Disney/Lucasfilm, maybe it's finally time to hear out the fans disappointed with Star Wars

Hey Thor,

If we are being honest, not all the hate toward The Acolyte is due to people thinking the show is poor quality although I am sure that is a major factor.  So many people feel "burned" by previous Disney girl-boss Mary-Sue shows that the moment they heard that it has a female lead and a gay director who made some controversial comments that were taken out of context, they refused to watch the show.  This is what my friends are telling me.  And those who feel so slighted are hyper-critical of it for its wokeness.  People have developed a knee-jerk reaction to anything that looks woke because they lump it all into the same basket as Captain Marvel and Rey.  The fanbase has built up resentment, so maybe the practical thing Disney should do is give us some classical male heroes which is what most people like.  There is still room for female heroes as there always has been. 

This is what happened to "Lightyear" which I thought was a pretty good movie.  Because it has a same-sex couple and a blink-and-you-will-miss-it lesbian kiss, there was a huge boycott campaign promoted by conservative talk show hosts.  The movie bombed because nobody watched it.  I tried to convince my friends to watch it, and they refused thinking it was too controversial.  People are reacting to what they hear instead of watching it and deciding for themselves.

I don't think that The Acolyte is bad.  I don't think that the third episode is bad for not revealing all of its cards.  We were told that the show's point was to have a mystery told from different perspectives.  I look forward to watching how the mystery plays out.  However, the show makes story-telling choices that don't sit well with the general audience. 

The Acolyte has enough of a budget that it could be better, but this leads to my second issue regarding Star Wars fans.  They expect perfection.  TV shows never have the same budget as major movies, and even The Acolyte has a lower budget than The Rise of Skywalker, so I am willing to give TV shows a bit more leeway.  I am just grateful that the show is entertaining even if it is not perfect.  Like you, I want it to be better, but that isn't always possible given the budget.  

For example, there was an outstanding George Lucas movie that was effectively turned into a TV show and nobody complained about the show being inferior even though it was.  The show was a huge hit.  The movie was American Graffiti and the show was Happy Days.

I would feel honored if you would comment on this. 

Best wishes, 

John Coffey