After The Acolyte's Cancelation, I'm Seriously Worried About Star Wars' Most Exciting Upcoming Movie

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The Acolyte

Star Wars: The Acolyte’s cancelation has me seriously worried about the future of Star Wars and its most exciting upcoming movie. The Acolyte marked an important step for Star Wars. Not only was it the first live-action Disney+ show set during the High Republic era, an era of the Star Wars timeline previously only explored in publishing and children’s animation, but it was also the first live-action project to take place outside the all-encompassing Skywalker and Mandalorian sagas. Understandably, Star Wars has been fixated on those two eras as they have always proven successful in the past, but The Acolyte promised something new.

The Acolyte's Cancelation Sets A Dangerous Precedent For Star Wars

No matter how you feel about The Acolyte, whether you loved it or not, there’s no denying this cancelation sets a dangerous precedent for the franchise. The first major live-action production in years to dive into a relatively unexplored Star Wars era was axed mere weeks after it finished airing, with Disney reportedly citing low viewership as the main cause. How will this affect Lucasfilm’s decision-making in the future? What lesson will they take away from this?

So far, Disney+’s Star Wars offerings – except Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which was tied to the thoroughly explored Clone Wars era – have been fixated on the New Republic. To give Star Wars its due, before The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka came along, this era was relatively underexplored within the franchise, too. Now, however, it’s become one of Star Wars’ most interconnected periods, with Ahsoka Tano meeting Grogu and Din Djarin, Grogu training with Luke Skywalker, and Star Wars Rebels’ Ghost Crew gearing up for another fight against Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Surely, with The Acolyte, Lucasfilm was hoping to have another hit like The Mandalorian on its hands, a show so successful and universally beloved it could launch another batch of intertwined shows and movies for years to come. Clearly, that hasn’t happened. So, what’s next? Will we only be getting more New Republic-era content from now on? Will the franchise pitch another Rebellion-related show after Andor comes to an end? I’m worried they won’t be willing to try again. I’m concerned Disney and Lucasfilm’s fear of failure will lead them to rethink the one Star Wars movie that will be trying something new, too.

Is The Franchise And Its Audience Ready For James Mangold's Dawn Of The Jedi?

If The Acolyte, set at the tail-end of an already established era, can’t succeed, will Lucasfilm believe that a movie like James Mangold’s Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi can? Announced at Star Wars Celebration London, James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi has been described as a biblical epic, a film inspired by The Ten Commandments that will look at the origins of the Force, the Jedi, and the larger Star Wars galaxy. There’s so much we don’t know yet. This movie could provide so many answers.

In the hands of an accomplished director like Mangold, this film is an undeniably exciting prospect – it can blow the franchise wide open, alter our understanding of the lore, and hopefully prove to Lucasfilm that risks like this are worth taking. I can’t help but feel apprehensive, though. Since Mangold joined Kathleen Kennedy on stage at Celebration, very little has been revealed about the film, whereas the other movies announced that day, including The Mandalorian & Grogu and Star Wars: New Jedi Order, have at least been talked about in the news, with The Mandalorian & Grogu likely having started production by now.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is set to be released on May 22, 2026. New Jedi Order and Dawn of the Jedi' s release dates have yet to be confirmed.

In the years since the Star Wars sequel trilogy concluded with the ever-divisive Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars’ cinematic future has been stuck in a holding pattern, with numerous directors and creatives coming and going and projects being announced and subsequently canceled a few months later. Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy is still nowhere to be seen. At this point, until something actually arrives in theaters, I’m having a hard time trusting that these movies will truly get made – especially Dawn of the Jedi.

When these three films were announced at SWC in London, it felt like a fresh start. Finally, Star Wars was coming back to the big screen. I just hope that Star Wars will also return to the big screen to explore the ancient galaxy rather than solely clinging to the New Republic era and the Skywalker legacy. Something needs to give. If The Acolyte couldn’t provide a new jumping-off point, hopefully Dawn of the Jedi still can.

Star Wars Needs To Expand Its Horizons If It Wants To Survive And Grow

statue of the Force Gods of Mortis in Ahsoka.

At this point, Star Wars is at risk of repeating itself, over and over again. That’s not to say that I haven’t enjoyed most of what Star Wars has produced in recent years – on the contrary, I have. But I also recognize that, while Grand Admiral Thrawn is an undeniably compelling villain, bringing him back to live-action is an easy way to generate interest among an already interested fanbase. Giving Ahsoka Tano a live-action show and including the Ghost Crew was a surefire way to lure in Star Wars animation fans. Allowing Rey’s story to continue will please the sequel trilogy fans.

Business-wise, all these decisions make sense – to a certain extent. Creatively, though, Lucasfilm is restricting itself. The only project currently in (hopefully active) development that can truly bring something new to the table is Dawn of the Jedi. This franchise needs new stories and new characters if it wants to survive and grow. Recycling the same periods, characters, and conflicts again and again will not please anyone in the end, even those who claim to protect George Lucas’ legacy.

Creating a cinematic universe is all well and good, but if there’s too much “homework” standing in the way of a potential viewer becoming engaged with the material, its audience will never be able to expand.

One of the reasons The Acolyte was an important step for Star Wars was that it was a show that anyone, regardless of their previous history with the franchise, could tune into and understand. Creating a cinematic universe is all well and good, but if there’s too much “homework” standing in the way of a potential viewer becoming engaged with the material, its audience will never be able to expand. Much like Star Wars: The Acolyte, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi can be a fresh starting point for new audiences – as long as Lucasfilm is still willing to take the leap.

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