Does things look bad for Star Wars? Six years ago, after a much-maligned trilogy but with the prospect of a brighter future on the small screen, Lucasfilm offered its first live-action series with The Mandalorian. With the launch of Disney+, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau's creation stood out as a second wind for the galaxy far, far away. Since then, projects of the genre have multiplied, from The Book of Boba Fett to Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Audiences have been there for each of these releases, and Star Wars-branded series have quickly established themselves as a sure bet for the platform. However, with the release of The Acolyte, the galaxy far, far away is beginning to show signs of weakness.
After a solid launch, the series, which explores a new period in Star Wars history, has seen a drastic drop in ratings. Critics are also much less enthusiastic. Viewers' disinterest is confirmed by Skeleton Crew, a children's series that fails to captivate the crowds and stands out as the first to not make the Nielsen rankings in the United States. Andor isn't doing much better with disappointing ratings for its second season. The future of Star Wars on Disney+ is more uncertain than ever, and recent statements from Tony Gilroy, who created the best Star Wars series ever, add credence to the theory that Disney and Lucasfilm might abandon the format.
“We don't have the money anymore”
In an interview with IndieWire, Tony Gilroy discussed the challenges he faced in bringing these twelve new episodes to fruition. While Andor benefited from a comfortable budget, Disney+ tightened the screws in season 2. He explains:
While Gilroy doesn't complain about seeing his budget scrutinized from all sides, these statements confirm a paradigm shift within the team. The lack of any notable small-screen announcements at Star Wars Celebration confirms that the company is no longer sure where to stand. Aside from a second season of Ahsoka, the Disney+ Star Wars release schedule is strangely quiet in 2025 and 2026. Animation is somewhat spared with the upcoming release of Maul: Shadow Lord. Is Disney+ about to abandon the live-action Star Wars stable and focus on other franchises, like Alien or Marvel? The Star Wars situation is reminiscent of Pixar, which saw all of its Disney+ exclusive projects buried at the same time as 174 people were laid off. The company's main objective is to achieve some form of profitability for the streaming division, and this will likely involve reducing the number of programs produced and focusing on acquisitions and the second life of its global box-office hits.
It should also be noted that Disney+ is not the only entity in the SVoD sector to express reluctance to invest more. Recently, Amazon's CEO reportedly urged Prime Video's teams to focus on sports rather than original creations. As proof, if any were needed, of the company's reluctance, The Wheel of Time has just been canceled after three seasons. This decision comes at a time when the series had previously been promoted as one of the platform's biggest global successes.
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