Culture

The Acolyte: Queer fans condemn cancellation of Star Wars series

By Sam Damshenas

20th August 2024

Queer fans of Star Wars are in uproar following the cancellation of The Acolyte. 

According to Deadline, Lukasfilm have opted to not move forward with a second season after the series received middling reviews from a select group of fans and lower-than-expected viewership.

Set before the events of the Skywalker Saga at the end of the High Republic era, The Acolyte follows a former Padawan (Amandla Stenberg) who reunites with her Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) to investigate a series of mysterious crimes.

It boasted an ensemble cast, with supporting stars such as Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Manny Jacinto, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, Margarita Levieva, Harry Trevaldywn and David Harewood.

Upon release, The Acolyte was review-bombed on websites such as Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDB by whiny weasels who took issue with Star Wars going “woke”.

And by “woke”, we mean the series championing female characters, people of colour and LGBTQIA+ stories, such as Osha and Mae (Stenberg) having two mothers and the queer-coded relationship between Mae and Jecki (Keen).

Keen and Stenberg as Jecki and Osha

Sadly, trolls also took issue with the various queer cast members (Stenberg, Barnett, Henderson, Trevaldywn) and Leslye Headland, who is openly lesbian, making history as the first-ever female director of a Star Wars series. (She is married to Henderson, who plays Vernestra Rwoh.)

Following news of The Acolyte’s cancellation, queer viewers took to social media to mourn and criticise those who couldn’t come to terms with the series’ diversity.

“I don’t really have anything to say about The Acolyte cancellation that hasn’t already been said but I just want to reiterate how disappointing it is that women/poc/queer people are constantly fighting tooth and nail to simply exist in the Star Wars fanbase,” said one X/Twitter user.

Turner-Smith and Levieva as Mother Aniseya and Mother Koril

Another tweeted: “As a queer person of color who has been a lifelong fan of Star Wars, the entire saga of The Acolyte from announcement to cancellation has been a sickening reminder that we truly are not welcomed here.”

A third wrote: “F**k the haters who’s only gripe with the show was that it was predominantly POC and created by a gay woman. Hating on it for those reasons? You’re doing nothing but outing yourself. It is a phenomenal show that pushed Star Wars into better territory.”

Check out the responses below.