The Acolyte is proof that some Disney+ TV shows really are better off being movies
The Acolyte just wrapped up its first season on Disney+ and whatever else, it proves once more a key point: Some Star Wars and Marvel projects really are better off as movies, not TV shows.
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for The Acolyte Season 1
Set a century before the events of the movies, The Acolyte's basic plot is Osha (Amandla Stenberg), a former Jedi padawan, pulled into an investigation where she's accused of killing other Jedi. The culprit is really Osha's twin sister Mae (also played by Stenberg), who she assumed was dead for years. Osha and Mae's dual paths lead to the secret of how the Sith have survived and are rebuilding.
The show has seen some criticism in the pacing, writing, and performances, yet it still provided a compelling picture of the Star Wars universe. The finale did win wider praise, touching on the Jedi as a religious/political body where one Jedi Master blames so much of the season's chaos on a dead Jedi rather than face the truth the Sith may be back. There was potential for a second year and the setup for Darth Plagueis (the master of Palpatine) while still not a bad show.
Yet The Acolyte also continued a trend hitting both Star Wars and Marvel: They're doing TV shows that should be movies instead.
Why Disney+ is making the wrong projects shows
It's easy to see why Disney would want shows based on Star Wars and Marvel. They're both huge iconic franchises and something to spark up Disney+ is good. A TV show offers creators more time and freedom to build on their storylines and logically should work. Yet, they haven't.
First, let's get the successes out of the way. Andor has been almost universally praised as the best Star Wars project in years, with even non-Star Wars fans loving its thrills, political infighting, and fascinating look at how the Empire worked. The Mandalorian was, of course, a huge success that sparked a new wave of interest and even earned Emmy nods.
On the Marvel side, Ms. Marvel worked as a TV show and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was better with that fourth-wall breaking format than a movie would have been. Likewise, WandaVision used television as part of the actual storyline so having it be on that medium was the only way to make it work. Finally, Loki was masterful at using the episodic format to beef up the storyline with terrific cliffhanger endings.
But for the rest? The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Secret Invasion both were criticized for the rough pacing and stretching out a story too much over six episodes. Secret Invasion would have been a better fit for a film as six episodes felt way too long for its storyline and it could have hidden some of the flaws. Rather than be a thriller for Nick Fury, it just looked like a sad old man plodding along and a lame ending.
In terms of Star Wars, Obi-Wan was originally intended to be a movie and it would have worked out there. Ewan McGregor was terrific being back in the role and the Obi-Wan/Vader showdowns were powerful. Cut out some filler of hunting for Leia and it was a compelling tale. Likewise, Ahsoka brought the animated character to wonderful life as well as the long-awaited live-action debut of Admiral Thrawn yet a big-screen adventure could have been a thrill.
It just seems off that both properties are using TV the wrong way when a movie would have fit these stories better. On the flip side, it can be argued Marvel's Eternals would have been better as a TV show with so many characters and plotlines. Trying to cram it all into one movie made it messy, while a TV show would have given it more room to breathe.
This leads to The Acolyte, which showcases the problems of this program.