It was a few days ago the news broke that Disney+'s latest Star Wars TV series, The Acolyte, has been cancelled after just one season. Some celebrated the news and others were quick to express disappointment over what they felt was a knee-jerk reaction to negativity created by review-bombing, for example.
As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, a Change.org petition asking for Disney and Lucasfilm to renew The Acolyte has reached over 37,200 signatures and is next aiming for 50,000.
The same day that launched, a group of Star Wars fans rallied together and decided to launch a petition named "DON'T renew The Acolyte." Based on what we've seen across social media, it seems the goal was to beat "Renew The Acolyte" and prove cancelling it was the right decision; however, as of now, it sits at a mere 5,222 signatures (bear in mind it launched within hours of its rival).
While a petition like "Renew The Acolyte" will need considerably more than 37,000 signatures to convince Disney to take action, it's worth noting that the backlash to the cancellation has started reaching mainstream media outlets.
This could sway Disney and Lucasfilm's decision and, while a reversal of The Acolyte's cancellation still seems unlikely, this may at least convince the studios to find a way to properly finish the story and somehow tie up all those dangling plot threads.
Regardless of how this particular case pans out, Disney seems to be moving the Star Wars franchise back to theaters after half a decade of it being a streaming property.
The Mandalorian season 4 is now The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, Andor will end with season 2, Skeleton Crew is a limited series, and Ahsoka is also expected to end with a second season that leads into Dave Filoni's movie. There are also no plans for The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi to return.
As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.
In The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems...
The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The entire first season of The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.