Star Wars fans got a treat on Tuesday with the premiere of the new Star Wars series The Acolyte on Disney+.
But in a recent New York Times profile, The Acolyte’s creator Leslye Headland appeared to reveal that her series is now the most expensive Star Wars show to date, according to Just Jared.
Headland shared that the series — which released its first two episodes on Disney’s streaming service — cost ‘roughly $180 million’ over eight episodes.
That would made the series even more expensive than the popular Star Wars series The Mandalorian, which has aired three seasons to date on Disney+.
The series — which stars Amandla Stenberg, Jodie Turner-Smith and Carrie-Anne Moss, among others — would have cost around $22.5 million per episode, although the pilot episode and early scene-setting episodes often receive larger budgets that later episodes.
The Acolyte’s creator Leslye Headland told the New York Times that the Star Wars series costs around $180M for an eight-episode season; Jodie Turner-Smith pictured on The Acolyte
That means a budget of around $22.5M per episode, more than the massively expensive series The Mandalorian, which costs around $15M pr episode
That per-episode budget which would also make The Acolyte one of the most expensive shows ever made.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported in 2019 that the first season of The Mandalorian cost around $120 million to make, which amounted to about $15 million for each of its eight episodes.
However, it’s unclear if the budget has remained steady for the show’s second and third seasons.
Although the Pedro Pascal–starring series — in which he plays a Boba Fett–like Mandalorian bounty hunter — is popular with Star Wars fans and Disney+ subscribers, it’s unclear if the show will ever get a fourth season.
It’s set to get a feature film continuation, the Jon Favreau–directed The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is planned for a spring 2026 release, and the show’s universe has already been expanded with the spinoffs The Book Of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and the forthcoming Skeleton Crew.
Disney is reportedly in a holding pattern, as it plans to see how Favreau’s film performs at the box office before deciding on whether to greenlight more seasons.
A successful Star Wars film might also prompt Disney to instead focus on additional Mandalorian films, as they would potentially be far more profitable than additional seasons of the show.
Dave Filoni, who produces the show and is writing Favreau’s film, was announced in 2023 as the director of a future film to conclude the series about the bounty hunter, though few details have been released.
It’s unclear if The Mandalorian will return for a fourth season, as a movie is planned for a 2026 release
The Acolyte is set in the past of the Star Wars universe, around 100 years before the events of Episode I — The Phantom Menace, in the waning days of the High Republic era
Lee Jung-jae (pictured) plays the Jedi Master Sol, who is investigation a series of crimes
Amandla Stenberg plays a dual role as the sister Osha and Mae, who alert Sol to a rising threat; pictured May 28 in London
Other massively expensive shows in recent years include HBO’s Game Of Thrones. The dark fantasy series originally cost around $8 million per episode, but in its final season the per episode costs ballooned to around $15 million, on par with The Mandalorian.
At $130 million per season, The Crown was previously believed to be one of the most expensive streaming series to date, but the Netflix series had 10 episodes instead of eight, so the per-episode budget was lower than on The Mandalorian or The Acolyte.
The Acolyte is set in the past of the Star Wars universe, around 100 years before the events of Episode I — The Phantom Menace, in the waning days of the High Republic era.
Lee Jung-jae plays the Jedi Master Sol, who is investigation a series of crimes, while Stenberg plays a dual role as the sister Osha and Mae, who alert Sol to a rising threat.
