Surprising new third-party data suggests Lucasfilm may well have made a mistake cancelingThe Acolyte. Disney had hopedThe Acolytewould reinvigorateStar Wars, welcoming viewers into the High Republic Era. Instead, Leslye Headland’s pricey TV show -The Acolytecost $230 million, running over-budget - became the first Disney+Star WarsTV show to be canceled.Viewership data forThe Acolyteexplained the cancelation, suggesting the series had lost momentum and simply failed to bring in enough viewers.
New data from Parrot Analytics (viaTHR) suggest Lucasfilm may have been too hasty, however. Rather than looking purely at viewership, Parrot measure “demand” by combining that data with things like social media conversation, wikis, and search activity. Surprisingly,The Acolytewas one of the top trending Disney+ TV shows for February 28-March 6, coming second behindYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It ranks similarly highly in markets such as Russia, the UK, Canada, and Australia.
Looking a little deeper, demand has indeed dropped since January; “while the show is still appealing, there might be elements worth investigating to sustain or revive interest,” Parrot note. Still, they argue thatThe Acolyteshould be considered something of an “elite”:
“This level of demand places ‘The Acolyte’ in an elite category, illustrating the show’s potential not just for viewership but also for valuable insights that can inform content decisions, acquisitions, and distribution strategies.”
Did Lucasfilm Make A Mistake Canceling The Acolyte?
The Decision Was Understandable, But Controversial
The Acolytewas deeply controversialin theStar Warsfandom, even before the show released; it sustained fire from some corners of the internet for being “woke,” with many old quotes wrested out of context to attack it. Its release was greeted with a review bombing campaign so dedicated that other movies and TV shows with “Acolyte” in their title were erroneously targeted too, and vocal YouTubers led campaigns against it in which they claimed it “broke canon” due to supposedly changing theage of Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi. All this heat makes it hard to assessThe Acolyte.
And yet, Parrot Analytics' data suggests the decision to cancel may have been premature. According to Parrot,there’s a long tail to demand forThe Acolyte, and it still continues to perform for Disney+. It’s important to note that initial viewership isn’t the only metric of success for a streaming show; ongoing engagement is essential to ensure viewers stick with the platform.
Will Disney Ever Revive The Acolyte?
The Situation Is A Surprising One
All this raises the inevitable question of whether the still-ongoing fan campaign to bring backThe Acolytehas any chance of succeeding. I freely admit I’m skeptical, not least because of the changed political environment. Still, the brand itself is ongoing; this year will see the release of multiple novels inspired byThe Acolyte, which will help Lucasfilm to test the waters. If Parrot Analytics' data is any indication, it may not be too late after all.
