Set in a unique period with all-new characters, The Acolyte is the most recent Star Wars present on Disney+ – nevertheless it’s all too acquainted for its personal good.
*Knock, knock*
Who’s there?
“Star Wars.”
*Checks to ensure the door is locked*
What on the earth is happening at Lucasfilm proper now? After the less-than-stellar reception to the previous few live-action Star Wars exhibits on Disney+ (bar Andor), the expectation was that The Acolyte could be one thing contemporary – a brand new frontier within the galaxy far, far-off, so to talk. For all intents and functions, it had all the best substances to do proper by the Power. Free from the shackles of the Skywalker Saga and set within the untapped Excessive Republic period, The Acolyte had a clean web page to jot down a brand new chapter within the Star Wars legacy. As an alternative, it performs out like a compilation album of all of the previous membership bangers that really feel like a screwdriver to the pinnacle after the age of 30.
One way or the other, the dual returned
“Misplaced / Discovered,” the primary episode of The Acolyte, kicks off on a surprising word as Amandla Stenberg’s Osha Aniseya seemingly kills the Jedi Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss). It doesn’t take too lengthy for Osha to be hauled in by the Jedi and interrogated for her despicable actions, which she denies any data of. Then, the reality comes out: Osha has an evil twin named Mae, who remains to be alive however everybody presumed lifeless. How so 1992 cleaning soap opera of this story!
Duality has all the time been part of the Star Wars legend. Good versus unhealthy. Jedi versus Sith. Nevertheless, the evil twin angle is about as on the nostril because it will get. It’s past predictable because the idea flows by means of a typical yin-yang storytelling mannequin the place each Osha and Mae uncover their very own skills to carry mild and darkness inside themselves. Plus, didn’t we have already got twins within the Skywalker Saga? Simply saying…
In traditional Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker style, nobody questions how Mae survived in “Misplaced / Discovered.” In a single breath, Jedi Grasp Sol (Lee Jung-jae) tells Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett) that there’s no manner Mae survived. By the top of the episode, in some way Palpatine Mae returned and everybody accepts it… On this galaxy, loss of life seems to be about as everlasting as Kenny’s tangos with the grim reaper in South Park.
The vanilla-flavored Acolyte with no sprinkles
Forbes senior contributor Erik Kain known as The Acolyte mediocre and criticized the present for not committing extra to its new period since nobody can actually inform if it takes place earlier within the timeline or not. And Kain proves to be right on this evaluation. Very like different current Star Wars collection, The Acolyte takes zero dangers, driving 10 miles below the pace restrict simply in case.
That’s essentially the most irritating half concerning the present because it’s clear there’s the potential for a lot extra right here and to develop the world additional, however Disney and Lucasfilm select to stay to fan service and related story beats with a view to not rattle the cages of the Twitter warriors. Sure, there’s a familiarity within the look, really feel, and sound of the present (hey, look, a shiny lightsaber!), however there’s additionally a manufactured – maybe soulless – high quality to it. For a collection that’s meant to be all about exploring the franchise’s wealthy historical past and the rise of the darkish aspect of the Power, it has solely recycled concepts from earlier movies and exhibits. Finally, it’s simply content material.
Hate Star Wars: The Final Jedi by all means, however at the least Rian Johnson took some inventive dangers and pushed the franchise in a unique path. Nothing concerning the movie felt predictable or by the numbers, because the story walked the trail of originality and dedicated to its controversial choices.
Star Wars followers are noticing the shortage of originality too
That’s the million-dollar query, although: Does the Star Wars fan base truly need originality or has the franchise turn out to be like consolation meals? It’s well-known that Disney and Lucasfilm famously course-corrected after the fan backlash towards The Final Jedi and ensured that The Rise of Skywalker was the cinematic equal of a chastity belt. However when is secure too secure?
It’s a query which may should be answered ahead of anticipated. Whereas The Acolyte scored the largest premiere of 2024 for Disney+ with 11.1 million viewers in its first 5 days on the platform, it nonetheless fell round three million viewers wanting what Ahsoka did in the identical time, as per Selection. This paints a worrisome image that Disney and Lucasfilm have to be being attentive to: The curiosity in Star Wars is waning on the streaming service. Now not is the model identify sufficient to make sure there are eyeballs on the exhibits.
Sure, executives can blame yada-yada fatigue and complain about too many exhibits for the viewers to look at, however the reality is that this: The applications are bang-average and the viewers discover. Till this adjustments, the religion within the franchise diminishes with every passing collection or film. It’s about time that everybody stops having a nasty feeling each time a brand new Star Wars present is introduced and for somebody to strive one thing new. Do – or don’t. There isn’t a strive.