The Acolyte, the latest live-action Star Wars show on Disney+, was released Tuesday to little fanfare. After the low viewership for Ahsoka, season three of The Mandalorian, and the poor reviews for Kenobi, the science fiction franchise’s foray into television is looking like a mistake. However, this is not due to a lack of demand; it is Disney’s unrelenting attack on the Star Wars fanbase and continued insistence on pushing culture war issues instead of focusing on quality.
The Acolyte has been described as “the gayest Star Wars,” which was intentional by Leslye Headland, the LGBT activist who created it. Headland has joked that “R2D2 is a lesbian” and said that “there’s just no way that me being a queer woman is not going to be reflected in my work.” One of the stars of the show also proclaimed that “nerds are gay” and “Star Wars is so gay already.” Needless to say, The Acolyte is not exactly designed to please established Star Wars fans, who have been all but abandoned by Disney since the company purchased Lucasfilm in 2012.
