Disney Reveals Star Wars Spinoff ‘Ahsoka’ Is 30% Cheaper Than ‘The Acolyte’

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentDisney Reveals Star Wars Spinoff ‘Ahsoka’ Is 30% Cheaper Than ‘The Acolyte’ByCaroline Reid,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Caroline Reid covers the entertainment industryFollow AuthorMay 25, 2026, 07:18pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.'Ahsoka' is one of Disney's cheapest Star Wars productions. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.Lucasfilm Ltd.Pre-production of the second season of Star Wars streaming show Ahsoka cost around 30% less than the sum spent on its counterpart The Acolyte according to recently-released filings.Released in 2024, The Acolyte became one of the most controversial instalments in Disney's Star Wars saga. Before the show even launched on the Disney+ platform there was a disturbance in the force as it was branded woke due to its diverse female-led cast. This was supposedly the driving force behind its rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes plummeting when it launched.Just a day after the debut of The Acolyte's first episode its audience score stood at only 50% but even darker clouds soon began to gather. Overwhelmingly-negative reviews flooded in leaving The Acolyte with an audience score of just 19% which is lower than the notorious 1978 Star Wars: Holiday Special.The low score was attributed to unjustified review bombing with the key evidence for this being that the show's Rotten Tomatoes critics' score stands at a more respectable 79%.However, the proof of the pudding was the size of the audience as the show only hit seventh place on Nielsen’s Top 10 originals chart in its premiere week with 488 million minutes viewed. It climbed one spot in the second week but then experienced a dramatic fall from grace as it exited the list. In short, the show simply didn't appeal to the public.The clearest evidence t...