The official trailer for The Acolyte, the new Star Wars TV series coming to Disney+ in June, has received more dislikes than likes on YouTube.
Per Culture Crave, the trailer for The Acolyte had received 6.5 million views with 135,711 likes and 162,921 dislikes on YouTube as of 20 March.
The series is set during the “High Republic” era and takes place approximately 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
It stars Amanda Stenberg (The Hunger Games) as Mae, a dangerous Jedi warrior, and Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) as her former Jedi Master. The pair reunite to investigate the deaths of numerous Jedi, seemingly at the hands of the Sith.
As for why the new trailer has received more dislikes than likes, Star Wars fans have been speculating on Reddit.
“I was left with an overwhelming sense of ‘meh’ after watching the trailer. Maybe it was the Sith ninja, maybe it is how little I expect from Star Wars nowadays, or maybe it’s because this is yet another D+ show that will be forgotten a week after its finale,” said one Reddit user.
Other commenters felt that it was down to “anti-woke” sentiment stemming from the multicultural cast and past comments made by the series’ director, Leslye Headland.
“Something something woke mind virus,” wrote u/BoscotheBear. “If people hate this show which looks very promising, JUST BECAUSE THE LEADS ARE NOT WHITE MALES, I may stop communicating with the Star Wars community,” said another user.
In the past, Leslye Headland referred to the series as “female-centric”, which garnered a negative response from some fans of the series.
Other users put it down to perceived production issues.
“From what the trailer has shown us. I think the lightning looks, meh. I can’t put my finger on it, but something just doesn’t look good,” said one Star Wars fan.
“I get a sense of overproduction from these shows. Everything looks so perfectly clean and perfectly lit,” agreed another.
The YouTube comment section also suggests that fans are frustrated at Leslye Headland being chosen to helm the show despite her association with Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer and convicted sex offender. Headland was previously employed as his personal assistant.
Quoting a scene from the trailer, one commenter wrote: “‘Close your eyes, what do you see?’ ‘I see and hear nothing Mr. Weinstein.'”
The Acolyte will arrive on Disney+ on 4 June with its first two episodes.
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