New Details on Why THE ACOLYTE Was Canceled By Disney and Keanu Reeves Almost Played Sol
A lot of fans of The Acolyte have been wondering why Disney canceled the Star Wars series after Lucasfilm set up a story arc that could continue to build on and explore the story of Darth Plagueis. Now, everything will be left unresolved for the character arcs.
The news of the cancelation was met with a mixture of disappointment from fans and indifference from others. Then there are some of the cast members, were were surprised by the decision.
There was some speculation that the negative backlash the Star Wars community contributed to the decision to cancel the show, but according to Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, The Acolyte was canceled because it simply didn’t have the viewership for Disney to want to keep pumping money into the show.
It’s explained: "Insiders explain that The Acolyte was canceled because viewership was bad, and that there’s really nothing more to it than that even though at least one cast member said they were surprised by the decision.
“I’m told that The Acolyte’s viewership collapsed following the first two episodes, whereas with Andor, viewership steadily climbed throughout the season, so the show was renewed for Season 2. Andor also drew exceptional reviews, whereas The Acolyte’s reviews were more mixed.”
Well, low viewership is the reason why shows are typically canceled. While there are a lot of fans making their voices heard online there obviously isn’t enough of them for Disney to want to keep the show going.
Sneider also said that the rumor regarding Keanu Reeves originally being up for a role in the series was true; he was Headland's first choice to play Jedi Master Sol. However, a scheduling conflict prevented him from signing on, so the role went to Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae.
Reeves still may show up in a Star Wars project at some point as "Lucasfilm remains high on the actor, whose interest has been noted internally."