A Disney executive has revealed why “The Acolyte” was canceled after just one season.
In an interview with VultureDisney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman said that while House of Mouse was pleased with the way “The Acolyte” performed in its one-season Disney+ debut, it wasn’t enough to warrant a sequel given the price tag.
“We were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be, honestly, given the cost structure of that title, to make a season two,” Bergman said. “So that’s why we didn’t do that.”
Following the series’ cancellation, “Acolyte” helmer Amandla Stenberg posted an eight-and-a-half-minute video to her Instagram Stories saying she wasn’t surprised Disney didn’t renew after the aggressive online backlash surrounding the female-driven story of the show and strange undertones.
“It’s not a big shock to me,” Stenberg said. Since the series was unveiled in 2020, she added, “we’ve been riding a wave of, I would say, hyper-conservative bigotry and vitriol, prejudice, hatred and hateful language against us.”
Dinsey’s latest series from a galaxy far, far away, “Skeleton Crew,” has already “seen growth” according to Bergman, who is hopeful the Jude Law vehicle will do better after receiving “excellent” reviews since premiering on December 2.
Though he offered few details, Bergman continued to tease second seasons for “Andor,” “Ahsoka” and a “number of other” Star Wars shows still in progress.
“In terms of what’s going to happen, we have ‘Andor’ season two, which we’re very excited about. It’s excellent. I’ve seen all the episodes and it’s a fantastic season. And then we have season two of ‘Ahsoka,’ where Dave Filoni is the lead,” Bergman said. “And then we look at some additional series that are in development. We’ll see what we decide to do. Like I said before, they have to be great.”