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Fans continue to gather to try Save The Acolyte from cancellation This news has now spread to a number of media outlets who have written articles about Disney’s mistake (disclaimer: I am one of those media outlets). The move has capitulated to a toxic “anti-woke” fanbase while also showing that Disney does not have the capacity to commit to meaningfully expanding beyond the increasingly stale Skywalker era.
Now even cast members are weighing in on The Acolyte’s cancellation with reactions ranging from bewilderment to downright annoyance. First up is confused diplomat Lee Jung-jae, one of the stars of the first season who was (spoiler alert) killed off in the finale. Even if he wasn’t returning, he wanted the show to go on, and was stunned that he wouldn’t be back. Here he is: Speaking to EW.
“From a personal perspective, I really loved Leslie’s writing style. I thought she was a great writer and director and very talented at telling stories, as well as creating characters and creating meaningful structures within the story. So I was really looking forward to watching season two with her at the helm.”
“Honestly, I hope there are changes in the future,” she tells me. “Because you never know what’s going to happen. So on a personal level, I really hope we get to see more stories about Leslye season two.”
He seems to think it’s not impossible that Disney could turn it around, or perhaps continue the story in a different way, but Disney has been pretty tight-lipped about all of this, allowing the news to seep into deals rather than address it directly.
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Then there’s Rebecca Henderson, who not only plays Vernestra on the show, but is also married to Leslye Headland, the show’s producer.
While she didn’t comment directly, she did post a number of stories summarizing things like a Rolling Stone story about Star Wars’ ability to survive against its “worst fans” and a tweet about “what part of the fan base Disney listens to” and how Disney should “stop caving to pressure and stand its ground.”
There’s no indication that Disney canceled The Acolyte because it was getting bombarded with reviews and YouTube screaming about it. Again, the ultimate answer is likely cost versus viewership. But there was no reason the show had to cost $180 million in the first place, and there had to be a way to get a second season to resolve the plot lines and ensure that the High Republic live-action concept didn’t die. The end result was still… a celebration of toxic fans anyway, even if they weren’t the driving force behind the cancellation. Still, that’s the message it sends, even to its own cast, who Disney did nothing to publicly support amid the mass harassment while the show was airing.
In the coming days, we may hear more from cast members. Amandla Stenberg previously posted a music video she wrote and filmed as a direct response to her “haters,” but she hasn’t said or posted anything about the show’s cancellation yet. Qimir actor Manny Jacinto posted a final shot of himself and Stenberg holding hands with only a heart emoji. It was a calm, if not overly sad, response.
I don’t think it’s entirely impossible for Disney to backtrack here. Stranger things have happened, and if everyone from the cast to the media to the fans were angry enough about this, they might notice. After all, Season 2 was supposed to be out a month ago. The toxic group of fans who might be upset are angry about everything all the time anyway, so who cares about them. That takes away from the “win” there, and God knows that’s what Star Wars should be doing at this point, a group that makes discussing or appreciating pretty much anything in modern Star Wars almost impossible.
Disney has been silent. It has been silent during the harassment. It has been silent about canceling the event. And we hope it will not remain silent after listening to the less vocal voices demanding a better solution to the problem.
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