According to a new Forbes article, Disney’s pre-production costs for The Acolyte reached $49 million, which according to the report is more than what was spent to pre-produce the Rogue One film, and almost as much as it costs to pre-produce The Last Jedi.
The report only lists these as pre-production costs, so the numbers don’t include productions costs, which get very hefty on films, especially Rogue One, which required re-shoots. While $49 million is nothing to balk at, if you consider that the series could have upwards of eight hours of narrative content (depending on total episodes and runtime), the price tag and comparisons to Star Wars movies shouldn’t be that shocking.
If a two hour film can run up a huge pre-production cost total, then surely a long form TV series can as well. If anything, it should make fans happy that the purse was open for The Acolyte, which should result in a high-quality looking and feeling Star Wars TV series.
Keanu Reeves Cameo
In addition to the numbers featured in the Forbes report, it also touched on a new rumor that Keanu Reeves has a cameo in The Acolyte. If true, he’d be joining his Matrix pal Carrie Ann-Moss, who is officially in the cast as revealed many months ago.
The rumor seems to come from Giant Freaking Robot, so don’t hold your breath on Reeves making his Star Wars debut as a cameo character in The Acolyte. That’s not to say it won’t happen as he has been fan cast in all sorts of Jedi and Sith roles, but their track record doesn’t make this a take it to the bank kind of rumor.
Nick and I will talk more about Keanu Reeves and The Acolyte on this week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
