Scrapped 'Acolyte' sign of Disney's anti-woke pivot

"The Acolyte" won't be back for a second season. Sensible business decision ... or sabotage?

Some vocal defenders of the recently canceled Disney+ series seem to be suggesting the latter.

'Disney seems to be quietly killing off their "progressive audience" shows like "Acolyte." The numbers are no longer sustainable.'

Rolling Stone magazine lays the blame on "the worst" of "Star Wars" fans.

Meanwhile, an online petition to bring back the show attributes its copious negative reviews to “a small fraction of loud trolls.”

Occam's lightsaber

Back here on Earth, all signs point to a simpler explanation: People just didn't watch it.

The "Star Wars" series got off to a decent start with audiences, boasting 4.8 million views for its first two episodes combined.

Disney crowed that it was the biggest premiere on Disney+ in 2024. Technically true, but not so impressive when you realize only two other shows debuted on the platform this year. Plus, adding up viewer numbers for two episodes is a bit of a cheat.

Despite this initial hype, viewership for "The Acolyte" steadily trailed off in the subsequent weeks.

Deadline reported that inside sources learned of the cancelation after just eight episodes, about a month after the season wrapped up.'

Please clap

The show's future seemed to be in jeopardy when director and creator Leslye Headland asked viewers in July to support the show and share it with friends even if they thought it was mediocre.

"Even if you were kind of like 'whatever' on the show, if you enjoyed the performances, get on their social media, let them know that you love them, or that you support them or that the performances were great."

Game designer and media critic Mark Kern told Align that he thought the cancelation was a signal of an upcoming pivot on the part of Disney.

"Disney seems to be quietly killing off their 'progressive audience' shows like 'Acolyte.' The numbers are no longer sustainable," Kern said. "I believe the pivot is happening and new shows in development will begin to focus on story and quality instead of promoting a message."

A bad rap

It didn't help Disney that actors involved with "The Acolyte" were consistently in headlines for all the wrong reasons, particularly series lead Amandla Stenberg.

Critics of the series inspired Stenberg to release a hip-hop diss track aimed at her oppressors. The young actress spit bars condemning slavery and its effect on her psyche.

"I'm sick and f***ing tired of suppressing my rage. 400 years of taking their bulls*** to compartmentalize like my ancestors had to encaged," she rapped.

"If you don't confront the pain that you live with it'll manifest as addiction, disease, and hate. I've seen the infection repression can give ya, I'm not gonna be the next one sent to an early grave," she concluded.

Separately, co-star Manny Jacinto gave remarks in late July about being cut out of a different project, Tom Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick."

Jacinta said it "wasn't shocking" that his scenes were cut out given the fact that Cruise had written a movie for himself, but strangely, the lesson he took from the experience was that non-white people in Hollywood need to pursue making movies that are specifically for their race.

"It's up to us — Asian-Americans, people of color — to be that [for ourselves]. We can't wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves."

Lesbian Force witches

It wasn't only off-screen behavior that spoiled "The Acolyte;" creator Headland sought to fundamentally change "Star Wars" lore by introducing a litany of progressive characters who brought with them previously unheard of explanations of the Star Wars universe.

The biggest change in the story was the idea that The Force was controlled by a coven who could — and did — perform an immaculate conception for a duo of lesbian witches.

The consistent injection of far-left dogma into the story, which Stenberg described as "so gay already," didn't appear to be quite what fans were looking for.

"It is good news that this show was cancelled," said John F. Trent, editor of culture and gaming site That Park Place.

"It prevents Leslye Headland and her conspirators from doing even more damage to Star Wars by changing the Force, injecting feminism, and attempting to subvert morality."

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