Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy!
The Acolyte Debuts to Middling Reviews
The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+
In an age of light, a darkness rises. On June 4, don’t miss the two-episode premiere of #TheAcolyte, a Star Wars Original series, only on Disney+.
Disney+ has debuted their latest Star Wars streaming show offering, The Acolyte, starring Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae, His Dark Material’s Dafne Keen, The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto, The Hunger Games’ Amandla Stenberg, and more did not capture the hearts and minds of fans from a universe far, far away the way series such as The Mandolorian and The Book of Boba Fett did.
Headlines range from fair and balance from Rotten Tomatoes:
The Acolyte First Reviews: A Familiar but New Vision of Star Wars, Packed with Stunning Action
… to the slightly more hard from Geek Tyrant:
Review: STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE – The First Two Episodes Were Underwhelming
… to the hilarious and harsh title from USA Today:
Review: The Force is not with new Jedi-centric ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’
… to the not-even-pretending-to-be-happy-with-it headline from Vulture:
The Acolyte Is Not the Star Wars You Were Looking For
10 years ago when Disney snapped up Star Wars I, personally, could not have imagined a time when this franchise would not run away with the love of both critics and fans. Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens was universally beloved before cooler heads prevailed and many people came to realize the success and joy found in the film is built on a carbon copy nostalgia for Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. Similarly, The Mandolorian ran away with success built on the plot of classic American Westerns many new Star Wars fans are unfamiliar with.
Last year saw a relatively lukewarm reception to Disney+’s live action Ahsoka adaptation – one of the most hoped-for show in the Star Wars history and canon – that kind of makes this mixed reception to The Acolyte feel not only par-for-the-course, but dare I state, expected.
Whether or not you are a die-hard Star Wars fan I think it will be interesting to watch the on-going discourse and reception of The Acolyte as it continues to air weekly on Disney+.
The Acolyte drops new episodes Tuesdays streaming exclusively on Disney+.
The Hunger Games Drops a New Book Next Year and a New Movie in 2026
Thought The Hunger Games ended with the success of Katiniss Everdeen?
Thought The Hunger Games prequels ended with Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
We were wrong on both fronts, my fellow District 4 members!
In two simultaneous announcements yesterday Thursday social media became swarmed with all things Panem!
Let’s start with the most important of the two announcements: the book!
The Associated Press broke the following:
Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth volume of Collins’ blockbuster dystopian series, will be published March 18, 2025. The new book begins with the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, set 24 years before the original “Hunger Games” novel, which came out in 2008, and 40 years after Collins’ most recent book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”
… and tacked on the inevitable movie news as well:
Lionsgate, which has released film adaptations of all four previous “Hunger Games” books, announced later on Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping” will open in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who has worked on all but the first “Hunger Games” movie, will return as director.
In the same announcement author Suzanne Collins shared the following about Sunrise on the Reaping:
“With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few. The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”
Variety added the following about the film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping:
The film rights for the novel have not yet been announced, but one can assume that “Sunrise on the Reaping” will follow the path of its predecessors and make its way onto the big screen.