Summary
There’s a rumble in the Force ofStar Wars, with the cancelation of Leslye Headland’sThe Acolytepainting a confusing picture of where the galaxy far, far away is heading. While the much-hyped series dove into the relatively unexplored High Republic era of the franchise,The Acolytecouldn’t save itself from scathing fan reviews and allegations that no one was tuning in. However, the latestStar Warsfigures suggest a different picture.
The Acolyte’s cancelationmight not have come as a shock to those who slated it online. However, some jaw-dropping cameos teased a much bigger season 2 that could have explored some ofStar Wars’ most intriguing mysteries. It was clear those working on the show had no idea it was going to be axed. Still,The Acolyterepresents a bizarre corner ofStar Warsbecause it was officially canceled. Unlike the slew of other movies and TV shows left in limbo, Disney made the rare move of pulling the plug — but was this all a little premature?
The Uncertain Future of Star Wars Projects
The latest figures fromLuminateclaim thatThe Acolytewas Disney+’s second-most-watched original series of 2024, only coming behindPercy Jackson and the Olympians. There are still complaints thatfranchise fatigue is plaguing major IPs, includingStar Warsand the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But with 2.7 billion minutes ofThe Acolytebeing streamed last year, it hardly seems like the flop it was accused of being. It’s not as simple as that, with others pointing outThe Acolyte’s total minutes watched over the course of 2024 is a far cry fromThe Mandalorianseason 1, which garnered 5.42 billion minutes watched in the seven weeks it aired.
As noted byStarWarsNews.net, Luminate’s data doesn’t come from Disney itself and pales in comparison to Nielsen’s look at the bigger picture of 2024. Looking atThe Acolyte’s numbers across all eight episodes, it averages just 334 million per week, meaning it would have struggled to crack into Nielsen’s Top 10. Elsewhere, some 693 million minutes ofThe Mandalorianseason 1 were also watched last year — not bad for a show that came out in 2019. Breaking down the numbers,The Acolytecost a whopping $670,000 per minute of screen time, with its budget thankfully falling shy ofSecret Invasion’s record-breaking $212 millionfor its six-episode season.
While the Rosario Dawson-ledAhsokawas quickly renewed for season 2, it’s not a good look for the future ofStar Warsand its many projects that have been announced, but now lie in various states of development or development hell. Even though the cancelation ofThe Acolytemight sting, it at least puts fans out of their misery without stringing them along in the hope that there will be more. It’s important to note that Temuera Morrison spent months discussing the idea ofThe Book of Boba Fettseason 2, and the maligned miniseries still hasn’t been officially canceled.
It’s the same story forObi-Wan Kenobi.The series went out of its way to make a star out of Vivien Lyra Blair’s young Leia, tease the return of Quinlan Vos, and cue further adventures with Ewan McGregor’s titular Kenobi and Liam Neeson’s much-loved return as Qui-Gon Jinn. McGregor has repeatedly said he’d like to tell more stories ofwhere Obi-Wan Kenobi went next, but at this point, it’s hard to see how the character could fit back into the ever-expanding world ofStar WarswithoutObi-Wan Kenobiseason 2.
It’s not just shows marooned in space, either. The sprawlingStar Warsslate includes a supposed Taika Waititi movie that was announced way back in 2020, a trilogy from Simon Kimberg,Logan’s James Mangold taking things back to the era of the first Jedi, and more. Most had given up on the idea ofPatty Jenkins’Rogue Squadron, only for it to get surprise confirmation that it’s back in development as of March 2024. As recently as January 2025, there were reports that Jenkins could castWonder Woman’s Chris Pine as its lead. It seems that until aStar Warsstory is officially canceled, it would be foolish to consider it ‘dead.’
Less is More for Star Wars
It looks increasingly likely thatStar Warsoverlord Kathleen Kennedy will soon have to follow in the footsteps of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kevin Feige by confirming theStar Warsslate will be scaled back. There’s a clone army of ideas out there in the ether. To hammer home the bigger problem thatStar Warshas, the release ofJon Favreau’sThe Mandalorian & Groguin 2026 will be the firstStar Warsmovie sinceThe Rise of Skywalkerhit theaters in 2019. This is also a point of contention, considering its harshest critics are calling it little more than a revampedThe Mandalorianseason 4.
FollowingThe Mandalorian & Grogu, there’s nothing more than rumors that Waititi’s mysterious movie could snatch Lucasfilm’s currently empty December 2025 slot. This seems unlikely, considering not a single cast member has been announced. Beyond that, noStar Warsmovie has a release date locked in. That becomes even more worrying, given that more jaunts are announced all the time. The latest claim is thatDeadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy wants to bring Ryan Gosling to the franchise. While many thinkGosling is whatStar Warsneeds right now, the last thing anyone needs is more adventures being lost between the cracks.
It’s not just actual projects left in limbo. Way back when, Alden Ehrenreich was supposedly contracted to play a younger Han Solo in three movies. Seven years afterSolo: A Star Wars Story, there’s no sign of him returning to the role. Similarly, Donald Glover was supposed to reprise his role as a young Lando Calrissian in some mystery outing that ‘might’ also bring back Billy Dee Williams as an older Lando. This melting pot of ideas is in danger of overflowing, with calls for Disney to tighten the reins and lockStar Warsinto asimilar mandate as the MCUof having no more than three movies and two shows a year. This would hopefully at least push some of them toward a solid release date.
Even though there’s a seemingly clear vision for where the lucrative Mandoverse is heading, there are a multitude of characters and dangling plot threads destined to collide inThe Mandalorian & Grogu. Thankfully, not everyStar Warsventure is blindly stumbling around in the dark. Tony Gilroy’sAndor,for example, told a concise story over 24 episodes instead of letting things run out of steam. There’s still a lot to look forward to, but alongside the Mandoverse, there are fears a lot of hope is being pinned on amulti-movie arc for Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Then again,Star Warshas proved nothing is set in stone. Fans have learned to reserve judgment until they’re sitting in cinemas or tuning in on Disney+.
