Nearly six months after its final episode aired on Disney+, many fans are still mourning the cancellation of Star Wars: Acolyte (Read / Movie Review). While the High Republic series certainly had its flaws, it was something quite different from the other fare Lucasfilm has put on the streaming platform — a Jedi-era mystical tale that's never been seen live before. It also featured some of the best cybernetic choreography the franchise has had in years, but that wasn't enough to stop Disney from giving The Acolyte a shot after just one season.

In an interview with VultureDisney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman discussed the official reasoning behind Disney canceling The Acolyte, and not surprisingly, it came down to money. "As for 'Acolyte,' we were pleased with our performance," Bergman said, referring to the show's strong critical reviews and high ratings early on. "But it wasn't where we needed to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and do Season 2. So that's why we didn't do it."

"Cost structure" isn't quite the same as just saying the series is too expensive, but it's not hard to see what Bergman likely means. According to the report from Forbes Earlier this year, The Acolyte ended up with an overbudget of $230 million — just $20 million less than the reported production budget for Season 1 of Andor, which has four more episodes and double the length due to the much shorter installments of "Acolyte."

Going by Bergman's explanation, it seems that "The Acolyte" was canceled mainly because its high price didn't match the actual scope of the show. The first and now only season is eight episodes long - not at all unusual for a genre streaming series. However, the longest episode of the bunch is only 43 minutes long after you subtract the credits, and the shortest is only 28 minutes. A common complaint during the show's run was that its episodes were too short, but even with that less substantial running time, certain production elements—namely, the sets and costumes—also received criticism for looking cheap compared to those of other "War of the stars." " shows.

Television productions - especially those for big franchises with tons of special effects and different locations - are a huge undertaking. There's never just one explanation for why things didn't line up the way the creators might have hoped. If Disney was happy with the ratings for The Acolyte but canceled it because of its "cost structure," then the main issue may have been in the conception stage.

The show was already aimed more at young adults, a CW-esque tone that was new to Star Wars live-action. That kind of series doesn't necessarily need the biggest budget to thrive. The Acolyte also starred all new characters, and the High Republic era is completely unknown to most casual Star Wars fans. With a more reasonable budget, perhaps its ratings numbers would have made more sense for a second season.

If the main reason for The Acolyte's cancellation was indeed its cost structure, there is still hope for fans that the story may continue in a different form somewhere down the line. Manny Giacinto's mysterious dark character The Stranger was a clear favorite from the show, and given how much praise Giacinto has earned for his performance and stunt work, it would be great to see him reprise the role. Amandla Stenberg's Osha Stranger arc ends on a big cliffhanger and a Darth Plagueis tease, leaving tons of fun canon material on the table. The High Republic still has a lot of potential in Star Wars live action. though there are no official plans to bring that part of the Disney+ timeline back yet.

However, it's more likely that if we do see these characters again, it will be in the comics or novels—areas where the High Republic was built and where exorbitant production budgets aren't a problem. In his interview with Vulture, Alan Bergman stated that Disney's current focus with Star Wars on streaming is "Andor" season 2 and "Ahsoka" Season 2, as well as the ongoing "Skeleton Crew."

While Bergman's reasoning for canceling "The Acolyte" makes sense, it still hurts that a show that received such vicious hate from "anti-woke" internet snobs got the ax so quickly. Considering how Acolyte actors like Stenberg were left out to dry by the company while facing massive backlash online, they might not even want to go back and reprise their characters if given the chance.