Disney+'s STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE (2023?) 7 7

[godzilla43]

This sucks that they cancelled season 2. I thought the first season was pretty good and I would like to have seen where the story goes. I hope they will just end doing new Star Wars or Alien films. Both franchise have a classic first movies(SW4-6, Alien,Aliens) and nothing they create cannot compare to those originals. 

So if they create something new it is hated by "fans". Only if they create Rogue One type of stuff where there is no original story only some things that pander to fans they will get a good rating.

Rogue One was horrible film with a end scene that you could only laugh at. What I heard about the Alien Romulus it is almost the same. First 30 minutes something new and a nice android character and after that just things that will pander the fans.

I bet the next Alien film is about the battle between aliens and colonists in LV-426 where the lead character is that women in Aliens who says Kill me. Also I bet eventually we will see a film which explains how Luke got his X-Wing back from Cloud City.

Edited August 20 by godzilla43

[Buzzetta]

On 8/20/2024 at 2:35 AM, Microchip said:

There's other issues here as well.   Denying the existence of the Dark Horse books, and characters etc.  Then the studio writers have borrowed material from them, with no acknowledgement, and taken full credit for their 'creativity'.   The fan's that have followed things through have a lot to take umbrage with.

The Hollywood machine is working to an agenda that isn't aligned to the material.    This is a long established lineage of fan patronage.   We see it with Lord of the Rings as well.   These franchises come with well established IP, that self-aggrandising studio executives are happy to disregard.   

A lot of the material in the Dark Horse books were a complete twisted mess compared to everything else that was going on across the company when it came to the novels and things like that.  I understand why Disney made that decision actually and they have in fact incorporated many of the ideas into their canon like Thrawn, and mentioning Master Vos surviving the clone wars and things like that. 

GI Joe did the same thing and people forget it because they were reasonably successful at it.  I don't know if you or many remember it but when Image got the license for GI Joe they decided to continue the "Real American Hero" storyline.  It was such a mess that when IDW got the license from Image, they decided, with Hasbro's blessing to wipe away everything that IDW did and start their own continued narrative from the Marvel run.  THAT turned out to be successful enough that Skybound is not only continuing the universe but the numbering.   At the end of the day, that is mostly a Hasbro decision.   So... it has been done before and to some degree of success. 

Now, I am not suggesting that Hasbro's GI Joe influences Disney decision making.  However, there are examples where the previous narrative was simply ignored and a new version established where elements were incorporated to a degree of success. 

[Grendel72]

On 8/20/2024 at 7:56 AM, Bosco685 said:

I had no issues with the waken stuff and whatever agenda the producers were aiming at. It was the lazy writing and aimless plot that i had issues with. Truly a hot mess.

Edited August 20 by Grendel72

[Microchip]

On 8/20/2024 at 4:50 PM, Buzzetta said:

A lot of the material in the Dark Horse books were a complete twisted mess compared to everything else that was going on across the company when it came to the novels and things like that.  I understand why Disney made that decision actually and they have in fact incorporated many of the ideas into their canon like Thrawn, and mentioning Master Vos surviving the clone wars and things like that. 

GI Joe did the same thing and people forget it because they were reasonably successful at it.  I don't know if you or many remember it but when Image got the license for GI Joe they decided to continue the "Real American Hero" storyline.  It was such a mess that when IDW got the license from Image, they decided, with Hasbro's blessing to wipe away everything that IDW did and start their own continued narrative from the Marvel run.  THAT turned out to be successful enough that Skybound is not only continuing the universe but the numbering.   At the end of the day, that is mostly a Hasbro decision.   So... it has been done before and to some degree of success. 

Now, I am not suggesting that Hasbro's GI Joe influences Disney decision making.  However, there are examples where the previous narrative was simply ignored and a new version established where elements were incorporated to a degree of success. 

Comic books being a disjointed collection of unfinished storylines from a too long list of creators and contributors... I thought you were describing the first 80 or so issues of the X-men! 

[october]

[Azkaban]

I gave up on Star Wars after The Last Jedi  how someone let that piece of hot garbage get made I have no idea

[Chip Cataldo]

On 8/20/2024 at 2:35 AM, Microchip said:

The Hollywood machine is working to an agenda that isn't aligned to the material. These franchises come with well established IP, that self-aggrandising studio executives are happy to disregard.   

A near-perfect statement. This, in a nutshell, is why most comic book/sci-fi/fantasy properties fail at the box office. Full stop.

[drotto]

On 8/19/2024 at 11:12 PM, I like pie said:

There were no plans for future seasons. It was originally pitched as a one shot, despite the creator speculating on a "what if"  season two.

That's what they are saying now, but the end of the show was clearly setting up a season 2, and many plot points were not addressed. Or maybe that was just bad writing. In addition, the show runner and some writers were openly teasing what they had planned for season two. They were also actively asking fans to start campaigns to push Lucasfilm to renew the show

 

So yes, pitched as a one shot may be accurate, but other coverage seems to contradict that statement.

[Rip]

This was truly the rock bottom of Star Wars aside the early TV stuff. I wanted to like it, and at times I did.
But overall bad story telling like this shouldn't be rewarded.
The writer made characters do dumb WTF things, and it seems like no one looked over this script with even half-a-brain. 
I would fire some people.

Edited August 20 by Rip

[awakeintheashes]

This series should have been a book at the end of Phase III of the High Republic or an epilogue to it. I feel like a lot of source material from Phase II of the High Republic would have made for a more captivating show or movie. 

I enjoyed the series, but can see why some did not. There really wasn't a threat or holy  set of events that forced you to care about the characters. 

[Microchip]

On 8/21/2024 at 4:09 AM, Rip said:

This was truly the rock bottom of Star Wars aside the early TV stuff. I wanted to like it, and at times I did.
But overall bad story telling like this shouldn't be rewarded.
The writer made characters do dumb WTF things, and it seems like no one looked over this script with even half-a-brain. 
I would fire some people.

It was clear they were doing scene, and script re-write's on the fly through production.    A great case study of the collision of inexperience, and $80million dollars thrown down the toilet.

[drotto]

On 8/20/2024 at 6:01 PM, Microchip said:

It was clear they were doing scene, and script re-write's on the fly through production.    A great case study of the collision of inexperience, and $80million dollars thrown down the toilet.

$180 million down the crapper, likely more. Plus, this was the pitch that so moved Kathleen Kennedy, that she essentially did an end run on Iger to get it made.  This was greenlit when there was supposedly a hiring and spending freeze at Disney.

[VintageComics]

On 8/20/2024 at 6:29 PM, drotto said:

Plus, this was the pitch that so moved Kathleen Kennedy, that she essentially did an end run on Iger to get it made.  This was greenlit when there was supposedly a hiring and spending freeze at Disney.

Couldn't happen to a nicer person. 

So, has Jon Favreau replaced her yet?

[troydivision1]

This is circulating on r/StarWars today.
Could it be the total ROI was too high?
Not just the fiscal cost, but also not bring new subscribers, coupled with the conversation surrounding the show and lack of critic adulation.
Perhaps Disney ran their formula and said 'we should pull the plug' rather than deal with it.

I ask this based on Andor's receiving a second season.
It also was a higher than average 'Cost Per Minute Watched' yet it was nominated for 8 Emmys and features a much higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Edited August 21 by troydivision1

[Hulksdaddy1]

I care as much about Star Wars now as I care about the Hallmark Channel.

Thanks, Disney! 

[Dr. Balls]

On 8/19/2024 at 5:56 PM, Bosco685 said:

[Microchip]

 

The unforgivable insulting is strong with this one.

 

[drotto]

On 8/21/2024 at 4:55 PM, troydivision1 said:

This is circulating on r/StarWars today.
Could it be the total ROI was too high?
Not just the fiscal cost, but also not bring new subscribers, coupled with the conversation surrounding the show and lack of critic adulation.
Perhaps Disney ran their formula and said 'we should pull the plug' rather than deal with it.

I ask this based on Andor's receiving a second season.
It also was a higher than average 'Cost Per Minute Watched' yet it was nominated for 8 Emmys and features a much higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

This proves my point that both side are complicating this and trying to turn it into a big social issue.  From Disney's point of view it was all about money. High cost and marginal to low viewership mean cancelation. The Acolyte cost them more per minute then anything they had ever made, and was not driving subs. Now you can argue all day why that viewership was low, but money eventually talks. In addition, Hollywood is needing to cut everywhere right now. Paramount just closed many of its production facilities and divisions. WB is being forced to do the same. Heck Disney is also laying off people primarily in the entertainment divisions. All the companies chased the mythical panacea that streaming was supposed to be, and found that at the end of that chase was a pile of dung. Too high a cost, too much content needed, and massive dilution of market base. Entertainment and content has become too easy to obtain, and too niche. Shows are not becoming cultural touchstones anymore in an ever more fractured landscape. 

 

Couple that with two very badly timed strikes, and the companies in order to survive have been forced to find moderate budget projects with potential high viewership and mass appeal. It is a very different and difficult landscape than it was even 5 years ago.  Companies can not afford to take risks on an old a shrinking IP, targeting themes and messaging that lacks broad appeal. Where companies like Disney had been acting like money was secondary, they just can't afford to do that anymore. 

Edited August 23 by drotto

[Buzzetta]

On 8/23/2024 at 9:23 AM, drotto said:

This proves my point that both side are complicating this and trying to turn it into a big social issue.  From Disney's point of view it was all about money. High cost and marginal to low viewership mean cancelation. The Acolyte cost them more per minute then anything they had ever made, and was not driving subs. Now you can argue all day why that viewership was low, but money eventually talks. In addition, Hollywood is needing to cut everywhere right now. Paramount just closed many of its production facilities and divisions. WB is being forced to do the same. Heck Disney is also laying off people primarily in the entertainment divisions. All the companies chased the mythical panacea that streaming was supposed to be, and found that at the end of that chase was a pile of dung. Too high a cost, too much content needed, and massive dilution of market base. Entertainment and content has become too easy to obtain, and too niche. Shows are not becoming cultural touchstones anymore in an ever more fractured landscape. 

 

Couple that with two very badly timed strikes, and the companies in order to survive have been forced to find moderate budget projects with potential high viewership and mass appeal. It is a very different and difficult landscape than it was even 5 years ago.  Companies can not afford to take risks on an old a shrinking IP, targeting themes and messaging that lacks broad appeal. Where companies like Disney had been acting like money was secondary, they just can't afford to do that anymore. 

Yup

[VintageComics]

On 8/23/2024 at 3:38 AM, Microchip said:

 

The unforgivable insulting is strong with this one.

 

Marvel took Tony Stark, made him a hyper masculine character on screen, and that character propelled Marvel into a 23+ film profitable film run that is unprecedented in all of Hollywood movie history (they're still using Stark even though he's 'dead'. Who else has done something like that? I'm at a loss to think of anything else that parallels it. 

They took Guardians, everyone laughed (including me) at the prospect of taking a garbage IP, and characters that were bird cage liner, and turned it into record breaking series. And who was at the heart of it? A hyper masculine racoon.

They literally created an entire genre OUT OF NOTHING. OK, they had Marvel's IP, but they took the weakest IP's Marvel had, and turned them into their strongest IPs. That's not an easy feat. We have 100 years of entertainment brands trying to do that and how many have succeeded? 

You can't fake reality. It's either real, or it's a fake and the results are real. They translate into success and you'd have to live in something other than reality to see it. 

You can't ignore reality and avoid the consequences for avoiding reality. The consequences MUST follow eventually.

And you can't keep pretending that it's the fault of something else. Eventually, you're going to get exposed. 

The reality is that this is what people wanted.

No matter what people say they want, people's actions speak louder than their words.

It's time to start dealing with reality rather than pretending they can make a new one, because for the last few years, maybe a decade, there are some who think they can just reconstruct reality. Ain't gonna happen. Ever. 

You can either align yourself with reality or try to go against it, and reality is undefeated. 

Edited August 23 by VintageComics