Disney's Latest Star Wars Show Is An Unmitigated Disaster
When the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm, expectations for their stewardship of the Star Wars franchise were high. Especially considering the very mixed critical reception to the prequel trilogy, starting with The Phantom Menace and concluding with Revenge of the Sith.
Yet under Disney, the Star Wars projects may somehow have gotten even worse. The newest trilogy was a disjointed, disappointing mess, culminating with the brutal Rise of Skywalker. For the world's largest entertainment conglomerate, it was an inexcusable failure. The power of the Star Wars brand name is undeniable, yet with each release, interest and appreciation for George Lucas' remarkable world has diminished.
It's not just the movies either; Disney, hoping to encourage sign-ups to its Disney+ streaming platform, decided to release some Star Wars shows in a straight to digital format. To call the results mixed would be charitable.
Though there have been several clunkers, the Andor series was generally well received, as was the first season or two of The Mandalorian. But Disney realized that neither of those shows had enough political messaging or came from "diverse" creators. Enter The Acolyte.
After The Acolyte showrunner agreed with the assessment of the show as "the gayest Star Wars" ever, laid the groundwork for low expectations, somehow the reception has been even worse than expected. And based on the recently released third episode,
READ: 'Star Wars' Series Actor And Creator Brag New Show Is Super Gay
ORLANDO, FL - APRIL 13: Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas attend the 40 Years of Star Wars panel during the 2017 Star Wars Celebration at Orange County Convention Center on April 13, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Disney)
Star Wars Exemplifies Disney's Problems
Unsurprisingly, though critics who desire access to Disney and value progressive signaling have praised the show, audience reviews for The Acolyte have been atrocious.
Beyond the Rotten Tomatoes audience score, which has dropped to just 19% positive, the IMDb rating is a dismal 4.0/10. The official trailer on the Disney YouTube account had over 722,000 dislikes to just 195,000 likes as of a few days ago. And the recently aired third episode may have been a new low point for the once-proud franchise.
Even one Forbes reviewer willing to remain intellectually honest called it "One Of The Most Disappointing ‘Star Wars’ Episodes Ever Made." After repeating some of the poorly-written dialogue, the review says "This entire episode is a bad joke."
One of the major plot points centered around a group of apparently lesbian space witches creating twin babies out of something called "The Thread," which appears to be the force. That's not a misprint. And video of the scene is somehow even worse than you'd expect.
It's another prime example of the problems with Disney's approach to content, and specifically Star Wars. Under Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, the vast majority of recent releases have prioritized the political orientation and specific progressive identity credentials over quality, track record and creativity.
The same Kathleen Kennedy who was ruthlessly parodied by South Park for repeating the same exact playbook in every story.
These are the results.
There are no interesting characters in these new projects with the longevity of Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia. Or the charming independence of Han Solo. It's just a series of generic virtue signaling boxes to be checked; a paint by numbers virtue quota. Beyond the identity politics, the quality of the show has been widely panned by unbiased viewers. The sets, acting and production value are laughably poor for a show with a reported $180 million budget.
But Kennedy prioritized hiring someone with the right personality characteristics instead of choosing based on talent and fit.
Fortunately for Disney, they don't have to release viewership numbers. But based on the reviews and these disastrous clips, it's hard to see The Acolyte being around for long. Another remarkable, predictable Disney flop.