Summary

• The cancelation of The Acolyte has stirred divisive reactions, with some frustrated and others finding it justifiable.
• The teaser elements for The Acolyte's future, including characters like Darth Plagueis and Yoda, will not come to fruition.
• Describing The Acolyte as "canceled" gives power to negative online discourse, unlike Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett.

Despite this specific phrasing not being used for Obi-Wan Kenobi or The Book of Boba Fett, The Acolyte season 2's story will not come to fruition, there are those who did not care for the show for one reason or another and are somewhat celebrating its cancelation.

In The Acolyte's prospective cast will have no future now that the show has been canceled, with this word interestingly being used a lot regarding the show's future when it was completely absent for Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett.

Lucasfilm has not used the word "canceled" for The Acolyte, nor commented when reached out to, yet several major Hollywood trades have dubbed the Star Wars show as such.

The Acolyte Was “Canceled,” Unlike Obi-Wan Kenobi & The Book Of Boba Fett

The Usage Of This Specific Word Is Interesting

Since Star Wars' TV shows properly began on Disney+, The Acolyte is the third to receive no future. The other two are The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, both of which will remain as limited series' rather than receive future installments. However, Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi were never described as canceled by major Hollywood trades, instead just being listed as shows Lucasfilm has dropped. Even when speaking about the future of both shows, representatives from Lucasfilm have been more coy about them, saying any continuations are up in the air.

The word "canceled" has more negative connotations than the more tentative hiatus of production on Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett...

With The Acolyte, this has not been the case. While it is worth noting again that Lucasfilm has declined to comment on the situation and not described The Acolyte as canceled, every major trade that has reported the news has used this word. This is interesting as the word "canceled" has more negative connotations than the more tentative hiatus of production on Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett. Describing the show as one that was canceled makes it seem as though Lucasfilm did not believe in it either, rather than a result of lower viewership putting it on hold.

Why Was The Acolyte Canceled?

The Acolyte Was Not Renewed Due To Poor Viewership

It is worth exploring why The Acolyte was canceled in the first place. For one, the divisive reaction to the show could have played into Lucasfilm's decision. It is no secret that The Acolyte was divisive for many reasons, some valid and some invalid. Those who criticize the show for the storytelling and sometimes poor execution certainly fall more under the former category of critics, while those who disregarded the show as simply "woke" due to its diverse cast and queer female showrunner are certainly the latter.

Regardless of the reasons for endless discourse, debates, and arguments that rang out online over The Acolyte, it remains the case that these things happened. For that, Lucasfilm could have felt it was easier to simply move away from the show to less controversial projects. However, the more likely reason for The Acolyte not being picked up for season 2 is its low viewership, with Deadline reporting the season 1 finale had the lowest viewership of all Star Wars TV show finales. As is the case with a lot of Hollywood productions, money/viewership talks.

The Acolyte’s Cancelation Gives Power To Undesirable Vitriol Around Star Wars

The Acolyte Being Described As Canceled Gives Online Negativity More Strength

Unfortunately, the use of the word "canceled" for The Acolyte gives more power to the hatred being directed at the show. While Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett were not exactly home runs with Star Wars fans, the level of outright vitriol directed at them was small in comparison to The Acolyte. To match this, both being described as shows that are simply on hiatus and could potentially have stories in the future seems more positive as the possibility of them returning remains.

The Acolyte's story could continue in novels, books, and comics set in the High Republic era.

Conversely, describing The Acolyte as outright canceled paints the show in a more negative light. In a way, it almost vindicates the actions of those being the undesirable aspects of The Acolyte's discourse. By canceling the show without a second thought to future seasons that have been granted to Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett, those who hated The Acolyte now have something to celebrate with the show being dismissed. This sets a worrying precedent for the future of filmmaking if divisive albeit interesting stories are going to be replaced by more formulaic, easily digestible content.