Last week, Star Wars fans finally got to meet the major antagonist in Star Wars: The Acolyte. In Episode 5 of the series, it was revealed that Manny Jacinto’s Qimir was the evil Sith presence that was troubling and instilling fear in the hearts of many. Jacinto’s character, also called the Stranger, has become a major topic among Star Wars fans.
Since then, fans have been eagerly waiting to get some more glimpses of him in the last few episodes of The Acolyte Season 1. It was recently revealed that after his reveal in Episode 5, the Stranger wasn’t going to be seen much in the show, which is almost sad to think about. During an interview with Inverse, The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland revealed the plan to hide Qimir once again once his identity was known.
Doing so would create mystery and allow him to return to the show’s Season 2 with a much bigger story and role. However, this plan went down the drain as soon as Headland saw Jacinto playing the role of the Stranger, and she instantly realized that she needed to make some massive changes to the storyline. During Jacinto’s “first screen test with the whole outfit,” the creator decided to change some stuff. She said:
This is an interesting tidbit: Originally, even up until shooting, The Stranger was not in a lot of the rest of the season. He was much more of a tee-up for a second season arc. But I saw Manny’s screen test early on in pre-production, and I just thought, “There will be riots in the streets if I don’t [go further]. Here we go. I guess I’m rewriting an episode.” Manny was so impressive in every aspect.
According to Headland, the Stranger was supposed to wear a lot of armor during his epic Episode 5 battle. However, the entire team thought that Qimir was a character that was confident enough to think that he won’t be taking any hits, which would make the whole point of wearing armor unnecessary.
So much of Qimir was understanding how to use your body and not just standing there in a suit or being encumbered by a suit," the showrunner explained. "We were like, 'We have to get him in something more flowy.' As soon as I said he didn't have to wear armor, everyone lost their mind. 'How can you not have armor?' I was like, 'Why would you wear armor if you're not going to get hit?'
The Acolyte’s Creator Reveals How The Stranger Was Inspired By Elden Ring
In the same interview, Leslye Headland also revealed how Jacinto’s character acquires inspiration from the fearless Tarnished players of Elden Ring, who are experts in dodging, instead of the actual villains in the game itself. She clarified and stopped the debate among fans by explaining that Qimir’s lack of armor was simply like “the Elden Ring costume.” She said:
It’s like the Elden Ring costume. The Elden Bling. When you summon people, you always summon the people that aren’t wearing anything, and it’s like, ‘These people are f****** crazy.’
It came as a shock to many to learn that Elden Ring inspired the Stranger’s character, but after seeing Qimir fight against the group of Jedi who were sent to take him down in the most recent episode of The Acolyte, we can see the inspiration. His agility was something that stood out the most since it only brought more to the amazing fight scenes. Hopefully, we'll see more of it in the next few episodes!
The Acolyte Episode 6 is scheduled to premiere today, July 2, only on Disney+.
