Disney has opened up about why Star Wars: The Acolyte was canceled after only one season on Disney+
In a recent interview, Co-chairman of Disney Entertainment Alan Bergman explained why Disney decided not to green-light The Acolyte for a second season.
“We were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season two,” Bergman revealed to Vulture (via Deadline) “So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.”
According to a report by Slash Film, The Acolyte had a budget of $180 million, with each episode of the eight episodes costing $22.5 million. But it looks like the series ended up at $230 million before it was completely wrapped up its production, leaving each episode to cost about $28.7 million per episode.
The Leslye Headland-run Star Wars series was canceled in August, meaning the multiple cliffhangers of the first season will never be resolved. Despite positive reviews from critics with a 78% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Acolyte received backlash from toxic Star Wars fans, getting review-bombed even before it premiered on Disney+.
The latest Star Wars series on Disney+ is Skeleton Crew, which premiered just a few months after The Acolyte concluded. Bergman told the outlet that they’ve “seen some growth on that” series and noted that the show has had “excellent” reviews, saying, “So we’ll have to see how that all plays out as it moves forward.”
So far, Skeleton Crew has a 90% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's worth noting that its Audience Score (80%) on the site is much higher than The Acolyte's 18%, suggesting that less viewers are disliking the show.
The Acolyte star Amandla Stenberg said that the show's cancellation was “not a huge shock” following the “vitriol” on social media.
“There are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge and I want to show appreciation and love and support for, so that’s why I’m hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our Star Wars show has been canceled,” Stenberg wrote in a post on Instagram Stories.
“And I’m gonna be transparent and say that it’s not a huge shock for me,” Stenberg continued. “Of course I live in the bubble of my own reality, but for those who aren’t aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it.”
Stenberg ended the message with a more positive note, saying, “Even though, of course I’m very sad about the show being canceled, and I’m sad about us not being able to give people invested in it more, I still just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it and that people loved it and that people were so responsive.”
In a recent interview, her co-star Lee Jung-jae also shared his honest thoughts about how the backlash on the series made him feel. “My feelings were hurt. Especially for Leslye Headland—her feelings must have hurt a lot.”
Though the Squid Game star knows how passionate the Star Wars fans are, he said that he was still "shocked" by the racist backlash, but he also expressed hope for a future that's much brighter than the present. “I can only have faith that racism will end someday,” he said, “even though it’s going to be hard.”
Disney Executive on Star Wars: Andor Season 2, Ahsoka Season 2, and The Mandalorian & Grogu film
In the same interview with the Vulture, Bergman also talked about the second and final season of Star Wars: Andor, “which we’re really excited about". Andor Season 2, which stars Diego Luna in the titular role, is currently scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on April 22, 2025. “It is excellent. I’ve watched all the episodes, and it is a fantastic season," Berman added.
As for Ahsoka Season 2, Bergman said that the sequel is coming and it has “a number of additional series that are in development.” He also mentioned that the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian & Grogu movie is releasing in 2026 and that there are more Star Wars films that are currently in the development stage.
