Disney+ Has A History Of Removing Canceled Shows, Now Fans Are Worried The Acolyte Might Be Next

After an eight-episode run that was met with mixed reviews, largely thanks to review-bombing efforts, The Acolyte was officially canceled a little over a month after airing on the 2024 TV Schedule. Fans of the series immediately flooded social media to share their disappointment over the news and to start a petition to save the series. However, the opposite seems to be happening, and many are concerned that the High Republic Star Wars series will be joining the Disney+ graveyard of deleted shows.

Though the series got off to a slow start, enthusiasm started to grow as the action increased, and Disney indulged in the hype by releasing a thirst trap of Manny Jacinto’s character. Many fans and the creator, Leslye Headland, had hoped the show would get a second season, especially after The Acolyte's cliffhanger ending. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case.

What makes The Acolyte's cancellation even worse is now fans are wondering if it's going to be taken off Disney+.

Fans Are Concerned The Acolyte Will Be Removed From Disney+ 

As more and more streaming services delete titles to save money, fans are worried that The Acolyte might be the next victim. Some believe the purge has already begun after eagle-eyed fans reportedly noticed that all the themed merchandise previously available on the Disney Store website was seemingly gone.

The news spread like wildfire across social media, with many sharing their continued disappointment with the decision and share their fears:

• Oh so they’re gonna Willow it huh? - @Idgf_Tomo
• this is just pathetic lol. acolyte deserved better - @andrewscomet
• This is going to end up being the first Star Wars title to actually get removed from Disney+, isn’t it? They’ve done it with non-Star Wars stuff like the Willow show but it’ll be crazy if it ends up happening to one of their Disney+ original Star Wars shows. - @covered_n_bees
• Wow they really are trying to make people forget about the show lol -@ChainsawReacts
• It's very possible they will remove the show from the platform in a few days as they did with Willow, making it impossible to watch it anywhere unless you pirate it. Those are very frightening developments that you should be worried about, even if you didn't like the series! -@TSoS_

While there are thousands worried about this, it is worth noting that, at the time of this writing, the Disney Store website currently shows four screen-printed t-shirt designs when fans search The Acolyte on the site. However, much of the other merchandise, like The Stranger’s helmet and action figures, are still missing from the site but available to purchase from other retailers. Perhaps this is a good sign that The Acolyte will be sticking around on the streaming service.

Disney+ Has Removed Shows Before, However, It's Never Deleted A Star Wars Series

While The Acolyte fans might be getting prematurely upset about the series possibly being removed indefinitely from Disney+, their anxieties are warranted given the streaming service’s history of doing just that.

Last year, Disney+ deleted a plethora of original shows and movies from its streaming service, some of which lasted as little as two months. One of the biggest losses was Lucasfilm’s Willow, a fantasy adventure series that was based on the 1988 film of the same name. Originally considered to be on a production hiatus given that Season 2 was written, the Willow was eventually canceled and removed as part of a cost-cutting initiative.

This marked the first Lucasfilm title to be purged from Disney+, and since the studio is the one that gave The Acolyte the final blow, fans are understandably worried.

However, it should be noted that no major title from any of Disney’s iconic franchises (Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, Disney Animation) has been erased from the streaming service since its launch in 2019. That’s not to say it won’t happen. However, the odds of the Mouse House erasing part of the Star Wars canon from existence is, at this point, highly unlikely — especially when one considers that at least two characters from the show (the Wookie Jedi, Kelnacca and Jedi master Vernestra Rwoh) are getting their own comic and novels as announced at San Diego Comic-Con.

Though the future of The Acolyte series on Disney+ remains to be seen, fans can hopefully feel a bit of ease knowing that Lucasfilm does still have some money invested into the canon established in the series. Whether or not that will be enough to have the show stick around remains to be seen. The best way to ensure that the series doesn’t go anywhere is to stream it on Disney+ with a subscription.