The Acolyte cancellation shouldn't mean the end of Star Wars' big swings

Some celebrated the news - the reasons for this varying from rational to farcical - while many lamented it - with #SaveTheAcolyte quickly trending on X after Disney announced the news.

Yet both extremes arguably overlook the reality of this show: it was flawed but bold, poorly written but built around exciting ideas that gave the wider series a jolt of originality and expanded the lore in new ways.

After the fan service-led mess that was Obi-Wan Kenobi and the, well, fan service-led mess that was The Mandalorian season 3, this was welcome, even if it wasn’t executed as well as it possibly should have been.

And it’s for this reason that Star Wars cannot allow its experience with this show to prevent it from taking big swings going forward. Some will work, some won’t - but either way, another move away from the Skywalker saga and the reliance on nostalgia has to continue going forward.

After all, the Star Wars universe was built on big swings.

The original Star Wars itself, of course, did things that had never before been seen on screen (while, yes, taking inspiration from many projects that had indeed been seen before on screen).

The franchise’s finest live-action outing in the Disney era, Andor, brought a new tone and level of narrative complexity to proceedings.

The Clone Wars dared to dive deeper into the political dynamics established in the prequels.

And the Expanded Universe, through the books and comics, has delivered wild stories ranging from zombie stormtroopers to the rebirth of the Empire under the guidance of a cold-blooded blue creature in a spotlessly clean admiral’s uniform.

For all that the recent sequels trilogy made boatloads of money, and Obi-Wan and The Mandalorian brought in decent viewership, they have proven that nostalgia alone cannot keep this franchise going, with many tuning out of these projects before they reached their end. There needs to be boldness, audacity, and it’s for this reason that The Acolyte deserves praise.

There were plenty of interesting ideas here, not least the exploration of a Jedi Order seemingly at its peak, but still showing cracks in its foundations.

It brought new dynamics between our heroes, it offered a look at new powers and new planets, and it introduced a new, diverse array of characters that feels befitting of the scale of the galaxy far, far away.

While the execution of these ideas left a lot to be desired - and let’s face it, the ramblings of objectionable groups online shouldn’t mean this series is free from genuine criticism - the foundations were laid for more such interesting ideas to come.

Disney now needs to be brave and try again, blocking out the noise to push on. It cannot, by any means, panic-greenlight Obi-Wan season 2.

Where exactly can it go from here? Well, the aforementioned Expanded Universe offers plenty of options.

Through the new High Republic books, there is a whole world of stories that could be adapted, allowing the franchise to travel back to a similar time as The Acolyte, but with an established core of complex characters - and, through the Nihil, genuinely menacing villains - that deserve their time to shine on screen.

And there is the extensive catalogue of Timothy Zahn, often celebrated as a Star Wars hero for his work on the ‘Legends’ novels of the ‘90s, which could help to bring a whole new sphere of this franchise to life.

The Unknown Regions are areas of this galaxy that have hardly been explored in great detail on-screen, but Zahn’s work with Thrawn and the Chiss, the grand admiral's species, provides the basis for plenty of exciting tales.

Seeing the political dynamics within the Chiss Ascendancy, for example, as well as the visual spectacle that planets like Csilla or Sunrise could provide, would be fascinating.

Or, of course, there is the option of going again with a brand new idea, trusting that the next skilled Star Wars superfan - of which The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland is undoubtedly one - can pick up where this latest series left off.

Sure, in the eyes of Lucasfilm, Headland’s story is no longer the project that can drive the franchise forward. And, in all honesty, that might be the right call. But there are plenty of avenues - exciting, original avenues - that the team at Disney can head down to keep things fresh and interesting.

Their experience with The Acolyte, and all of the noise both understandable and unsettling around it, shouldn’t stop them from exploring more.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is streaming now on Disney Plus. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £4.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.