The Acolyte’s Carrie-Anne Moss Responds to Moving On After Star Wars Series’ Cancelation

Disney’s newest Star Warssaga was canceled barely a month after its debut with just one season on the books, and fans have been passionately petitioning for The Acolyte‘s return ever since. Although the show’s dismissal has certainly left a hole in the Star Wars universe, actress Carrie-Anne Moss — who played a Jedi Master in the ill-fated series — offered a slightly less sentimental opinion, saying that she’d already moved on even before The Acolyte‘s second season was scrapped.

Several members of the cast have already shared their thoughts on The Acolyte‘s cancelation, with reactions ranging from disappointment to shock to, in Manny Jacinto’s case, a singular heart emoji. Fans have also expressed their dejection, even going so far as to create a petition for a renewal of the show — which has continued to gain momentum despite Disney’s staunch refusal to alter their decision. However, despite occupying a fairly pivotal role in the show, Moss appeared significantly less affected than her colleagues when asked about The Acolyte‘s cancelation. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Moss stated that due to her character’s tragic fate, she had already made peace with the prospect of leaving The Acolyte.

I mean I died, so I was like I love everybody, but I didn’t read about it. I heard from, like, a dad at school, and I was already working on something else. So it’s sort of like, oh, okay. It was over already for me.

Moss also attributed her lukewarm reaction to the sheer prevalence of canceled projects in today’s entertainment industry. Although the experience of a beloved show getting the boot isn’t solely a modern phenomenon, it does seem to happen far more often in an era of dime-a-dozen streaming services battling fiercely for viewership. Netflix in particular has become a graveyard of one-season shows, but Disney is rapidly climbing the ranks with so many prospective Star Wars projects going under. “When being an actor, you’re in shows all the time that are canceled and it’s in the beginning, it’s kind of a bummer,” Moss said. “And then you just learn to not really be invested. You can’t be, it’s a protection mechanism.”

Disney Is Rapidly Falling Out of Favor With Star Wars Fans

The Acolyte‘s cancelation is only the most recent installment in a series of bad decisions made by Disney about the Star Wars universe. During its brief run, The Acolyte sparked numerous controversies due to the show’s diverse casting, which led to issues like “review bombing” that negatively affected The Acolyte‘s ratings and viewership. However, the show was also incredibly expensive to produce, meaning that its only shot for survival was a near-unanimous approval from fans — which obviously didn’t happen. But by pouring so much money into a project that was bound to be at least somewhat controversial, it almost seems like Disney deliberately set up The Acolyte for failure.

Due to the premature cancelation of more experimental projects like The Acolyte, fans have also begun to accuse Disney of playing it safe with the Star Wars universe. By favoring more familiar stories with returning characters (the majority of whom are white), Disney is continuing to appeal to the toxic side of the Star Wars fanbase: those responsible for sending online hate towards stars of The Acolyte. Unfortunately, this trend doesn’t seem likely to change, since chances of The Acolyte returning are slim despite fans’ outcries. The show was simply too expensive, and although its divisive reviews weren’t necessarily reflective of The Acolyte‘s actual content, Disney would be hard-pressed to renew an unprofitable project.