Disney+ Most-Watched Trainwreck: The Acolyte Wins Views, but Loses Fans
Here is another example of why you shouldn't always look at numbers.
The premiere of The Acolyte, the new Star Wars series, proved once again how careful one must be with promises and expectations. According to the show's creators, the new story was supposed to change the perception of the entire franchise, but so far it has only managed to anger fans.
During filming, there was also talk of emphasizing the detective component. Agatha Christie would have laughed her head off had she known that within the walls of Disney, this is what they call a detective show.
The Acolyte Is The Most Watched Show on Disney+
But that did not stop The Acolyte from breaking records.
The premiere episodes of the series garnered 4.8 million views. This is a stunning result — the project has already become the biggest success for Disney+ this year. But did it deserve it?
The Acolyte Seems Like Another Run-of-the-Mill Disney Star Wars Project
The production of Star Wars projects has long been a conveyor belt for Disney. With varying degrees of success, the studio and showrunners have managed to offer a fresh look at a familiar world and introduce new heroes. However, many viewers have become so disgusted with what Disney is doing with their favorite universe that they prefer not to see any more Star Wars projects produced by the studio.
“I am not watching it since everything Disney touches seems to be trash now, but from what I have heard from people who have watched it [...], it seems this is another flop, which does not surprise me at all,” Reddit user Android1822 wrote.
It's hard to believe, but The Acolyte is already the fifth series in the George Lucas universe. And we're not even counting the animated works of recent years — like Bad Batch or Tales of the Jedi.
The TV series' era of relative success, which began in 2019 with The Mandalorian, no longer inspires many fans to believe in a bright future. After The Mandalorian, there were many failures — The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka.
The projects have their fans, but a solid portion of the viewers was disappointed by these shows. The exception was Andor, which revealed ideas from Lucas' prequels.
The Acolyte Disappointed Fans, but Still Has Time to Pick Up the Pace
The Acolyte was billed as the first detective story set in the Star Wars universe. And this is only partially true. The premise is intriguing, but already in the first episode the viewer is confronted with an obvious and even absurd twist.
Fortunately, it is far from being the only one: the identity of the killer is only the first hook, the characters have to find out who is behind it all. And the viewers will be left guessing what really happened in the past and whether the Jedi are to blame.
It is quite possible that The Acolyte will enter the territory of showing the ambiguity of using the Force without a clear division between good and evil. Or it will simply rewrite the franchise lore once again.