Just a day ago in a galaxy that's not far away at all ...
Disney may have finally and truly killed the beloved "Star Wars" franchise, thanks to its disastrous new Disney+ series "The Acolyte."
The live-action "Star Wars" series explores events that take place about 100 years before 1999's "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," in a period otherwise known as the "High Republic Era."
(Think of it as a time of general peace and prosperity before the bad guys rose up.)
While that unexplored bit of "Star Wars" history is rife with potential, the manner in which showrunner and former Harvey Weinstein associate Leslye Headland has steered the story has left quite a lot to be desired -- and that's putting it mildly.
But even with the introduction of hamfisted moral ambiguity and lesbian space witches conceiving children, it wasn't until the fourth episode of "The Acolyte" dropped on Monday that fans may be reaching a point of no return with the franchise.
In terms of classic culture wars issues, nothing about the latest episode drew more condemnation than the introduction of pronouns in an intergalactic setting.
You can see the brief mention of "he" or "they" drivel in the clip below:
Disney Star Wars pronouns#Acolyte pic.twitter.com/x8GnpnEUUw
— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) June 19, 2024
About halfway through the episode, titled "Day," the main character, Osha -- a black female Jedi portrayed by Amandla Stenberg -- meets a new possible ally.
Unsure of what gender to use for a (and I can't believe I have to type these words out) freaking space alien, Osha asks her companion, "Is he -- or they -- with us?"
It's all just the sort of shameless pandering that has ruined much of modern media, but that doesn't make it any less jarring to see.
Exacerbating matters for Disney and Lucasfilm, even "Star Wars" fans who don't care a lick about culture war issues had a major bone to pick with the episode.
Without delving into too many asinine details or spoilers, whatever fans of "Star Wars" are left in 2024 are decidedly split about a surprise cameo in the most recent episode of "The Acolyte."
Not only does that cameo not make chronological sense -- if this show does, in fact, take place 100 years before "Phantom Menace," it would predate this character's birth by about 40 years -- but the cameo also directly contradicts a line the character had in "Episode I."
https://youtu.be/3lBsWrYzPfA?si=krUtEhy4JXGfyHth
Even without the pronouns, this show has been an absolute mess for the most die-hard (and those may be the only types left) "Star Wars" fans.
And the social media response to "The Acolyte" has reflected that. Even a cursory look at comments under "The Acolyte" content shows that fans are none too thrilled with the series -- be it for culture war issues or plot contrivances.
Headland has already branded "The Acolyte" as "the gayest 'Star Wars'" ever.
If it continues to disrespect the source material and the common decency of normal people everywhere, it may also be the deadest "Star Wars" show ever.
