Woke Star Wars Series Cancelled After Money Debacle
Another day, another "Star Wars" franchise failure for the once-proud Walt Disney Studios.
When the Disney company bought Lucasfilm in 2012, many fans reasonably expected that the combination of the two organizations would create new and exciting "Star Wars" properties. Instead, more than a decade later, their work culminated in "The Acolyte." A television show made for Disney+ that was described as "the gayest Star Wars yet," with a cast and creative team who openly celebrated progressive politics.
One episode centered on a group of lesbian space witches, while another received an immense amount of attention for an entire scene focusing on an animal character's pronouns.
Audience scores for "The Acolyte" were universally abysmal, despite positive ratings from professional critics hoping to endear themselves to Disney. But no matter how hard the critics try to defend their ideological allies, the audience always wins. And there was clearly little-to-no audience for a woke "Star Wars" series.
By the third episode of the series, the show had dropped out of the top 10 in streaming series viewership. An impressive feat of failure considering Disney's marketing power, massive subscriber base, and the importance of the "Star Wars" brand. For a show that almost certainly cost well over $100 million to produce, it was a disastrous failure. Unsurprisingly, Disney has already decided that the show won't be receiving a second season, according to Deadline. Another trainwreck.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 03: Leslye Headland attends Disney+ and The Cinema Society host a screening of "The Acolyte" at The Whitby Hotel on June 03, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
Disney's Latest ‘Star Wars’ Disaster Provides Another Lesson For The Company To Learn
The modern movie business has a significant problem on its hands. Executives, creative talent, and on-screen actors all share the same political beliefs, and a desire to inject those beliefs into the content they produce. This isn't new, but the advent of social media, dominated by left-wing users, has given rise to a mistaken belief that a majority of the country agrees with their views.
Executives and studio heads greenlit projects and sweeping changes to future release plans based on this misguided assumption. Even Pixar, long the standard in family entertainment, started incorporating political messages into kids movies. The vast majority of these projects were roundly rejected by audiences.
Some executives have learned their lesson; even Disney/Marvel allowed "Deadpool & Wolverine" to poke fun at the "woke mob." And were rewarded with the highest-grossing "R" rated movie in film history.
But Lucasfilm is run by Kathleen Kennedy. The same Kathleen Kennedy who dismisses criticisms of her work, and the resulting "Star Wars" releases, as unjustified anger from white male fans. Instead of understanding her audience, Kennedy's attempted to create a new one where it doesn't exist. And failed in spectacular fashion. "The Acolyte" being the latest example. Audience scores for the show hovered around 10% positive. Not just because of its woke politics, but because it was created and written by inexperienced creative talent, who predictably turned out low quality work. As well as a hiring cast members that displayed little acting ability.
Kennedy's tenure at Lucasfilm has centered around checking boxes, not quality. It's not a requirement for executives and creatives to produce content exclusively for fans, but it's absurd and self-defeating to produce content that's actively off-putting for them. That's the legacy of the Disney-Kennedy-Lucasfilm era.
Canceling "The Acolyte" was a foregone conclusion, before the show ever reached Disney+. But Disney chose to throw $100+ million at it because it fit their ideological goals. How much more money will they lose to make Kathleen Kennedy and her friends feel good about themselves? We'll find out when Leslye Headland and Amandla Sternberg are given another chance to destroy the "Star Wars" franchise.