, it just felt too rushed in myriad ways.

Even with these issues, though, The Acolyte had plenty of potential that we never got to see come to fruition. The Acolyte ending in particular left a number of thrilling possibilities on the table, from the introduction of Master Yoda as part of Venestra Rwoh's cover-up scheme to the reveal that Darth Plagueis himself was watching Osha and Qimir. Sadly, with The Acolyte season 2 seemingly being called off for good, those stories may never get any follow-up. Of course, that gets into another genuine problem with the show.

The Acolyte simply put too much stock in the belief that it was getting renewed for season 2, and almost the entire finale felt like a set-up for another season. The finale feels so certain that more is coming, in fact, that some believe Disney may even have told those behind the show that they would get a second season. Of course, we may never know the truth on that front, so it remains speculative. Even so, it's really a shame that we will never see where those stories go, which a second season undoubtedly would have provided.

It's really a shame that we will never see where those stories go, which a second season undoubtedly would have provided.

The Acolyte's Controversy Left The Star Wars Fanbase Divided

Division Within The Fanbase Was Seemingly At An All-Time High

Sadly, the merits of the show aside, the hostility surrounding the show almost certainly influenced this decision by Lucasfilm. It's worth noting that Lucasfilm never indicated directly that the negative responses impacted the fate of season 2. The truth is, The Acolyte season 2 wasn't ever officially confirmed in the first place, so Disney and Lucasfilm could let themselves off the hook fairly easily given it wasn't necessarily a true 'cancelation' in that sense (although it still felt like one, especially given the finale).

Whether Lucasfilm ever confirms it or not, it's difficult to imagine a scenario wherein the backlash had no bearing whatsoever on the decisions Lucasfilm made about season 2. Particularly considering the budget was so much higher than it was originally meant to be, it seems likely that when executives saw all the tug-of-war happening within the fanbase, they decided to pull the plug on another season. This has also left the fanbase incredibly divided, even now.

It's difficult to imagine a scenario wherein the backlash had no bearing whatsoever on the decisions Lucasfilm made about season 2.

The Acolyte's Cancelation Only Worsened The Division

The Decision Not To Renew The Show Proved Equally Unpopular

Even a year after The Acolyte was first released, division within the fanbase remains. In fact, it still feels nearly impossible to have a constructive conversation about the show in online spaces because any genuine discourse about it, positive or negative, is drowned out by the loudest, most vitriolic voices. This has done damage far beyond just the reception of The Acolyte, though.

These issues with The Acolyte really built upon years of tensions growing within the fanbase. Although movies like Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace received plenty of criticism, which the experiences of actors like Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd clearly convey, the massive divide among fans largely kicked off with the sequel trilogy. Like The Acolyte, to date, posts about Star Wars will contain comments claiming the sequels, Disney, Rey Skywalker, etc. all 'ruined' Star Wars.

The cancelation of The Acolyte actually only made this division worse, even if Disney and Lucasfilm intended the opposite. It didn't do anything to quiet the negative backlash—if anything, it just validated it and made some feel more confident in discussing their hatred of the show—and it felt like a betrayal to those who liked the show. It remains unclear whether these issues could ever be truly (or, at least, mostly) healed within the fanbase.

The Star Wars Fandom Is Healing, But The Scars Remain

Skeleton Crew And Andor Were Both Positive Steps Forward, But That Doesn't Resolve Everything

Over the last year, the Star Wars fandom has taken steps in the right direction. Several months after The Acolyte ended, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was released. Although tonally different from many Star Wars shows and movies, many found the show charming and well-executed. Most recently, Andor season 2 was released, and it performed significantly better than The Acolyte and many other Star Wars shows, with many now considering it Star Wars' best show thus far.

Still, the damage done with The Acolyte remains, and it's nevertheless true that deciding not to renew the show ultimately resolved nothing. There were surely budgetary concerns, which were arguably reasonable, but the cliffhangers left by the finale really deserved the opportunity to be wrapped up. It's difficult to say definitively whether this was the right decision by Lucasfilm, as there were many factors to be weighed, but it remains disappointing that The Acolyte concluded the way it did.