Lucasfilm’s Silence On The Acolyte Cancelation Is All Too Loud

Lucasfilm’s silence on The Acolyte speaks far more loudly than the studio would like. The Star Wars fandom has always been both divided and divisive, but The Acolyte seems to have been something of a special case. Showrunner Leslye Headland proved controversial before the show even came out, and its release was accompanied by a vocal backlash and a review-bombing campaign. At first, it seemed as though Lucasfilm had learned lessons from the mistakes of the past; Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy addressed sexism and racism in the fandom at the end of May, as though assuring the cast and crew she had their backs.

Fast-forward three months, though, and – in the wake of The Acolyte‘s cancelation – that has proved to be a false impression. Unlike other studios, Lucasfilm made no official confirmation of cancelation; it was reported by the trades. The Acolyte is Star Wars‘ first officially canceled Disney+ TV show, and yet it has gone unacknowledged, with absolute radio silence from the studio. And that is becoming indefensible.

Lucasfilm Has Struggled To Address Racism & Sexism In The Fandom

The Star Wars fandom has a dark side

There’s a dark side to the Star Wars fandom, one that carries the distinct taint of prejudice, and Lucasfilm hasn’t done a good job protecting Star Wars cast and crew from it. “I’m the only cast member whose experience of Star Wars was based on their race,” John Boyega reflected in an interview with GQ Magazine back in September 2020. “Do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side,” he complained, reflecting on his time in Star Wars.

Boyega’s experience is far from unique. Kelly Marie Tran deleted her Instagram after she was targeted on social media; “It’s a rare and awful thing to have that level and volume of hate come at you so relentlessly,” Kit Steinkellner – who was working with her on a TV show at the time – recalled when speaking to THR years later. “I was really impressed with how she dealt head-on with the intense and complicated feelings that anybody would have about this, while continuing to really give as an artist and friend and human.” She shouldn’t have had to deal with this, of course.

Lucasfilm has struggled to figure out how to respond to this kind of abuse. Boyega’s Finn was so much less important a character than he should have been, and Tran’s Rose Tico was overtly sidelined in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The cast have often been swifter to protect their colleagues than the studio itself; Ewan McGregor’s video defense of Moses Ingram was a powerful statement against racism and sexism, and a necessary one. But she was targeted all the same, and the pattern continues to this day.

The Acolyte’s Cast Have Been Subjected To The Same Treatment

The Acolyte’s backlash isn’t just a reflection of the show’s quality

The Acolyte‘s cast is the most diverse seen in Star Wars to date, which seems to explain the furious hatred the show received before it even came out. In the wake of The Acolyte‘s cancelation, prejudice and sexism are on full display; just look at the comments Amandla Stenberg is receiving on Instagram. Certainly the actors believe there’s a throughline going on here, because John Boyega has backed Stenberg with a meme saluting her and implicitly offering support. Again, as in the cases of Boyega and Tran, there is silence from Lucasfilm.

When Kennedy stood against the racist and sexist trolls back in May, it looked as though Lucasfilm was finally going to stand up to the trolls. Nothing was said while The Acolyte was coming out on Disney+, though, and since then there’s been silence. Other studios publicly acknowledge their cancelations, perhaps issuing a statement in which they thank the cast and crew. Lucasfilm hasn’t even done that, meaning the people involved in The Acolyte seem to have been left out in the cold.

Lucasfilm Need To Stand Up To The Trolls At Last

It’s time to stand against the dark side

Star Wars can’t carry on like this. We’re now in a situation where simply getting involved with Star Wars is to risk incurring the wrath of the worst elements in this fandom. This is especially true for women; Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, writer and director of Daisy Ridley’s upcoming Star Wars movie, has already been targeted. Even more frustratingly, the studio tends to course-correct in response to the fandom’s fury, and the results have rarely been creatively impressive. The entire Star Wars sequel trilogy became somewhat incoherent after pivots from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Should The Acolyte have been canceled? Realistically, there’s absolutely no reason The Acolyte season 2 had to have the $180 million budget of its first season, and lower costs are a game-changer because they mean a show needs lower viewership to be sustainable. Leaving this aside, though, the cancelation should have been done differently, in a much better manner, with cast and crew receiving public support. By remaining silent, Lucasfilm gave the impression of surrendering to the trolls. Worse still, they told anyone else who dreams of appearing in Star Wars that the same could happen to them.

According to legend, Medieval mapmakers inscribed the phrase “Here Be Dragons” on the unknown parts of the world, signifying hazards that made these places too risky to explore. Given everything that’s happened, it’s easy to imagine actors and creators considering the Star Wars franchise to be off-limits, looking at the treatment stars such as Stenberg have received and concluding that there are indeed dragons there that would devour them. That would be the worst-case scenario, and it can only be averted if Lucasfilm breaks its silence on The Acolyte and starts handling this kind of situation better.