The Acolyte star Manny Jacinto claims that the Star Wars series will become Prequels of the new generation

When The Acolyte premiered in 2024, it received a lot of poor and mixed reviews. A huge proportion of the Star Wars fanbase detested the eight-episode series in a seriously unnerving way.

Any addition to the long-standing franchise is judged to the highest order, but very few fail as exceptionally as this one did. Even The Last Jedi has a 41% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the 19% rating for The Acolyte.

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However, Manny Jacinto, who played Qimir on the Disney+ show, recently spoke with Screen Rant at the Fan Expo Chicago panel and expressed his opinion. He said that, even though the show did not do well at the time of release, he hopes that in a few years, the series might be judged in a much softer light.

He even went as far as comparing The Acolyte to another set of films in the Star Wars franchise that incited a lot of controversy and criticism at their release. Down the line, however, those films have aged well and are now judged more kindly.

Keep reading to find out what Jacinto thinks might be the future of The Acolyte.

Manny Jacinto thinks The Acolyte might get the Prequels treatment in the future

Manny Jacinto’s Qimir was one of the most fan-loved characters on The Acolyte. In his opinion, the show might experience a shift down the line and find new life despite the controversy that surrounded it at release.

When the Star Wars prequel movies premiered from 1999 to 2005, they were some of the most harshly received projects in the Star Wars franchise. The audience gave a lot of backlash for their storytelling, dialogue, pacing, CGI, and Jar Jar Binks’ character. Even though the response improved with each of the three films’ release, they were still the most critically scrutinized projects in the franchise.

However, the Star Wars prequels have always aged like fine wine, and such was the case with these films. Two decades down the line, they are some of the most rewatchable films in the franchise. Even Jar Jar Binks is much loved now.

This is mainly because they were kids’ movies, and the kids did not have the means or voice to express their opinions. Now, as adults who grew up loving those movies from the very beginning, they have a considerably important voice and opinion.

"I mean, I grew up on The Prequels as well, and you know, as a kid, you watch that, and you're just in awe of it. And then we grow up, and then now we have money...and we have more confidence as well, and we're able to voice our opinion."

Explaining this transformation, the panel moderator asked Jacinto if he thought The Acolyte might suffer a similar fate.

Jacinto went on to describe his experience watching the prequel movies as a kid and finding himself awestruck at them, unaware of the controversy that surrounded them. He is extremely hopeful that his foray into the franchise as Qimir finds new life and love as well, much like the prequel films.

"I do hope that, you know, it finds new life, or it continues to find the love...you know, being out here has been so much love, and I just hope it continues, and we'll see. Never say never."

While The Acolyte has received a lot of controversial reviews, there is a significant portion of the fanbase who enjoyed the exploration of the High Republic era. Hopefully, the eight-episode series will find its home with those fans and maybe a new generation of audiences.

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