There’s been much discussion about Disney/Lucasfilm’s cancellation of The Acolyte. On Nerdist, we shared our perspective on why canceling The Acolyte was a mistake. However, a recent report from Forbes indicates that the series’ budget/financial concerns were the biggest reasons why Disney canceled The Acolyte.
In its piece, Forbes notes of The Acolyte‘s cancellation, “Disney has revealed that its…Star Wars streaming show The Acolyte came in ‘over the production budget’ with its costs hitting $230.1 million (£172.7 million) when it was only part of the way through post-production.” Additionally Forbes shares, “The $230.1 million spent on the show has been widely misreported with even industry outlets wrongly claiming that it cost $180 million to make. Two experts who got it right were news site That Park Place and entertainment industry pundit Valliant Renegade with the latter also noting that the show’s production costs are still likely to soar.”
Slash Film, meanwhile, reports that initially, The Acolyte had a budget of $180 million, with each episode costing $22.5 million. But it seems like The Acolyte ended up at $230 million before it was completely finished, leaving each episode to cost about $28.7 million per episode. Most TV episodes come with a hefty price tag these days, and Slash Film notes many Marvel series cost around $25 million per episode. Other series are much more expensive to make. We suppose that doesn’t leave The Acolyte as being spectacularly pricey. But ultimately, Disney likely compared the final costs to what it imagined it might spend on the show when deciding whether it should cancel The Acolyte.
Ultimately, we may never know the true reason for The Acolyte‘s cancellation. For many fans, The Acolyte‘s worth was greater than its cost or the number of viewers who tuned in. Instead, it was the creative, inclusive path it walked in Star Wars‘ world that made it so beloved. But, of course, getting studios to think of their creative products without considering the bottom line is not a realistic proposition. In the world of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars TV, it definitely feels like a contraction is occurring. And The Acolyte, conceived of, perhaps, before this change of perspective, could not survive it.
In the future, we hope that studios will see that giving series time and space to find their footing, to grow and find fans, will benefit everyone. But until that time, more shows like The Acolyte will likely continue to get canceled. In the meantime, we continue to support The Acolyte‘s fan petition for new life and hope that it can find it at some point and get-uncanceled.