The Acolyte takes place during the High Republic Era, the “golden age of the Jedi Order.” Star Wars fans know that time period is followed by total darkness. A century later, the Sith will emerge from the shadows, slaughter their ancient enemy, and rule the galaxy far, far away. Jedi hubris during the Clone Wars will help make their downfall possible. But now, we’ve seen firsthand how the Order could have avoided their own destruction long before Sheev Palpatine even become a Sith apprentice. The Acolyte‘s Senator Rayencourt saw something the Jedi couldn’t: their own flaws. And if they had accepted the kind of oversight we know the Order so desperately needed, its golden era might have never ended.

Master Vernestra spent season one of The Acolyte trying to hide a terrible truth from the Galactic Senate. She did not want any outsiders—even the elected officials whom the Jedi were supposed to answer to—to learn about the murder of their own kind by an unauthorized Force user trained by a former Jedi Padawan. Vernesra and her colleagues didn’t even tell their own High Council what was happening, because the Jedi governing body made up of the wisest, most experiences Masters reported directly to the Senate.

Before Vernestra went to Brendok and learned the truth about what happened there, she spoke with the Order’s biggest critic, Senator Rayencourt. His name came up during the season because he was hoping the Galactic Senate would order an independent, external investigation into the Jedi. In his confrontational meeting with Vernestra he laid out his honest, unvarnished reason for questioning the Jedi.

“I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power, posing as a religion, a delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable,” he said. When Vernestra responded (without challenging anything else he said) she told him the Jedi don’t control the Force. That wasn’t what he meant. “Not the Force. Your emotions,” he said. “You project an image of goodness and restraint, but it’s only a matter of time before one of you you snaps. And when, not ‘if’ that happens, who will be strong enough to stop him?”

The specter of Anakin Skywalker hung over the entire scene. Everything Rayencourt said will happen. Anakin will be unable to control the very emotions the Jedi failed to teach him to command. His lack of restraint over fear, pain, and sadness, will overcome his goodness and he will snap. No one will be able to stop him when he does. Many will die. The Jedi will fall. Darkness will consume the entire galaxy.

Rayencourt could see that tragic fate coming even if the rest of the Senate could not. “The majority of my colleagues cannot imagine a galaxy without the Jedi, and I can understand why,” he said. “When you’re looking up to heroes you don’t have to face what’s right in front of you.” He’s right, and not just about the people who put their faith in the Jedi. It will be true of the Jedi themselves.

They will be so sure of their position, held for millennia, they will not see what’s right in front of them. Rather then serve as guardians of peace and justice for all, they will foolishly serve as generals in a war secretly led by a Sith Lord. Their unquestioned belief in their own abilities, in their own goodness, and in their own heroism will lead to their own fall. They will put themselves on a pedestal and never question why they’re up there. From their perch, lies will sound good. Wars will be justified. And a Sith will operate in the shadow they create.

It didn’t have to be that way and it shouldn’t have been. Rayencourt’s review could have brought to light the obvious issues with the Jedi Order, both the danger of its beliefs and its position in the galaxy. Unchecked power, even for those with “noble intentions,” will ultimately lead you astray. Especially when it requires you to deny the very thing that connects you to others: your emotions. Putting yourself above anyone will blind you to your own flaws. The longer those flaws go untreated the larger they grow and the more vulnerable you become.

The Jedi ruled for thousands of years, unaware their own shortcomings were getting larger with every generation. Eventually they stretched themselves so thin the Sith saw a chance to capitalize. And they were able to do so manipulating the very Senate the Jedi had kept in the dark.

Master Vernestra told terrible lies unbecoming a Jedi for what she thinks is a greater cause. She believes the Jedi, and only the Jedi, know what is best for themselves, and by extension the whole galaxy. Because Vernestra believed that she wanted to protect herself and her Order from the prying eyes of outsiders. If only she’d been willing to hear some hard truths she might have done just that.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who spent decades waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The final episode of The Acolyte teased several things we know are playing an important part in Star Wars lore. The biggest was the reveal of who is almost certainly Darth Plagueis, the Sith master of the future Emperor Palpatine. The other big status quo shift was Osha (Amandla Stenberg) becoming the titular acolyte for the Stranger, also known as Qimir (Manny Jacinto). Even with these big reveals, we have many questions. Specifically, we want to know whether or not the Stranger is a Sith, or one of the Knights of Ren. Perhaps he is the very first Ren. And how do the dark-side-powered Knights of Ren even connect to the Sith Order, if it all? Maybe the finale of The Acolyte just gave us a clue.

Darth Plagueis Reveals Himself in The Acolyte

On the mysterious planet where the Stranger resides, we see a mysterious dark side figure literally lurking in the shadows. He silently watches as the Stranger talks to Osha, attempting his dark side seduction. The general assumption, based on descriptions in non-canon Legends material, is that this was our first on-screen appearance of Darth Plagueis the Wise. His look appears very similar to his appearance as a Muun in Legends, specifically the James Luceno novel, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. So what’s he doing there? We have some ideas.

One theory we have is that he is the true Sith master, and the Stranger is his apprentice. “Always two there, no more, no less.” That’s the creed of the Sith “Rule of Two.” However, this rule is always broken. At some point, the Sith apprentice takes on their own student, and overthrows their master, starting the cycle over. In The Clone Wars, Count Dooku started training Asajj Ventress, but when she grew too powerful, his master Darth Sidious/Palpatine commanded him to kill her. He wasn’t allowing any threat to his power to exist.

Was Darth Plagueis the Master of Qimir/The Stranger?

Our feeling is that some time after being the Padawan learner to Master Venestra Rwoh, Qimir (or whatever his true name is) became the apprentice of Darth Plagueis, following the rule of two. But also, at some point, instead of trying to kill his master and replace him, he merely abandoned the Sith creed. He still obviously uses the dark side of the Force, and has his Sith training, but he may no longer consider himself a Sith Lord. That doesn’t mean that Darth Plagueis isn’t keeping tabs on him though. Especially if he knows his former pupil is on to something when it comes to a pair of mysterious children born of the Force on Brendock.

Does the Stranger Connect the Sith and the Knights of Ren?

We think that The Acolyte is showing us the origins of not just the Sith who will rule the galaxy with the Galactic Empire a century later, but also the origins of the Knights of Ren. Many things in The Acolyte have hinted at The Stranger having a connection to the Knights of Ren. The least of which was the use of John Williams’ Kylo Ren theme in association with Manny Jacinto’s character. And Leslye Headland certainly didn’t deny a Kyle/Qimir connection to us at all.

If the Stranger was the former Sith apprentice to Darth Plagueis, that means Plagueis would need a new one eventually. Who is to say a potential second season of The Acolyte won’t give us a significant time-jump? We may see an older Osha and Qimir starting the Knights of Ren together, while Plagueis makes his move on seducing a young Palpatine to the dark side. That’s certainly a story Star Wars fans have been waiting to see (in canon) for decades now. And Headland said she knows how The Acolyte connects directly to The Phantom Menace.

And yes, even with a time jump, we could see the same actors playing Qimir and Osha. Qimir already hinted that he was a Jedi “A long time ago.” That means he may be far older than he looks. As Palpatine told Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to abilities some would consider to be unnatural.” It’s very possible one of those unnatural abilities in unnaturally prolonged youth. If there is a season two of The Acolyte, it may finally connect the dots between Darth Plagueis, the Stanger, Osha, the Knights of Ren, and ultimately, the Emperor himself.

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The “heart” of a lightsaber, the very thing that gives laser swords power, is a kyber crystal. They are special, extremely rare Force-sensitive gems inherently full of light side energy only found on a few planets in the galaxy far, far away. They even have their own kind of mystical sentience. Despite the weapons they create, though, kyber crystals have no color. They are naturally clear and only take on a specific hue when “first attuned and connected to a Jedi.” Star Wars fans know that while a Jedi’s lightsaber can be anything from blue green, orange, purple, or yellow, every dark side users’ turns red.

That’s because Sith and Ren alike bend kyber crystals to their sinister side of the Force. That process is known as “bleeding.” And The Acolyte‘s season finale finally let us see a bleeding lightsaber happen in live-action.

Osha fell to the dark side during The Acolyte‘s eighth episode. She finally learned the truth about what the Jedi did to her coven on Brendok long ago. Full of rage and pain, Osha responded by Force choking Sol, her former Master who had lied about killing her mother. As she murdered him Osha held the Jedi’s lightsaber hilt. As the life drained from Sol’s body we saw one of the most notorious moments in the entire franchise. His blue kyber began to bleed. Osha was dominating it, turning the crystal red as she turned to the dark side.

After he died Osha turned to attack Qimir who had had put a hand on her shoulder. She turned Sol’s lightsaber on. It was blue at first, but it’s light changed to the signature red of evil. It did not do so without a fight though. The crystal tried to maintain its hold to the light side of the Force. In the end Osha’s new allegiance won out, as Sol’s lightsaber turned for good. When it did his former Padawan had left the light side of the Force completely.

It was a powerful, shocking moment, an incredible piece of Star Wars lore come to life. It’s something no Star Wars fan has ever seen happen on screen. Before The Acolyte, the process of bleeding a kyber crysta was only ever shown in Star Wars comics. The bleeding of a lightsaber happened in both Charles Soule stories about Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. Yet, for as cool as it was it was also terrible to watch. It was the physical embodiment of darkness corrupting a soul.

Kyber crystals aren’t just special rocks. Neither are they just a power source for a weapon. They’re an important part of the Force, both to themselves and as a tangible representation of the person who bonded with it. One that turned red are sad reminders of the fate that can befall even great heroes. Actually seeing that happen was an unforgettable reminder of the line thin between good and evil.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who spent decades waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Master Vernestra used her dead friend Sol as a scapegoat to avoid accountability in The Acolyte‘s season finale. She claimed the compassionate Jedi Knight had gone rogue. Vernestra told the Galactic Senate Sol killed everyone who helped him hide the dark truth about Brendok before ending his own life. Vernestra thought it was a lie worth telling for a greater good, just as Sol had with Osha. But her deception not only dishonors Sol, it dishonors the entire Jedi Order. In keeping the truth about Qimir, Mae, and Osha from getting out, the guardians of peace and justice are only protecting their own position in the galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars fans know Vernestra’s lies about this existential threat will contribute to her Order’s eventual downfall. Yet her final moment raised the possibility a more famous Master will also play a big part in their near annihilation. She visited one of the most important Jedi in all of Star Wars, someone who will still be on the High Council when Palpatine rises to power, Master Yoda.

Throughout The Acolyte Jedi Master Vernestra worked to avoid Galactic Senate oversight. Even as she investigated the murder of her colleagues, she tried to keep their deaths as quiet as possible. Not just from politicians, either. She conspired with fellow Jedi to keep the truth from their own High Council.

During the High Republic Era of the show, the Jedi Order had a High Council. That governing body responsible for guiding the Order is the same structure seen during the Skywalker Saga era. But The Acolyte also revealed that a different group of Jedi led by Vernestra also wielded immense power. It operated outside the Council in secrecy, because the High Council needed to report directly to the Senate. The only way to keep secrets from political oversight—especially a terrible secret about a dark side Force user clearly trained by a Jedi—was to keep the truth from the most important, wisest members of the Order.

That became impossible by episode eight after Vernestra visited Brendok herself. Her powerful connection with the Force allowed her to learn what had happened there long ago. While she recognized her dead colleagues had meant well, she used the revelation of their deception to create an even bigger lie. Rather than tell anyone about her former student she once tried to kill because he turned to the dark side, she blamed Sol for the murders committed by Qimir, Mae, and Osha.

That lie confirmed everything Senator Rayencourt feared. He worried eventually a Jedi, a member of a group he believes already has too much unchecked power, would turn against the Order and the Republic. That concern drove his desire for an external investigation into the Jedi. But Vernestra saying that’s exactly what happened with Sol was a lie far more convenient than the truth. She would have otherwise had to admit the Jedi lost control of a former Padawan and then let him get away. She also would have had to admit he now had a powerful new apprentice with a personal vendetta against the Jedi. And the she would have had to tell everyone how Mother Aniseya created her twins. Forget an investigation into the Jedi, that shocking revelation would have threatened the Order’s position and power in the galaxy.

Everything Vernestra did in the season finale she did to protect the Jedi and herself. Her lie is better than frightening truths that could lead to panic. Her story also made it seem as though the Jedi had nothing to hide. Why would the Senate need to investigate a group being so truthful about their failures? But that kind of oversight is exactly what the Jedi needed.

Everything Senator Rayencourt and Aniseya both said will come true more than a century after The Acolyte. The Jedi’s “noble intentions” will destroy them. Their actions, well-intentioned they may be, along with their hubris, will blind them to the growing evil around them. That evil will ultimately engulf the galaxy in darkness. An outside perspective might have helped them see what was coming. Instead Sheev Palpatine will take over the very Republic Vernestra worked so hard to keep in the dark.

Star Wars fans know why Vernestra’s deception will prove fatal. But her final moment during the episode raises monumental questions about whether or not she also kept Master Yoda in the dark. He’s the only member of the High Council to appear on the show. She visited him after her meeting with the Chancellor and Senators.

What did she “need” to talk about with him? Did she let him in on the truth about Sol, Qimir, Mae, Osha, and Brendok? Did she trust Yoda would support her lies and not inform the Senate? And did she seek advice on how to stop the Order’s greatest threat in millennia?

Or did Vernestra only tell Yoda part of the truth or different lie altogether? Did Vernestra merely go to him for advice on how to deal with the guilt and burden of her lies without naming them, just as Anakin will do one day? Even if she was okay with what she had done, she sullied a good man’s memory to do that. Even a Jedi Master would struggle with that burden.

On The Acolyte Jedi Ki-Adi-Mundi agreed with Venestra they should not tell the High Council about their secret enemies. In The Phantom Menace he is a member of that same High Council alongside Yoda. When presented with Qui-Gon’s report of a Sith Lord, Mundi (believably) says no one has seen a Sith for thousands of years. The camera then turns to Master Yoda, who gives a curious look to Mace Windu.

What did that look mean? Vernestra went to Yoda for a reason. If we find out why we’ll finally know just how much Yoda knew about the darkness that brought down the Jedi Order.

Did Yoda know about Qimir, Mae, and Osha at that moment? Did he help Vernestra bring them down? And did that “victory” blind Yoda to the fact an actual Sith Lord was (literally) lurking in the shadows and the Jedi were in even greater peril all along? Or will we discover Vernestra never told him the truth and Yoda always remained ignorant about happened on Brendok. Will her failures be hers alone? It seems likely Yoda, a good and noble Jedi, didn’t know everything Vernestra did. If that’s the case, a single hard truth could have prevented so much eventual suffering.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who spent decades waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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It finally happened. The Acolyte‘s season one finale brought one of Star Wars‘ most infamous figures to live-action. The Stranger wasn’t the only dark side user hiding out on his unknown planet. Once Qimir and Osha flew off, Sheev Palpatine’s Master, a Muun Sith Lord “so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life,” emerged from the shadows. Darth Plagueis is here. And more importantly he knows about the galaxy far, far away’s most incredible creation.

For all its many battles and lightsaber fights, one of the prequel trilogy’s most exciting moments came during a quiet conversation at a space opera. In Revenge of the Sith Chancellor Palpatine regaled Anakin Skywalker with an enticing Sith legend. Palpatine told him a story the Jedi never would, “The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.”

Anakin was suffering from visions of Padmé’s death, a future he desperately hoped to avoid. Palpatine preyed on the young Jedi’s fears with a tale of the incredible “unnatural” abilities offered those who walked a different pathway in the Force. He told Anakin about the Sith Lord Plagueis, who “had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying” by manipulating midi-chlorians. For a young man hoping to save his pregnant wife from death, it was enough to begin pulling Anakin away from the light.

What made the story of Plagueis so enduring, though, wasn’t the power he supposedly learned but the end he met. It suggested Plagueis was far more important to the story than just being a tool of manipulation. Palpatine said Plagueis grew so powerful the “only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did.” Plagueis’ own apprentice, having learned everything he could from his Master, killed the Sith Lord in his sleep. “Ironic, he could save others from death, but not himself,” said Palpatine.

Was Palpatine lying about all of it? Only telling a partial truth? Or was he being completely honest with Anakin? If everything he said actually happened the implication was clear and exciting: Palpatine was the very apprentice who killed Plagueis.

Off-screen Star Wars stories confirmed he was, and that has remained true in the franchise’s new canonical Disney-era. Plagueis was everything Palpatine said he was, a massively powerful Sith Lord who could create life and save others from death. But Star Wars has explored more of Plagueis, most notably that became so obsessed with the science of immortality—a power Sith Lords had long sought—he grew distracted. His very quest to live forever doomed him, because the Sith Rule of Two meant there could only be two Dark Lords at one time. For Palpatine to become a Master he needed to kill his own.

Plagueis the Wise should have recognized his apprentice’s ambition and plot. He should have known Palpatine was planning to kill him. Instead he never saw his murder coming.

While Plagueis died, his work endured and changed the galaxy far, far away forever. His apprentice took everything he learned from his Master and spent generations trying to cheat death himself. Without the work of Plagueis, Palpatine never would have returned after Anakin Skywalker killed him in Return of the Jedi. He never would have made a clone body in the first place. Nor would he have created Snoke and lured Ben Solo to the dark side of the Force.

Now we know the very obsession that cost Plagueis his life was directly connected to The Acolyte‘s unique twins. He learned about what Mother Aniseya accomplished with Osha and Mae. She created life, two from one, using the Force. Her accomplishment could have sent Plagueis on a path to not only learn how to control life himself, but to master it, and therefore death. His work, which became Palpatine’s work, would probably not have been possible without the twins.

How did he know about Mae and Osha? Why was he even hiding in a cave on that unknown planet in the first place? It seems unlikely, though not impossible, that Qimir knew Plagueis was there, let alone that he was Plagueis’ apprentice. The Sith Rule of Two would have prevented Qimir from claiming a true apprentice of his own. Plagueis’ surprise appearance, Qimir’s use of the word “acolyte,” and his own lack of a Master indicate Qimir probably isn’t even a Sith. Plagueis definitely is. And he’s a powerful one.

That unknown planet might be strong in the dark side and drew Plagueis there for the same reasons Qimir called it home. Or it might have been Osha’s arrival that led Plagueis there. He was powerful in the dark side of the Force, and Osha’s presence on a dark side planet might have been like a beacon to a Sith.

Whatever brought him there is less important than what he found. Mother Aniseya’s daughters have a lot in common with Anakin Skywalker, but they aren’t as powerful as him. As The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland told us, the twins were “guinea pigs” in the galaxy’s most important experiment. Darth Plagueis learned about it firsthand and dedicated his life to improving upon it. Unfortunately the powers he will soon unlock in the dark side of the Force will help his apprentice bring down both the Jedi and the Sith. But only after he kills Plagueis the Wise first.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who spent decades waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Acolyte finally unmasked Mae’s master during the show’s shocking fifth episode. The mysterious Jedi killer in The Acolyte is the person we suspected from the very first time we met him: Manny Jacinto’s Qimir. The soft-spoken trader is actually a deadly dark side Force user. But what is he exactly? What does he have against the Jedi Order? And what does he ultimately want? The answers to those questions reveal that an unleashed Qimir is even more dangerous than one operating in the shadows.

What Did The Acolyte Reveal About the Jedi Killer Qimir’s Past? Was Qimir Once a Jedi Padawan?

The Acolyte revealed Qimir has a personal connection to the Jedi and that the Order once knew him. Qimir called his opponent “Master Sol” when the two faced off. The dark side user then said, “You don’t remember me,” when the Jedi asked who he was. Sol must have known him at some point, because the Jedi said he “sensed something familiar” in the Jedi killer.

While Sol doesn’t say Qimir had once been a Padawan, The Acolyte strongly suggested he was. Qimir called Sol “Master.” Considering Qimir’s own protege, Mae, was also someone the Jedi tried to recruit to join their ranks, denying her the freedom of using her powers as her coven saw fit, it seems more than possible Qimir was once a student of the very Jedi he now aims to kills.

Is The Acolyte‘s Qimir a Sith?

Qimir told Sol he has “no name,” but that the Jedi would might call him “Sith.” Star Wars fans know the significance of that phrase. They also know the Sith kill Jedi and use red lightsabers. But it is noteworthy Qimir didn’t actually call himself a Sith, let alone a Sith Lord. That could be nothing more than a turn of phrase, or it could be a subtle clue Qimir is actually something else. (That could explain why a century later a Jedi Master will say no one has seen a Sith in a thousand years.)

The Sith spent millennia in hiding after the Jedi Order nearly wiped out their dark side foes. Yet the Sith always planned to reveal themselves one day. That’s when they would usurp the Jedi as the dominant Force users in the galaxy. That day is coming soon to the galaxy far, far away. The seeds for Palpatine’s rise might have begun with Qimir’s attack in the forests of Khofar.

There is one other major reason to believe Qimir truly is a Sith, too.

What Does Qimir Want on The Acolyte?

Qimir told Sol he wants two things. The first is “freedom, freedom to wield my power the way I like, without having to answer to Jedi like you.” As Osha and Mae’s coven knew, the Jedi do not allow other Force users to use their powers as they like. The Jedi Order believes they, and they alone, can control the Force and dictates who can use it and how. Qimir does not believe in the ways of the Jedi. “The Jedi makes the rules,” and the Jedi say Qimir—who doesn’t follow any rules—“can’t exist.”

Qimir has accepted and embraced his “darkness” (same as a Sith), while he believes Jedi deny theirs. That’s what he accused Sol of when he asked what the Jedi had done with his own darkness. But it’s the second thing Qimir wants that indicates he really is a Sith

“I want a pupil,” he told Sol, “An acolyte.” The Sith, which is a religious dark side order, have existed in the shadows for thousands of years thanks to the Rule of Two. There can only ever be two Sith Lords at once a Master and an Apprentice. Qimir wants his own apprentice, and he thought he found it in Mae (someone he seems to have both a common past and common cause with), but she betrayed him.

Qimir might have already found a replacement, though.

Why Did Qimir Save Osha on The Acolyte?

Qimir survived a giant bug attack and found an (accidentally) abandoned and unconscious Osha on the ground. He did not strike her down or even leave her alone, though. Instead he healed her while saying, “What extraordinary beings we are. Even in the revelation of our triumph, we see the depth of our despair.”

Qimir won a fight against many Jedi. He revealed himself to his enemy and triumphed, yet in his moment of revelation, he stood over a former Jedi Padawan and saw “despair.”

What exactly did he mean? Well, Qimir sees himself in Osha because he, too, was a Jedi student once. Did they take him like they tried to take Mae and Osha? He knows the Jedi did something “dark” on Brendok long ago. Will he reveal their secret to Osha in an attempt to make her embrace the dark side and become his Acolyte?

Osha wouldn’t be the first good person to turn the dark side and a charming master in her moment of despair. And if Qimir really is the Sith Lord who will make Palpatine’s rise possible someday, it’s only fitting he had his own Anakin as the Sith Rule of Two demands.

Originally published on June 26, 2024.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan. You can follow him on  Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Acolyte‘s fifth episode revealed the identity of Mae’s dark Master, but the person underneath that mask wasn’t the only fascinating thing we learned about that helmet. Qimir’s terrifying headgear on The Acolyte is made from cortosis. But what is cortosis exactly? Well, cortosis is a legendary material from Star Wars lore. That powerful, rare metal can withstand blows from a lightsaber and even cause them to short circuit, as we saw on The Acolyte’s fifth episode. Without that helmet, the Jedi might have stopped their most dangerous enemy. But more worrisome than what it can do in battle is what the presence of a cortosis helmet indicates about the danger the Jedi now face.

What Is Cortosis, the Metal Qimir Used to Make His Helmet on The Acolyte?

Qimir wears a cortosis helmet on The Acolyte. Cortosis is an uncommon metal that is among the strongest and strangest in the galaxy far, far away. It’s found on two Star Wars planets: the Mid Rim planet Dinzo and the Outer Rim planet Mokivj.

Cortosis is extremely fragile unless refined. Then, it becomes incredibly powerful. Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Alliances explained why. The rare metal has an “unusually high energy absorption and transmission coefficients.” That allows cortosis to “dissipate” energy blasts along fibers without damaging them. While cortosis has its limits, notably lengthy energy attacks, it still poses a unique problem for Jedi fighting a dark side user.

Cortosis Can Short Out Jedi Lightsabers, as We Saw on Star Wars: The Acolyte

In short, refined cortosis can withstand a lightsaber blast while causing the weapon to short out. Qimir used his helmet to do both while fighting multiple Jedi on Khofar. His helmet provided a shield that blocked lightsaber strikes, allowing him to fight in a unique style. It also made the Jedi weapons temporarily malfunction and shut down. Those brief moments bought Qimir extra time to defeat his confused, briefly unarmed opponents.

Without his cortosis helmet, Qimir likely would have died on that planet in The Acolyte‘s fifth episode. Master Sol bested Qimir after the dark Master lost his mask.

Star Wars‘ official website shares, “Cortosis is not particularly strong. In its purest state, it can easily be fractured, which means the metal is not as durable as beskar — illustrated by Jecki Lon’s fierce takedown of the Stranger’s cortosis helmet in The Acolyte. However, its unique ability to absorb, dissipate, and transfer energy makes it a valuable tool against blaster fire, and even lightsaber blades. In fact, cortosis will temporarily short out a lightsaber upon contact, making it a potentially surprising shielding material that renders a Jedi vulnerable.”

The Acolyte Reveals That Cortosis Can Also Be Used for Sensory Deprivation

The Acolyte reveals that cortosis can be used for more than just shorting out lightsabers, though. It can also be used to create an experience of sensory deprivation. Qimir notes that his cortosis helmet is handy against lightsabers, but is also a “sensory deprivation headpiece,” like the Jedi use as Younglings. He notes that while wearing a cortosis headpiece not only are all your senses blocked, but “It’s just you and the Force and what you bring with you.”

Where Is Cortosis Mined?

The Acolyte also reveals where cortosis is mined, sort of. Qimir lives on an “Unknown Planet.” That planet really reminded us of Star Wars‘ Ahch-To, but it turns out that it’s really a planet where cortosis is mined. Cortosis is a rare metal, so it’s not found many places in the Star Wars universe. We’ll have to wait for The Acolyte to reveal which planet this is exactly and what other secrets it holds.

Showrunner Leslye Headland notes, “the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don’t think that’s the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don’t think we say it explicitly in the show, but that’s a reason it’s not Ahch-To.”

When Was Cortosis First Introduced in Star Wars?

Cortosis dates back known to the franchise’s non-canonical, pre-Disney “Legends” era. It notably appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Darth Bane stories. There cortosis was best utilized as an anti-lightsaber weapon that also caused them to short circuit.

Ten years before The Acolyte, Cortosis made its canonical Disney-era Star Wars debut in 2014 in John Jackson Miller’s novel New Dawn. In its new form, it still closely resembles the original Legends iteration in terms of both properties and uses. Cortosis’ new canonical history also traces back millennia to the Era of the Sith. That’s when Star Wars’ legendary Null Blade was created to fight against the dark side order. During the Clone Wars, Count Dooku also used cortosis to create a protective shield that he employed against the Republic. And a possessed Doctor Aphra even used the Null Blade in a battle with Darth Vader.

What Does Qimir’s Use of Cortosis Mean for The Acolyte?

The Jedi haven’t faced a real threat in so long that they didn’t even know what Qimir was. He had to tell Sol they might call him a Sith, an enemy no Jedi has seen for thousands and thousands of years. Qimir was too much for them. Yord said he showed a flagrant disregard for the “rules” of fighting. That included how he used his cortosis helmet, which rendered The Acolyte‘s Jedi weaponless and defenseless.

With his helmet back in hand, Qimir once again has something that can help him defeat Jedi. But more than that, his cortosis helmet shows he knows secrets from Star Wars‘ past that the Jedi have long forgotten. They couldn’t stop him when he only had a helmet on. What if he also found other uses for cortosis that they don’t know about?

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and lover of fictional metals. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In episodes three and seven of The Acolyte, we get extended flashbacks to the childhoods of Osha and Mae (Leah and Lauren Brady) on the planet Brendock. We see they were the only children raised by a coven of female witches, led by Mother Aniseya (Jodi Turner-Smith), who seemingly “created” them via supernatural means. It seems Aniseya’s partner, Mother Koril, carried the twins for her, but the how and why remains a mystery. These witches, whose sigil is a white, dotted circle painted on their heads, view the Force differently, referring to it as something no one can wield. Instead, they view it as “a thread that can be pulled.” Although they never name this coven, they are certainly not the first Force users, primarily women, who use the term “witch” to describe themselves in Star Wars.

The First Force Witches in Star Wars Canon

The notion of Force witches began decades ago in non-canon Star Wars lore. “Mind witches” bedeviled Luke Skywalker in Star Wars comics in the early ’80s. However, the most famous Force witches first appeared nearly thirty years ago, in the Legends novel The Courtship of Princess Leia. That 1994 book by Dave Wolverton dealt with Han Solo and Leia’s marriage after Return of the Jedi, and was the first introduction to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, not to mention, the planet Dathomir itself.

In Legends lore, the Nightsisters were founded by an exiled Jedi, some 600 years before A New Hope. When this female ex-Jedi was exiled to Dathomir, she trained Force-sensitive women on the planet into a coven of witches, neither Sith nor Jedi. A handful of Expanded Universe merchandise even showed what the Nightsisters looked like. Some of this later informed their in-canon looks later on. However, by the time of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, George Lucas decided to canonize the concept of witches innately powerful in the Force. He largely tossed out the backstory of the Nightsisters in the novels and made his own.

The Nightsisters in The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian

In the Clone Wars, they eventually reveal Count Dooku’s dark side apprentice, Asajj Ventress, a primary villain in the series, was a Nightsister from the planet Dathomir. During this prequel era, the Nightsisters channeled the dark side of the Force into something akin to magic. They felt their power most strongly on their homeworld. So they rarely, if ever, left Dathomir. That changed when the coven came under the sway of Mother Talzin, who collaborated with Darth Sidious during his climb to power. In fact, Talzin gave her son to Sidious to train as a Sith. That child grew up to become Darth Maul.

In the Clone Wars episode “Massacre,” we witness the genocide of the Nightsisters, orchestrated by Count Dooku and General Grievous. Almost all of the Nightsisters die in this brutal attack. Even when the Nightsisters cast spells to resurrect their dead as warriors, they all fall in battle. We later discover that at least two girls survived the genocide. One was Asajj Ventress, and the other would grow up to become Morgan Elsbeth. Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) would first appear in season two of The Mandalorian, as a warlord steward of the planet in the New Republic era. She’d later play a central role in Star Wars: Ahsoka, where they further explored her ties to the Nightsisters.

The Great Mothers of Peridea

In season one of Ahsoka, Elsbeth returned, as we learn that the witches of Dathomir actually originated in another galaxy, on the planet Peridea. Members of their sect traveled to the main Star Wars galaxy, presumably via Purgill, thousands of years prior. There, they established an offshoot clan of Nightsisters on Dathomir. Although they massacre the clan on Dathomir, the descendents of the original witches still live on that planet. Morgan is attempting to jump to another galaxy to find her master, Grand Admiral Thrawn. When she finds him, he’s not alone. He’s accompanied by several Great Mothers on the planet. The Great Mothers attempt to help Grand Admiral Thrawn return to his proper galaxy.

The Witches in The Acolyte Are a New Breed of Force Witches

So does the coven in The Acolyte have a connection to the Nightsisters? They don’t seem particularly dark-sided so far. Mother Aniseya mentions that the coven was exiled to the planet Brendock. But exiled by whom? This is pre-Empire after all. The Nightsisters on Dathomir seem to more or less co-exist with the other clans, as we saw in Tales of the Empire. Perhaps they singled out Mother Aniseya’s clan for unknown reasons, forcing them to leave Dathomir. It’s possible they fought the Nightsisters with light-side magic, and lost, leaving them no choice but to flee.

The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland explained several key differences between the coven on Brendock and the Nightsisters, telling Nerdist that these witches “basically want to stay out of everyone’s way and aren’t grasping for any sort of power. They’re not getting involved in any kind of political skirmish or any war movement. That would be the last thing they would want to do.” In short, they just wanted their own little piece of the sky on Brendock, hoping no one from the Republic would discover them.

Similar to the Nightsisters, there seems to be a visual component to the use of their powers. When the Jedi or Sith use the Force, it’s invisible. When the Nighsisters and the coven from Brendock invoke their powers, there’s a visual element to it. We see it as a green mist for the Nightsisters. And for the coven on Brendock, it’s more like vibrations in the air, like ripples in the water. According to Headland, “The Nightsisters utilize magic exclusively. With my witches, it’s a bit of a hybrid. They’re definitely dabbling in the Force and calling the Force by a different name. They’re trying to cultivate their sensitivity to it without having to be trained by the Jedi.”

Having more than one coven of witches in the Star Wars galaxy makes sense, however. Other cultures would perceive the Force differently, and wield it in different ways. The galaxy is a big place after all. Although we see this coven destroyed, we have a feeling they are not the only coven of similar witches in the galaxy. Or maybe even on Brendock. We are sure to learn more in the remaining episodes of The Acolyte.

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In The Acolyte‘s third episode Sol told young Osha her twin sister started a fire that killed everyone on Brendok. We know Mae survived that calamity, but the show’s seventh episode “Choice” also suggested another member of the coven also escaped death that fateful night. Mother Koril dematerialized her body before a possessed Kelnacca attacked his fellow Jedi. That was the last we saw of the powerful witch, and it was far from a definitive end. But does that mean she’s actually still alive? The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland told us there’s a very good reason to believe she is. Even more tantalizing is that Headland also hinted at where Mother Koril likely went after leaving that planet. It’s an important, infamous, dark magic world full of her own kind that Star Wars fans know well.

During “Choice” Mother Koril said she would die before she let the Jedi take her children. Yet despite that exact thing happening with Osha, it didn’t appear as though the witch actually met her end. Headland didn’t deny that possibility when we asked her during a lengthy interview following the episode. She actually affirmed why we questioned Koril’s fate. “No body, no death,” Headland said.

…Exactly.

Koril being alive would have obvious ramifications for everyone involved in Mae and Osha’s story. One of their mothers, a woman with immense powers, is out there and angry at the Jedi. But considering there’s another Jedi-hating Force user also causing havoc, we had to ask Headland if that meant Koril is also part of Qimir’s story. She was clear “they do not know each other,” but she did provide a bigger clue about Koril’s whereabouts, one that could still factor into the ultimate fate of the Jedi. “What I will say, as a tease, if we are able to explore this story more, (Koril’s) species will tell you a little bit about where she ends up.”

Considering what we know about Mother Koril that’s as good as teases get. Koril is Zabrak, a humanoid species identifiable by distinct horns on their head. They’re native to two planets. One is Irodonia, a minor world in the galaxy far, far away. The other is :insert ominous music: Dathomir, a massively important location in Star Wars. It’s home to the franchise’s most famous, most important witches, the Nightsisters. It’s also home to their subordinates, the Nightbrothers.

During our interview Headland explained how The Acolyte‘s witches are both similar and different to that notorious group of dark magick users. But Koril was always more like the Nightsisters than anyone else who lived on Brendok, and not just because of her horns. She was more aggressive and willing to fight. She even instructed Mae to fight back against the Jedi, despite Mother Aniseya’s efforts to avoid violence. The Nightsisters had a history of warring with the Jedi until both sides agreed to leave each other alone.

With her coven gone it makes sense Koril would look for kindred spirits in the galaxy, and she has no more kindred spirits than her fellow Zabrak witches who call Dathomir home. If that is where Mother Koril went after Brendok it opens up major possibilities for how she might contribute to the Jedi Order’s eventual demise.

The Acolyte is exploring the beginning of what will ultimately be the fall of the Jedi. That will come at the hands of the Sith and Sheev Palpatine. And his first big screen apprentice was Darth Maul, another Zabrak Force-user from Dathomir.

Could Koril end up having some relationship with Maul, either by blood or by training? If so that will be one more way “noble” Jedi intentions helped bring about their own demise. They came for Koril’s daughters and made a very powerful, very angry enemy in the process.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Nightsisters enthusiast. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s Qimir, played by Manny Jacinto, has electrified fans of the series. While there are a lot of mysteries surrounding Qimir, one question fans have had since before we even knew he was the masked “Stranger” is whether The Acolyte‘s villain is truly a Sith Lord. In The Acolyte‘s fifth episode, Qimir himself seems to broach the topic of whether he is or isn’t a Sith. He shares, “I have no name. But a Jedi like you might call me… Sith.” But, of course, there’s slight trickery of the tongue happening in that phrase, as Qimir does not fully say he is a Sith. Only that, from a Jedi perspective, he might be seen as one. To get more concrete answers on the topic, Nerdist brought up the Qimir-Sith debate to The Acolyte‘s showrunner, Lesyle Headland. Here’s what she had to say.

When asked, “Will we learn whether Qimir is truly a Sith or not in the season finale?” Headland shared that although we may not get specific answers to the Sith question, we will see hints that lead us in one direction or another. She offers:

What I will say is you don’t hear it from his mouth, but there are a couple small things that happen that intimate the answer to that question.

Very interesting. It’s too early to say whether these small happenings intimate the answer is “Yes, Qimir is a Sith” or the contrary respose. But we know for sure that Qimir fans will be watching his every move with eagle eyes. When these small hints do happen on The Acolyte, we bet they won’t go unnoticed for very long. Right now, we lean toward Qimir not really being a Sith. To us, he doesn’t seem very much like a joiner. It feels like he’d rather not be involved with the Jedi, the Sith, or anyone else. What Qimir wants is freedom. But we’ll have to wait to for The Acolyte‘s season finale to get closer to the truth of the character.

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One of the biggest mysteries in Star Wars: The Acolyte is how exactly its main characters, Mae and Osha, were born. We’ve recieved hints about the twins’ origins throughout the series, coming to understand that their mothers belonged to a cult of Force witches and that the Star Wars concept of a vergence in the Force, a concentration of Force energy around a person or place, is somehow involved. However, just how exactly Mae and Osha were created on The Acolyte is a question that we can’t answer in detail… yet. The Acolyte‘s showrunner Lesyle Headland promises the season one finale of the Star Wars series will give us all the answers we seek about Mae and Osha’s origins.

Here’s what Headland had to say to Nerdist about answering one of The Acolyte‘s biggest questions about Mae, Osha, and their creation before season’s-end. When we echoed Master Sol’s question to her (“The twins, where did they come from? How were they created?”), she responded, “Well…uh…tune in next week. Also subscribe to Disney+.” But added more specifically:

Tune in next week. Tune in next week. We definitely aren’t going to leave you hanging. You do a show like this, you take a lot of risks, you don’t really save a lot of those types of questions for season two. There are a lot of things you do save for a season two, but that kind of question is not one of them.

And there we have it. The Acolyte‘s season finale will reveal exactly how the twins were born. So if you have theories about Mae and Osha’s origins on The Acolyte, you’d better get them out into the world now. It sounds like there won’t be any loose ends concerning the twins’ creations after the next episode of The Acolyte airs.

Honestly, we’re excited to know that The Acolyte will reveal everything we need to know about how Mae and Osha came to be born before the ending of the first season. The key to a good mystery is to build it just enough and then deliver a satisfying explanation for it.

When Does The Acolyte Season One Finale Release?

The Acolyte‘s finale will air on July 16 at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET. The last episode of the Star Wars series will stream on Disney+.

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Nerdist spoke to The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland after the show’s seventh episode “Choice.” The wide-ranging interview touched on just about everything, including a moment that might have been easy to miss among the chaos on Brendok. During the standoff with Mother Aniseya and Mother Koril, Sol misidentified Mae as Osha. That’s an easy mistake for a normal person to make, especially during an emotionally charged moment, but not a Jedi. And definitely not for a Jedi claiming an instant connection with a girl he believed should be his Padawan. So what did Sol’s confusion reveal? According to, Headland it’s the latest sign the Jedi was never meant to guide Osha. Instead, it’s Qimir who is Osha’s true Master on The Acolyte.

When we asked Headland what Sol’s mix-up meant on The Acolyte, she said it shows the limits of their connection. “(Sol) doesn’t know her as well as he thinks he does,” she said. Headland also noted this was at least the second time the Jedi made this exact mistake. He also thought Mae was Osha after the fight with Qimir on Khofar. That’s not the type of error we’d expect a powerful Force user to make with his own student.

Headland also touched on the Jedi’s instant reaction to Osha and her immense power. It’s why Sol quickly believed he was meant to train her. Headland said Qimir had the same exact reaction to meeting Osha on The Acolyte. “Osha walks into the apothecary, he knows that it’s not Mae. He can feel that this is something different,” she told us. “He can feel that he wants to teach her. Qimir wants to be a part of her journey in reaching her full potential.”

According to Headland, the similar reaction Qimir and Sol both had to meeting Osha isn’t as important as the difference between them. She pointed out that, unlike Sol, Qimir never mistakes Mae for Osha on The Acolyte.

The subtext of that observation is foreboding enough on its own. But Headland wasn’t shy about pointing out exactly what it might mean. She said, “That’s also meant to foreshadow who Osha’s real Master will be.”

The Acolyte hinted at the worrisome possibility that Qimir might become Osha’s true Master in episode six, but if their interactions on that “Unknown Planet” were a warning sign about Osha’s fate, Headland’s comments feel like a galatic-wide alarm going off.

Does that mean Osha is truly going to turn to the dark side? Is Qimir her “true” Master? We’re not optimistic about her future, but we’re not giving up hope, either. Qimir could be Osha’s real Master. But Osha doesn’t need to accept him as such. Like the title of the episode we spoke to Headland about, Star Wars has always been about characters making a “choice.” Osha still controls her destiny, even if Qimir is the only one who can always tell her apart from Mae.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who thinks he could fix the Jedi. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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We are nearing the finish line for The Acolyte, and the narrative has revealed several truths. The many layers of cosmic mystery continue to peel away. One thing fans have been wondering about since the third episode of the series is whether or not the twins, Mae and Osha, thanks to their unique births and sizable Force prowess, are as powerful as Anakin Skywalker. He was the Star Wars saga’s “Chosen One” after all. Anakin was a vergence in the Force, only as a sentient being, not a place.

Well, The Acolyte creator and showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed for us that the twins are not as powerful as Anakin Skywalker. When we asked Headland about the notion of the twins’ singular consciousness split into two bodies, why would such a thing make them stronger via “the power of two?” Why not be weaker if they’re two halves of one whole? Here’s what Headland had to say on the matter:

I think it’s both. The girls are guinea pigs. They’re patient zero for this sort of power. It didn’t work perfectly. Therefore the girls on their own can never be as powerful as Anakin. Their full potential together has yet to be explored. They’ve been separated too long.

The suggestion here is that together, the two could be as powerful as Anakin ultimately becomes. This might make them “a Dyad in the Force.” That’s how they described Rey and Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. A Force Dyad is two beings that share the same Force energy. Separate, they are still strong. But together, they had enough Force power to rejuvenate an emaciated Emperor Palpatine. With Mae and Osha separated, first at birth and then later by circumstances, they can never be as powerful as Anakin Skywalker. So for those of you worrying that Vader’s status in the Star Wars saga is now diminished thanks to The Acolyte twins? Now we know that’s just not the case.

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“A vergence in the Force.” It’s a term we first heard in The Phantom Menace, when Qui-Gon Jinn described young Anakin Skywalker as a vergence in the Force to the Jedi Council. Because of this fact, Qui-Gon believed it was absolutely imperative that the Jedi must train Anakin. And we heard the Star Wars terminology, “a vergence in the Force,” used again in episode seven of The Acolyte, “Choice.” We learned that sixteen years earlier, Master Indara’s team of Jedi on Brendok, including Master Sol and Kelnacca, viewed the Star Wars planet as a vergence in the Force and that the Jedi Council sent them to investigate this potential phenomenon.

The Acolyte Introduces a new “Vergence in the Force”

On The Acolyte, Master Indira described a vergence as “a concentration of Force energy centered around a location.” Thanks to a hyperspace disaster a century earlier, chronicled in the High Republic novel Light of the Jedi, the Jedi thought Brendok was lifeless. But its ecosystem was actually thriving, leading the Jedi to believe that this remote Star Wars world was a vergence in the Force. Master Sol elaborated, saying a vergence could create life, such as they see appear on Brendok. “Nothing could be more important to the Jedi,” said Sol. When Torbin learns that the Brendok coven created the twins Mae and Osha on The Acolyte, he says that could only happen because of a vergence. He says the twins are living proof of a vergence on Brendok.

Other Vergences in Star Wars

Brendok is not the first location Star Wars implies to be a vergence. However, it is the first time anyone uses that specific term. In The Clone Wars animated series, the world of Mortis was such a place. As a Force ghost, Qui-Gon explained it to Obi-Wan, telling him that Mortis is “a conduit through which the entire Force of the universe flows.” That world was the home to entities that were avatars for the dark and light side of the Force. The Clone Wars also describes Dagobah in terms that suggest that the planet is also a vergence in the Force, which is why Yoda chose it as his home during his exile. But here, the vergence is used in a whole new way in the Star Wars series.

A vergence in the Force surrounding a person was a new Star Wars phenomenon in The Phantom Menace. Mace Windu seemed shocked a vergence could even form around a person when Qui-Gon presented him with young Anakin. But on The Acolyte, we encounter a different kind of named vergence. This time, the vergence is a place, one that can be used by Force users to heighten their own powers and to literally create a specific kind life. Interestingly, life that ends up being very powerful and attuned to the Force.

The Acolyte‘s Vergence is a Star Wars Location, Not a Person

The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland confirmed for Nerdist that the vergence is not Mae and Osha. She said plainly, “The girls themselves are not a vergence in the Force.” And added, “They needed…again, however they got here…the act of creating them was going to need amplification. Therefore, we came around to the decision that the vergence was on Brendok, and that it would remain mysterious. So that way, if we went back there in future tellings of the story, we could uncover a little bit more about what is actually there.” The twins were created on Brendok because the Star Wars planet itself was a vergence.

What Could This New Vergence From The Acolyte Mean for Star Wars?

In The Acolyte, Qimir (potentially a Sith, or something else dark-sided) is looking to manipulate an unusually strong Force user for his own benefit. First Mae, and now Osha. Maybe he knows they share a consciousness. In The Acolyte, we see the tug of war over a prodigy in the Force play out a century earlier than it will over Anakin. But since we know the Jedi survive another century into the prequel era, we also know this plan will fail for the Sith. However, when Darth Sidious discovers a vergence in the Force, which is a living being, that plan will work. But Star Wars: The Acolyte certainly begs the question, what if the wrong hands knew a vergence of the Force could create Force-sensitive life?

We’ll have to wait and see what role this new vergence plays in The Acolyte and in the greater Star Wars universe.

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From a powerful Force vergence and a coven of witches experimenting with immense power, to a possessed wookiee and deadly Jedi mistakes, The Acolyte‘s seventh episode had a lot to dig into. And that’s exactly what we did with showrunner Leslye Headland. Nerdist went deep on everything that happened during “Choice” and what it all meant. That included how Mae and Osha’s very existence is both similar and different from Anakin’s, how Sol’s story reflects Qui-Gon’s, and we also got some big clues about what might await in the season finale.

Nerdist: At what point in the creative process for The Acolyte did a “vergence” become such an important part of the story?

Leslye Headland: When we crafted the storyline of this sort of David O. Russell’s Three Kings version of the Jedi being stuck on this planet. Once we cracked that as a plot point, where a lot of other things were going to come from, it felt like the North Star for them had to be something incredibly important. It couldn’t just be that they were on a planet and on a routine mission. It had to be something that was arduous, a little boring, but ultimately had an endpoint that would establish stakes for any Jedi that came in contact with a vergence.

Once we broke episode three and seven we decided that Brendok had to be a location of a vergence for a couple different reasons. One for the motivation of the Jedi, in terms of their mission and why they’re on Brendok in the first place. We also felt it was very important the witches had found that planet, because their power alone would not match an outside threat. They would need to have the augmentation or the amplification of a vergence. We did not want the witches to just automatically be as powerful as Jedi.

The witches needed to feel like a nomadic community that had finally found a place that would not only give them shelter and protection, but would also grant them more and more power and control over their ability.

My backstory to the witches of Brendok and where they are is that Torbin mentions it’s an old mining company. So I sort of imagine that it’s a little bit like John Carpenter’s The Thing, right? There are all these miners there, they were drilling, they found something, and then everybody was gone. And the next thing you know, 50, 60, a hundred years later, this coven moves in. A couple years after that, the Jedi start to move there. It’s almost like a magnet that’s pulling these characters toward it.

A lot of different narrative reasons to put it there, as opposed to after the fact of, “Oh, also let’s explore this cool aspect of the Star Wars vocabulary.”

A vergence can hide Force-sensitive people. Is that the reason that the coven chose that planet? I ask because I want to know what came first: they found the planet, they moved there, and then decided to create the girls, or they moved to Brendok specifically to create the girls?

Headland: It’s a really good question. It’s also a backwards question because we haven’t confirmed that the witches created them. [laughs]

Fair enough.

Headland: But yes. Yes, yes, yes. Obviously, yes, it’s intimated very strongly that’s what happened. I believe that the former is true for the coven, and the latter is true for Aniseya. I think Aniseya, not unlike Vernestra, they are these very compelling leaders that have very intense senses of foresight. And Aniseya was always thought of as this religious figure that gained followers more and more as she moved out into the world.

So for her, I think she always sort of knew that she needed to settle somewhere in order to bring to fruition. Not a grand scheme, but what the next step of her journey would have been. The height of her powers. And I think she also knew that at some point in utilizing the extent of her powers, that her destruction would come pretty soon after that.

Vernestra’s having a similar experience, of something will tip the scale. She’s understanding they have this destiny. They believe that they have the destination spiritually. Vernestra is putting the pieces together for herself that this is it, this is what’s coming. Not unlike Aniseya, what’s coming is going to be the fulfillment of that particular destiny.

Vergences have played an important part in Star Wars since the original trilogy, even if not everyone is familiar with the term. But there are different types. What can you tell us specifically about the nature of the vergence on Brendok?

Headland: This was very important to me, Dave Filoni, and to Pablo Hidalgo, that the girls are not a vergence. The girls themselves are not a vergence in the Force. They needed…again, however they got here…the act of creating them was going to need amplification. Therefore, we came around to the decision that the vergence was on Brendok, and that it would remain mysterious. So that way, if we went back there in future tellings of the story, we could uncover a little bit more about what is actually there.

It was important that this type of vergence was a natural one as opposed to within a human being or an alien.

Okay, this is not even my question. It is Sol’s: “The twins, where did they come from? How were they created?”

Headland: [she laughs] Well…uh…tune in next week. Also subscribe to Disney+.

Tune in next week. Tune in next week. We definitely aren’t going to leave you hanging. You do a show like this, you take a lot of risks, you don’t really save a lot of those types of questions for season two. There are a lot of things you do save for a season two, but that kind of question is not one of them.

Do you know if you’re definitely getting a season two?

Headland: No! [big laugh]

I had to ask.

Headland: I have no idea. Well, not that I have no idea. I would say there are conversations. And I don’t know when that will happen. I don’t know when that decision will be made.

Aniseya’s ability to be in Torbin’s mind while physically existing in the real world was very reminiscent of Mother Talzin’s powers. As was Aniseya’s ability to change her corporal form into shadows. You’ve talked about your love and appreciation of the Nightsisters before. Were those powers directly inspired by Talzin?

Headland: Absolutely. Talzin is a figure that looms really large in Star Wars for me. On The Clone Wars, obviously, I responded to them immediately because it was more Star Wars content. It was George (Lucas) Star Wars content. But I was blown away by the Nightsisters arc. Asajj’s storyline? I was just like, “Hold on. This can happen? This is in Star Wars?” I loved the character design. I loved the differentiation between their powers and the Jedi’s powers. It was all just really great.

So in making this show I knew one of the first things I wanted to take a look at was creating my own version of witches, because I think that the Nightsisters are a bit more mercenary. (The Acolyte‘s) witches, I think, basically want to stay out of everyone’s way and aren’t grasping for any sort of power. They’re not getting involved in any kind of political or any political skirmish or any war movement. That would be the last thing they would want to do. So very different, but still echoing and calling back to the influences that those characters had on me.

In terms of their specific powers, how are The Acolyte‘s witches different from the Nightsisters?

Headland: The Nightsisters utilize magic exclusively. With my witches, it’s a bit of a hybrid. They’re definitely dabbling in the Force and calling the Force by a different name. They’re trying to cultivate their sensitivity to it without having to be trained by the Jedi. Is that even possible?

But I also think that in the Ascension ceremony you see how they’re utilizing not just wherever the vergence may be physically on the planet, but the eclipse. These powerful movements of heavenly bodies and whatever’s under the earth, that type of thing, what is meant to be expressed there is that they are drawing their power from nature, magic, and the Force. So we never sort of go, “They’re using magic the way that the Nightsisters are. They’re using the Force even though they’re not Jedi.”

To me it felt more interesting to show a group of people, a group of witches, having abilities that the Jedi could not pinpoint. That they Jedi weren’t going, “Oh, well, that’s magic. Oh, well, that’s the Force.” That’s one of the reasons they get so thrown off by what they’re seeing. It’s so unpredictable, and it’s difficult for them to categorize and then report back to the Council.

The Jedi are trying to get as much information as they can, but each time they interact with the witches they’re getting different impressions of what the coven is doing.

Going into this episode, the show definitely suggested that the Jedi might’ve done something truly terrible on Brendok. But I think this episode showed that all of their actions were either genuinely noble, totally defensible, or at least understandable mistakes. What was the thematic purpose of raising the possibility of hidden Jedi crimes if you were then going to reveal that they were flawed rather than evil?

Headland: I’m so glad it read that way for you.

It’s a show about the bad guys in every sense of that word. And because my previous work before coming into the Star Wars world was almost always concerned with some sort of morality, immorality, or amorality, it was always about characters running through a spectrum of those things as opposed to having a good character and a bad character. A good girl and a bad girl. A nice guy and a womanizer. That these characters could be all of these things at once was so it was important to me. I’m glad that you got that impression from watching the episode, that the Jedi are not performing evil acts.

They’re not being willfully oppressive. They’re not manipulating or tricking anyone. So if the show, with all the other characters, is exploring the spectrum of morality, the Stranger being a great example, Mae being a great example, it felt to me that the Jedi also had to have that particular treatment. The Jedi could not be part of that thematic element of the show.

Why does Sol feel a connection to Osha so immediately? And specifically, why does he feel like she’s meant to be as Padawan?

Headland: I wanted to keep some mystery around that. I wanted to definitely call back to Qui-Gon and Anakin. Qui-Gon almost immediately zeroes in on the potential that Anakin has, the specialness of Anakin, the exceptionalism of Anakin. I think Sol feels the same way about Osha. There’s just something that he feels within his connection with the Force, her strength in the Force, and how he recognizes that.

And I always wondered, having seen The Phantom Menace, and seeing Qui-Gon behave the way he did, I did wonder,”Is this how it happened? Or do you just get matched up with somebody?” And a much more compelling, interesting storyline is as a Jedi Knight moving into Master, you identify your apprentice in a deep spiritual connection, whether it’s out in the world or at the temple, as opposed to being paired up with someone.

I’m glad you brought up Qui-Gon, because I want to ask about Anakin. I think the connections between the twins and Anakin were obvious even before this episode, but I want to focus on their differences. Specifically, this idea that their one consciousness split into two bodies. Why would that make them stronger, a.k.a, “the power of two,” and not weaker if they’re two halves of one whole?

Headland: I think it’s both. The girls are guinea pigs. They’re patient zero for this sort of power. It didn’t work perfectly. Therefore the girls on their own can never be as powerful as Anakin. Their full potential together has yet to be explored. They’ve been separated too long.

It’s like when you’re doing an experiment and it’s the first round of it. They are maybe not the first, but one of the first experiments of this particular use of power.

So the twins are weaker than Anakin, for sure. They are going to fall short of what will eventually become the Chosen One. They will never achieve what that is, because in my mind, Aniseya could only do so much. She’s not powerful enough to create one person. The twins split, Aniseya’s power split, and therefore a lot of her philosophy is about the power of two. About the fact that they must stay together. They must stay together. The twins are stronger together if she keeps them together. And obviously there’s an analogy to this of the isolationist feeling, not just of the coven, but also of family. “If I can keep you safe, if I can keep you safe then you won’t get hurt. You won’t get hurt.

This is why the Jedi blowing up this dynamic, both in episode three and seven, is so important to see. Because Aniseya starts to essentially go into this crisis as a parent. “Of course, I know they need to stay together, but they also need to be their own person. So perhaps I need to let go of my own design and trust that this is what’s meant to be. Because what’s the other option? That I force my children to be people they’re not.”

Why are the twins the coven’s future and why would letting Osha go with the Jedi sacrifice their future? Why does a powerful coven of witches need new leaders anyway?

Headland: Not unlike what I was just saying, that Aniseya and the coven do believe, to the extent that the witches understand them, that “the power of two” will breed “the power of many.” Meaning that these young girls will start a legacy that could actually grow and grow and grow. That is unlike the Sith, who are going to operate with only two always, one to have the power and one to crave it. That dynamic and that balance is how the Sith stay around.

Part of what the coven wants, even if it’s not what Aniseya wants, is this legacy. This feeling of the two girls ascending into becoming the leaders of the coven. Of being little Dalai Lamas they can worship. That they would proliferate being able to create more children or being able to create more. The witches are powerful, very powerful, but they’re only powerful together. As you can see with what happened with Kelnacca. They would not be able to, one-by-one, do what they did with them.

Why did they all die when Indara freed Kelnacca?

Headland: This was a big question when we were working on the episode. To me, it was very important because it told two stories. One, that Indara, despite her being completely and utterly the consummate Jedi in this episode, I did feel it was important that she also misjudged something. If we were going to explore those themes, she couldn’t just be this infallible Jedi, she also had to have something else going on with her. And I think what she did is, in the moment, in trying to sever the connection between Kelnacca and the witches, she dealt with a power that she did not understand and was unfamiliar with.

Did she kill them?

Headland: Yeah. She didn’t know what was going to happen to them.

So it wasn’t intentional?

Headland: No, she did not know. All she was thinking was, “I have to save him.” Again, it starts to become a selfish want. “I must save this colleague of mine. I have to do this. If I don’t do this, then something terrible could happen to him. We’ve seen what they’re capable of. I’ve seen them do this to my Padawan. They’re now doing it to an incredibly powerful Jedi master. What do I do? Okay, I’m going to make this decision.”

But she doesn’t know what the consequences of that decision will be. The same way that Sol doesn’t know what his actions will mean for Osha’s future. Torbin doesn’t really put together, because he’s so young that, the consequences of his actions are going to lead to all of this falling apart. Indara had to also make that mistake in order to continue exploring that idea.

Koril says she would die before she let the Jedi take her children. Then the Jedi take Osha. So is it okay to assume she’s dead? Because the episode definitely suggests she survived.

Headland: [laughs] Yeah. No body, no death. That’s what I’ll say about that one.

Considering this angry, powerful Force-sensitive witch might be out there, and we also have this unexplained, powerful Dark side user out there as well, is it possible that Koril and Qimir know each other?

Headland: Oh, I can answer that. They do not know each other. But what I will say, as a tease, if we are able to explore this story more, her species will tell you a little bit about where she ends up.

We know Aniseya is right when she says, “Someday those noble intentions you all have will destroy every Jedi in the galaxy.” But how exactly does she know that? Is it just a prediction from a very smart person? Or is that comment related to the twins’ destiny?

Headland: I think she’s seeing the way (the Jedi) are reacting to her children. And she may not know this exactly, but she knows they will make the same mistake with Anakin.

When Mae asks for help Aniseya not only starts dematerializing her own body, she makes Mae turn into a a shadow as well. What can you tell us about what exactly is happening there and why?

Headland: Aniseya’s main concern is that violence will be used in this confrontation. Jodie (Turner-Smith) and I talked about that meaning two things. One, that Aniseya must have come from someplace that utilized violence. It’s something she would have seen when she was a child, something that she would’ve endured in her coming of age. So the main concern is obviously the safety of her children, the physical safety of them. The secondary concern is, “I do not want my children or my legacy to be affected by something violent. I want to remove them from whatever that is.”

The “why” (about the dematerializing) is the first thing that Jodie and I talked about in seeding the character. What she is doing is what Jecki says in episode four, that it’s an honor to see anyone transform into the Force. I believe that Aniseya is transforming herself and Mae into the Force in a way that doesn’t kill them.

Sol confuses Mae for Osha during the standoff right before he kills Aniseya. What does that mix-up reveal about Sol, both in that moment and for his presumed connection with Osha?

Headland: That he doesn’t know her as well as he thinks he does. Qimir has a similar reaction to Osha that Sol has. Sol has that Qui-Gon/Anakin connection with her. “This is a powerful Force-sensitive child. This child is meant to be my Padawan. I’m drawn to this particular power, which means I need to help this young woman reach her full potential as a Jedi.”

Qimir has the exact same experience with her in episode two. The second Osha walks into the apothecary, he knows that it’s not ae. He can feel that this is something different. He can feel that he wants to teach her. Qimir wants to be a part of her journey in reaching her full potential.

What I think is interesting is that Qimir, and later the Stranger, never mistakes Osha for Mae. And Sol mistakes Osha for Mae at least twice. That’s also meant to foreshadow who Osha’s real Master will be.

Indara thinks Sol is letting his emotion and feelings get in the way. But he insists that’s not what is happening. Who’s right?

Headland: I think she’s right as a Jedi. She’s right in terms of the institution they’re a part of. He’s right because if you’re not going with your instinct and your emotions, when you are looking for a Padawan, or feel children are in danger, or sense the misuse of power, what else would you be relying on?

When the Council says no in The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon’s like, “Fuck it. I’ll do it myself.” He respectfully says no. What I wanted to explore here was, “We asked the Council, they said no,” and everybody kind of going, “We can’t stand up. We can’t say those things.” What’s great about Qui-Gon is that he is able to maintain his emotional sobriety while also advocating for his new relationship with his Padawan.

Sol was unable to do that, but I don’t think that’s a flaw as a human. I think as a human or a father Sol is right, but I think as a Jedi Indara is right. Those are the two sides of Sol that are in conflict here.

With Mae talking about walking through fear and everyone being sacrificed to fulfill their destiny, was Sol correct that the girls were in danger?

Headland: No. Mae misremembered what her mother said. Sol misinterpreted it, but it’s because the child did. He was believing what the child said and genuinely thought, “Well, she says sacrifice, so this is bad.” But she’s misremembering what her mother said, which is that you have to sacrifice a “part” of yourself.

What were the natural desires Torbin was suppressing? Was he really homesick or was he missing someone or something instead?

Headland: No, he wanted to go home. I like the idea. It just seemed so human to me. “I just want to go home. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

Where older, more experienced Jedi would understand how to stay within meditative states, how to put one foot in front of the other, how to stay in the moment, a young, undisciplined, unbalanced Padawan is still thinking, “If I don’t know when I’m leaving, how am I expected to stay here?” He’s missing a big lesson here, which is something that Indara is trying to impart for him.

She’s very right that she can’t just tell him that. I can see a viewer saying, “Well, just tell him that.” But she explicitly says, “I have to teach him. He has to learn this. If I just tell it to him, it’s not going to sink in at all. It will be my idea. It will be my thing that I’m telling him.” So he has to be taught the challenging circumstances of being a Jedi.

Episode seven gives us a totally different perspective of what happened on Brendok compared to what we saw in episode three when Mae tells Osha, “I’ll kill you.” Did that actually happen, or is that Osha misremembering that night?

Headland: We talked about this a lot in the writer’s room. There was a healthy discussion about, “Do you utilize this kind of language as a child?” And I said, I think so, yeah. I remember when I was little, I have two sisters, I have a younger brother, we said insane things to each other. Just absolutely wild, crazy things. I don’t think it got to that level of violence, of course, but I don’t think Mae means that at all. She doesn’t mean she’s actually going to kill he sister.

But we did talk about the fact that possibly Osha is misremembering it because she felt so threatened in that moment. So I’d leave it up to the viewer. We did discuss both of them.

Will we learn whether Qimir is truly a Sith or not in the season finale?

Headland: What I will say is you don’t hear it from his mouth, but there are a couple small things that happen that intimate the answer to that question.

Will we learn if Qimir has any connection to the Knights of Ren? That’s a theory I’ve been working on all season.

Headland: [takes long pause] It’s a really good theory. What an interesting theory. What an amazing…that’s…wow. Wow wow.

What aspect of the series that will prove important in the finale do you think people haven’t focused on enough up to this point?

Headland: That’s a good question. I haven’t been following the coverage of the show enough to really answer that. I did hear that there was a bit of a dust up in terms of the girls stepping on Anakin’s creation storyline line, which I had mixed feelings about.

It’s probably for another deep dive to kind of talk about that. I would say that you might be missing the forest for the trees in starting an argument about that, instead of seeing that this is a power that could have existed in the world way before Anakin. And that power was being pursued by someone. So it’s not an issue of “paying attention to,” but I did hear about that, and I just think people aren’t taking into account the era that we’re in.

If there’s anything we know about the fifth in Sith in sequels or prequels, one of the things we do know about them is their quest for these abilities like we’re seeing Aniseya being able to execute with the twins.

It just seemed to me any power like that that does not belong to one faction. It is not something that Aniseya was born with either. It’s a power that belongs to the Force. And that it’s up to the practitioner to be able to understand and figure out and pull apart how do you harness that particular power.

I understand what people were complaining about, or were maybe confused by, but I think they’re sort of paying attention to the wrong aspect of it. They’re not seeing the long game of the lineage of the Sith pursuing any sort of evidence of this type of power in the galaxy and then tunnel visioning toward it. And improving upon it. Again, if the girls are a test run, being able to improve on what that power is and being able to perfect it, that would be something if I were a Sith I would be interested in.

This one’s for me. I’ve been waiting many years for Darth Plagueis to show up. Do you know how the whole story of the galaxy far, far away, from The Acolyte to him training Palpatine, connects?

Headland: Yes, I do. If I continue to get to tell this story, I know how I would like that to play out. And I would say I think it’s pretty complicated and messy.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who always thinks Darth Plagueis is showing up any second. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Call him Qimir. Call him “The Stranger.” But Manny Jacinto’s dark side warrior from The Acolyte has captured everyone’s attention. And not just for being the sexiest (and most naked) bad guy in Star Wars history. Although that helps. We may not know if he’s a Sith, or a Knight of Ren, or what. But we do know that the sinister-looking lightsaber-proof helmet he wears is already iconic. And now, fans can have one of their own with Hasbro Pulse’s Star Wars: Black Series The Stranger Electronic Helmet. You can check out several images in our gallery below:

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This officially licensed roleplay item is based on The Stranger’s helmet featured in Star Wars: The Acolyte, and the design features Welcome Light FX. Fans and collectors can soon go full dark side and wear this highly detailed sculpt themselves. The Stranger helmet includes padding for an adjustable fit for most head sizes. Of course, you can just choose to display it, right alongside your Darth Vader, stormtrooper, or Mandalorian helmets. One thing we’ve learned, the Star Wars galaxy has no shortage of is badass-looking headgear. The Stranger replica helmet sets you back $99.99, with a limit of just three per customer.

In The Acolyte, we learn that The Stranger’s helmet is made of a substance called cortosis, which is resistant to lightsaber blows. That’s a deep-cut reference, as the metal first appeared in a Star Wars novel many years ago. It’s similar to beskar steel on The Mandalorian, which is also lightsaber-resistant. While it’s safe to assume that this replica helmet is not made from any alien exotic metals, and instead just common Earth plastics, it doesn’t make it any less cool looking. So join the dark side, and head on over to the Hasbro Pulse site and pre-order this incredible replica helmet.

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In The Acolyte‘s sixth episode, Osha found herself on Qimir’s secret hideaway. That place was first seen in the series’ premiere when Mae’s Master appeared atop a rock along crashing ocean waves. Unlike every other world on the series, though, the Star Wars series didn’t give Qimir’s world a name. The Acolyte labeled it only as an “Unknown Planet.” But it was impossible for Star Wars fans not to wonder if we already know what it’s actually called, Ahch-To. The Acolyte‘s Unknown Planet looked nearly identical to the planet of Ahch-To from the sequel trilogy. But though showrunner Leslye Headland has now confirmed that the “Unknown Planet” is not Ahch-To, the similarities still ring loudly. Qimir living on a planet that reminds us of Ahch-to creates immediate parallels between the tale of the very dark side user who will put the Jedi on a path to near ruin a century later and the story of how a reclusive Luke Skywalker trained Rey.

What Is The Acolyte‘s Unknown Planet? Here’s Why It Reminded Fans of Star Wars‘ Ahch-To

The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” and the Star Wars planet Ahch-To share all the same physical properties. They’re both mostly covered in water dotted with lush, green rocky islands. Each is also home to adorable little bird-like creatures, though the new Disney+ show’s animals are not porgs. Simply put, they look identical in every way.

Those similarities are only part of the reason why it was impossible not to think Osha found herself on Ahch-To on The Acolyte. The Acolyte also framed many shots in ways that clearly hearken back to The Last Jedi. The camera watched from behind as she walked out of a tunnel to look out at the ocean. We saw similar shots of Rey and Luke framed just like that. Osha then followed Qimir around the Unknown Planet just as Rey followed Luke on Ahch-To. The Acolyte intentionally referenced shots and sequences from Ahch-To on a place that was indistinguishable from it.

Does Qimir Actually Live on the Planet of Ahch-To on The Acolyte?

So, is that actually where Qimir lives? Did the Jedi Killer make the very planet where the Jedi Order was founded thousands of years before as his base of operations? It turns out the answer is, no. The “Unknown Planet” is not Ahch-To. Instead, Qimir resides on a planet where it is possible to mine the rare Star Wars metal, cortosis.

Headland shares in response to whether Qimir’s Unknown Planet is actually Ahch-To on The Acolyte:

It’s not Ahch-To. I know it’s similar, and it was intentionally supposed to be similar in terms of terrain and feeling isolated and surrounded by water and less lush green and more rocky. But the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don’t think that’s the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don’t think we say it explicitly in the show, but that’s a reason it’s not Ahch-To.

But though Qimir’s planet is not the famous Star Wars setting, the fact his world looks so much like Ahch-To is what matters.

The Unkown Planet’s Resemblance to Ahch-To Is Important for The Acolyte Even If It’s a Different Planet

Of course, had The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” ultimately been revealed to be Ahch-To the significance would have been obvious. The very dark lord—a former Jedi Padawan and possible Sith—who put the Order on a path of destruction would have used the Jedi’s own home to bring them down.

We still wonder if there are other secrets on the island, though. Had it been Ahch-To, we might have speculated that Qimir used Sacred Jedi Texts and ancient Jedi knowledge found on Ahch-To to better understand his enemy on The Acolyte. This could have explained why he’s able to tap into the Force with as much power as he can.

(But perhaps other knowledge from the Unknown Planet will help explain why the Jedi couldn’t sense his real identity initially. And that would also help explain why they won’t sense Palpatine’s more than a century later.)

But though Qimir’s planet is not Ahch-To on a cloudy day and is instead a totally different world, The Acolyte clearly wanted us to make that Star Wars connection. There’s obvious meaning in making us think about Ahch-To. It’s Star Wars “rhyming” like poetry, just as George Lucas said it should.

Osha becoming Qimir’s apprentice on The Acolyte on an island much like Ahch-To means another place exists where a powerful Force user trains a student who will go on to lead their order, just as occurs when Rey arrives at Ahch-To to find Luke Skywalker. Only the roles will flip now, with Qimir’s student reluctant to learn and Rey’s Master reluctant to teach.

In the galaxy far, far away there are two identical worlds, neither inherently good or bad. How those who call them home use those planets will determine which side they fall on, just as the Force is neither inherently good or bad. We’ll remember one planet for light, the other for dark. They, fittingly, balance each other.

Is The Acolyte‘s “Unknown Planet” really Ahch-To? No. But the fact we had to ask is meaningful enough on its own.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Acolyte has pulled no punches when it comes to delivering character deaths and killing fascinating figures. We were stunned when Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca was killed in episode four of the Star Wars series before we even got to see him on-screen in the present day. And this was after the episode one death of Jedi Master Indara. But it turns out Star Wars: The Acolyte was only picking up its killing steam. Episode five of the series delivered the most intense killing yet. In The Acolyte‘s fifth chapter, fans encountered a Star Wars death that really hurt.

The Death of Yord on The Acolyte Is the Most Shocking One Yet

Oh, Yord, say it isn’t so. Yord’s death on The Acolyte truly shocked us. The straight-laced Jedi Knight, played by Charlie Barnett, was hands-down a fan-favorite character. After only a handful of episodes, Yord Fandar amassed a fan-following called the “Yord Horde” (see: #YordHorde on Twitter), which is a genius name. And we know that not just any character could achieve such devotion. Lucasfilm even sent out Yord Horde stickers to loyal Yordists, sorry Yord Horde-ists, and got Barnett in on the act in the episode before his death! (Which seems cruel and unusual.)

Although he seemed to lack a sense of humor on principle, Yord was hilarious in his fussy and persnickety ways. And he won hearts and minds from the moment fans saw him steaming his robes to perfection. A Jedi does need pressed robes, of course, or how will the world ever respect them? Despite his love of rules and adherence to the letter of the law, Yord’s heart was truly in the right place. Though Yord probably would approve of his The Acolyte death as an honorable end befitting a Jedi Knight, few would likely share his sentiments.

Yord’s death truly shocked us to the core.

How Did Yord Die on The Acolyte?

It felt like Yord’s death was mercilessly teased throughout The Acolyte‘s fifth episode before coming to pass. On Khofar, the dark Sith Lord Master, who we now know to be Qimir, attacked the assembled group of Jedi. Using his Force powers, lightsaber skills, and cortosis armor, Qimir handily hacked and slashed his way through the group. Qimir got a jab into Yord, but it was only a slash to his leg. For a moment, Yord fans let out a sigh of relief as Qimir disappeared to chase after Osha, thinking he might be safe from death after this fakeout. Especially when Sol arrived on the scene to aid them both and fight Qimir.

Osha and Yord headed to safety at Sol’s command, but although Sol had ordered Yord away with Osha and he was determined to stick to his Jedi Master’s command, his heart finally won out over his mind. Osha and Yord headed back to find Sol and Qimir, and thus sealed Yord’s (however noble) fate on The Acolyte.

Yord valiantly entered the fray again, saving Mae from her fate and distracting Qimir. But alas, the evil Sith Master was too much for him. Qimir snapped Yord’s neck, and thus, the beloved Yord was dead on The Acolyte.

Actor Charlie Barnett Shares a Message with the Yord Horde Addressing His The Acolyte Death

As Yord sails off into the sunset, his actor Charlie Barnett shares a message with all the mourning Yord Horde out there. Barnett thanks his fans for their love, kindness, appreciation, and joy. He notes the Yords of the world are people who are just “trying to do what’s best” and welcomes the Yord Horde’s patience and understanding for that kind of a character and person. Also, he’s sorry that he/Yord are dead on The Acolyte. 🙁

Is There a Chance Yord Could Come to Life, and His Star Wars Death Could Be Reversed?

Of course, Yord’s death makes fans ask the obvious next question. Is there a way Yord’s death can be reversed and Yord could return to life on Star Wars? Well, we never say never. Star Wars does have a history of mysterious resurrections and glorious reappearances. But, it seems like most likely, no. Yord is a human character, and his neck was snapped. That feels pretty final.

Barnett even notes of Yord’s death, “Leslye [Headland] was very up front from the very get-go. No one ever wants to be cut out of a show, but when you know that going into it, performance-wise, it gave me a bookend and it gave me a route to plan out and play a little more of the rollercoaster role, showing the ups and downs and showing how he ends up getting into this position. When you’re playing a character that you know is going to die, it’s a little more fun. If it’s a surprise to you and your job is gone next week, it sucks, but when you know what you’re walking into, you get to have a little more control over it. And I tried to find the lemonade through the lemons.”

Additionally, he shares of Yord’s final minutes, “When Osha convinces me that Jecki is in danger, I know my duty is to bring this civilian up to the ship and get out of here as quickly as possible, but my heart breaks, and it’s the first time my compassion supersedes. And all the responsibility of what you must live up to goes out the window. And yes, sadly, he doesn’t survive and win off of that kind of energy. I think it’s kind of the fault of not living in that place for more of his life. He was too confined, and you see his demise from it. These are all the reasonings why he loses so much of what he knows he’s good at, which is fighting, because his attachments and his emotional connection speak louder in that moment.”

In episode six of The Acolyte, we more or see confirmation that Yord is really dead. And although Yord’s death does indeed seem like it will hold, stranger things have happened on Star Wars. In the meanwhile, we know death won’t stop the Yord Horde’s true love from shining through. Long live, Yord!

Originally published on June 27, 2024.

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Star Wars is not the sexiest franchise in the universe. Not to say there are not sexy people in it. In fact, almost all the leads of Star Wars live-action projects are pretty darn hot. (Lookin’ at you, Chewie). But if “sexy” means “showing skin,” well… the galaxy far, far away often comes up short in that regard. (Star Trek, on the other hand, is all about the sexy. You should check it out). However, episode six of The Acolyte took a big right turn into sexy town, and we can safely say that the fans are all about it. And it all centered on our hunky dark side warrior, Qimir (Manny Jacinto).

After the end of episode five, Qimir takes the kidnapped Osha (Amandla Stenberg) to an “Unknown Planet,” where he strips down to nothing, and takes a dip in the ocean. Osha is supposedly unconscious during all of this, but she wakes up and sees the whole thing. And sexy Qimir lets her know that he knows she’s watching. The camera makes sure to show off his glistening wet muscles, stopping short of showing any actual nudity. Although, the episode makes it a point to let us know that this dark side warrior definitely lets Osha see the goods. Even if we, the audience, were robbed. As far as we can tell, this is the first implied full nudity in Star Wars in almost 50 years. Well, better late than never we say.

Has Star Wars Ever Implied Nudity Before?

Of course, Star Wars has shown some skin in the past. Rather famously, in fact. In Return of the Jedi, in Jabba the Hutt’s palace, we had his Twi’lek dancer Oola gyrating while wearing a very revealing outfit. Of course, Princess Leia as Jabba’s prisoner had Carrie Fisher in a metal bikini that left very little to the imagination. It was an outfit that signaled the sexual awakening of many. However, it stopped short of anything too racy for a PG movie. Natalie Portman as Padmé in Attack of the Clones had a creature shred her top to give her a Britney Spears bare midriff, which kind of counts too.

Years later in Revenge of the Sith, a very buff Anakin Skywalker wakes from a nightmare about his wife Padmé, and we see his sweaty, chiseled bare chest. They made it a point to linger on Hayden Christensen’s shredded body. In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) lets Rey (Daisy Ridley) see him shirtless in his quarters, and she tells him to put his shirt back on. Possibly the first time Star Wars nudity, or partial nudity, makes another character uncomfortable. Of course, all stop short of actual nakedness.

Has Star Wars Ever Had a Sex Scene?

There’s “sexy,” and then there’s “sex scene.” We can safely say that Star Wars is even more chaste in this regard. Sure, we know that Anakin and Padme did the deed, because Luke and Leia are proof. Same with Han and Leia, because Kylo Ren/Ben Solo came from somewhere. But audiences were only ever allowed to see kisses between these characters. Anakin and Padme are only shown in bed sleeping in Revenge of the Sith, with Natalie Portman in a nightgown.

The first real implication of a sex scene in Star Wars was in Andor. In episode two, Cassian’s friend Bix (Adria Arjona) drops by for a booty call with Timm (James McArdle). And in the morning, she gets out of Timm’s bed and dresses herself. It’s clear that the two had a romantic rendezvous, but the audience didn’t get to see it, only its “morning after” aftermath. Even the franchise’s most adult entry, Andor, pulled its punches in this regard.

Is Qimir in The Acolyte Episode 6 Star Wars’ Sexiest Scene?

We are actually going to make a bold declaration, and say Qimir’s nude dip in the ocean, where he emerges to Osha and shows off his naked bod, is Star Wars’ sexiest scene. Everything about it is coded as “seduction.” We even have Qimir lustily saying the words “desire” to Osha when trying to sell her on the dark side. We can’t think of a scene in any Star Wars that has leaned into sexy territory more than this one. Heck, we barely see Pedro Pascal’s face in The Mandalorian, much less bare biceps. Hopefully, The Acolyte, and Star Wars in general, leans more into sexy in the future. Why have all these impossibly attractive heroes and villains if you’re not going to lean into it from time to time?

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Qimir is not the first Force user in the galaxy far, far away to try and lure a good person to the dark side, but his attempt to make Osha his new apprentice in The Acolyte‘s sixth episode was bigger than just two people. The moment she put on his cortosis helmet was an ominous sign of what might await her, with a scene that directly ties Osha to major Star Wars figures like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, and Rey.

“Cortosis, handy against lightsabers, but also a sensory deprivation headpiece. Like we used as younglings,” Qimir said to Osha. That sinister helmet was unlike any Jedi Padawan training headgear. Instead, it was more like some infamous locations that have played important roles in the lives of Star Wars‘ greatest heroes and villains.

In The Empire Strikes Back Yoda told Luke Skywalker to enter the swamp planet’s notorious cave. Also known as the Cave of Evil, Yoda said that place was “strong with the dark side of the Force” and a “domain of evil.” When Luke asked what was inside, Yoda answered, “Only what you take with you.”

Qimir’s words about his cortosis helmet echoed the same idea. What was inside of his helmet. “It’s just you and the Force,” he told Osha. “And what you bring with you.”

On Dagobah Luke saw a vision of Darth Vader that he struck down in anger. Vader’s mask then disappeared to reveal Luke’s face, a warning of the future awaiting Luke if he succumbed to the dark side. If not for his experience in the Cave of Evil, Luke might have gone on to kill his father and join the Emperor.

Kylo Ren (who shares many connections with Qimir) did kill his father, in part because he also went through Dagobah’s cave of evil under Snoke’s guidance. Inside it Kylo saw a vision of his uncle and former Master, whom he was able to strike down. However, the former Ben Solo was unable to kill the visions of his parents Leia and Han. (Rather than face his own “failure,” he destroyed the cave.)

If not for what happened on Dagobah, Kylo Ren might not have murdered his father when they met on Starkiller Base years later. The death of Han Solo allowed Kylo Ren to become even more powerful.

The Jedi who rescued Ben Solo’s soul also underwent her own dark side tribulation. On Ahch-To (a place remarkably similar to Qimir’s secret planet!) Rey entered the mirror cave. Despite being on the world where the Jedi Order was founded, that cave had strong ties to the dark side. The Jedi used it to train their Padawans for the same reason Yoda sent Luke into Dagobah’s evil cave. The Order knew an evil path tempts all Jedi some day. The best way to avoid walking it was to prepare for the day it came for them.

That dark place had called out to Rey, who felt compelled to enter. Her inability to ignore the mirror cave’s call greatly troubled Luke Skywalker. Yet Rey never succumbed to the dark side, which teased her with information about her parents and true identity. Like Luke before her, Rey passed her real test when Kylo Ren offered to rule the galaxy with her.

Anakin Skywalker also had to see his possible dark future long before his visions of Padmé’s death began haunting him. Anakin—whose tragic story is already intimately tied to Osha and Mae’s—once saw what would become of him if he did not become ruler of the planet Mortis, the center of the Force itself. The powerful figure the Son, the manifestation of the dark side, showed Anakin what he could become some day.

The horrible vision did not make Anakin stay and replace the leader of Mortis, the Father, who then wiped Anakin’s memory. But if it had Darth Vader would never have existed.

Anakin would eventually fall to the dark side just as the Father had feared. And The Acolyte made sure we remembered Anakin’s fate when Osha put on Qimir’s dark side helmet as he suggested. What did she bring in there with her? She found darkness and the sound of her own breathing.

It was a sound that evoked Darth Vader’s own iconic mechanical breathing.

Osha doesn’t know anything about Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader, nor of Dagobah’s Cave of Evil, Mortis, or Ahch-To’s mirror cave. But we do. We also know that not everyone who sees a vision of a terrible future avoids it. Sometimes good Jedi fall to the dark side.

What did Osha bring with her into that helmet? The real question is what will she bring out with her when she takes it off? Hopefully whatever it is doesn’t sound anything like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren’s story.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist still hoping Qimir is Darth Plagueis even though he’s not. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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“You speak as if you were a Jedi.”
“I was. A long time ago.”

The Acolyte‘s sixth episode confirmed what its previous installment only hinted at: Qimir was once a member of the Jedi Order. The powerful dark side user’s past means the Jedi helped create the very enemy who will help destroy them in the future. It also makes Qimir even more dangerous than we thought. Qimir has an institutional knowledge of his enemy and a personal reason to hate the Jedi. More troubling is that Qimir also has an intimate understanding of the fear and anger that former Jedi Padawan Osha also carries. That gives him a huge advantage in his attempts to recruit her as his new apprentice.

Qimir might talk like a Sith—and resemble a Knight of Ren—but he’s long shown a deep understanding of the Jedi Order. Now we know that’s because he was a Jedi with a Master “a really long time ago.” His time in the Order showed him the limits of being a Jedi and ultimately pushed Qimir to the dark side on The Acolyte.

Their methods are why he says Osha can no longer use her immense powers. “The Jedi teach there’s only one way to access the Force,” Qimir said. “If you don’t do it their way, it fades.” But Qimir knows there’s another way. He told Osha, “Below the surface of consciousness are powerful emotions. Anger. Fear. Loss. Desire.”

Osha called that “the path to the dark side,” and as all Star Wars fans know, she’s correct. Qimir didn’t even disagree with her. He simply called that “semantics,” because what the Jedi see as “dark,” The Acolyte‘s Qimir sees as freedom. That’s what Qimir said he wants in The Acolyte episode five, a freedom to use his power as he sees fit rather than how the Jedi say he can. He wants the freedom to live the way he wants.

Qimir also wants other things, including revenge. Osha asked about the scars on his back and Qimir didn’t deny they came from his former Jedi Master. That person “threw him away,” the same way he says the Jedi threw Osha away while making her think she failed them. In reality, Qimir says the Jedi couldn’t deal with the powerful emotions each lives with. Those feelings make Qimir and Osha a threat to the Jedi way.

(Who was the Jedi Master who gave Qimir his weird-shaped scar on The Acolyte? It’s not straight like the lightsaber slashes he gave to Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca. Its vaguely V-shaped pattern looks more like the kind of scar you’d get from a whip. And this episode saw Master Vernestra use her unique lightsaber whip on screen for the first time. She also clearly held something back about her fears over the Jedi slaughter on Khofar, the latest shady action she’s taken on the show.)

Qimir also wants something else on The Acolyte: “the power of two.” For that, he needs an acolyte. He thought that could be Mae, but he was wrong about her. Mae only wants revenge. He wants something more. Now Qimir thinks he’s found a kindred spirit in a fellow former Jedi Padawan who lost “everything” on The Acolyte. That loss has always held Osha back. Qimir wants her to see that loss is what “finally” set her free, just as he is free. And that freedom offers the opportunity for Osha to see that her immense strength in the Force is hers and hers alone, not the Jedi Order’s as they taught her to believe.

It’s an enticing offer to someone carrying a lifetime of anger, fear, loss, and desire, even someone “not so easily corruptible” as Osha. (Qimir didn’t even need to read her mind to know what she holds in her soul. Nor did she need to draw a lightsaber to his neck for him to know he was right.)

She’s not immune to his pitch. On The Acolyte, Qimir is offering her the very same path the powerful, heroic Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker will walk someday. Anyone can fall to the dark side, especially when a charming, manipulative dark side user with ulterior motives knows how to appeal to their biggest insecurities.

No one knows Osha’s insecurities as well as her fellow former Jedi Padawan, Qimir. He can reach her in a way Sol never could.

If Qimir can use his Jedi past to recruit Osha to the dark side on The Acolyte, the power of two will give Master and Acolyte the power to destroy the entire Jedi Order. We know because more than a century after we learned about Qimir’s past, that’s exactly what his fellow dark side users will do.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and Manny Jacinto superfan which makes him at least willing to listen to Qimir. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Is wanting freedom so wrong? The Acolyte‘s Qimir tempts us to think very deeply about that question as he swings into the Star Wars universe with style and charisma. The series has been teasing the identity of its villainous Sith Lord master since its first episode. And finally, in episode five of The Acolyte, the villain’s mask flew off, and below it was the initially unassuming smuggler Qimir. Although many fans were already leaning toward Qimir as the Sith Lord “Master” on The Acolyte, few could have predicted Manny Jacinto’s complete shift in temperament, voice, attitude… and, dare we say it, magnetism.

Of course, Jacinto’s Qimir looks good. (We all see and agree with those posts about his very muscular arms.) But the character’s powers of seduction hit on an even more existential level than that. “I’ve accepted my darkness,” Qimir tells Sol. And never has following in his dark side footsteps seemed like such a compelling offering.

Qimir says that the Jedi might call him a Sith on The Acolyte. But whether he is a Sith in the Star Wars universe isn’t exactly confirmed yet. Qimir notes, “He has no name.” Regardless, while the Sith are all about passion, they still have a codified set of rules that orders them to follow it. Of course, the Jedi love to put restrictions on the use of the Force and want emotions and desires to be as tamped down as possible.

The Acolyte‘s Qimir seems very uninterested in all of that. Instead, his use of the Force and his fighting skills verge on many of the seven deadly sins—gluttonous, wrathful, and full of lust. He cuts a row of trees down because he can. Qimir murders Jedi after Jedi on The Acolyte because they’re in his way. He headbutts lightsabers, draped in the rare, powerful metal cortosis, to fizzle them out. All the while, he turns the Jedi’s absurd trainings right back on them. Yord says of him, “He doesn’t follow the rules of combat; there’s no method to his movements. It doesn’t make sense.” And it’s an apt description.

In these ways, Qimir brings something primal to the depiction of Star Wars‘ dark side that feels new. He moves and acts like a force of nature, hungry and consuming. Qimir’s powers seem barely controlled by even himself, dancing along his whims as they fluidly shift and change. And yes, the fact that Qimir’s arms are carelessly bare in the middle of battle has something to do with it, as does the sensuality of Jacinto’s portrayal of the character.

There’s a primordial sense to the power The Acolyte‘s Qimir has. And this godliness infects everything from how he fights to the very construction of his eloquent speeches about the nature of humanity and Jedi throughout the season. Of course, his desire for an Acolyte, a worshipper, and not an Apprentice or Padawan, only bolster the idea of of Qimir as a god… or a devil. Qimir makes the dark side feel more intimate and yet expansive than ever before.

Star Wars Sith have sought to rule the galaxy in previous franchise outings, often speaking of creating a “new order” in the universe. But Qimir’s desires aren’t about control; they’re about the complete surrendering of it. “Freedom.” He notes, when Sol asks him what he wants. “The freedom to wield my power the way I like.” Qimir’s version of darkness is heady. It doesn’t involve Imperial Marches or the building of an Empire. Qimir simply wants to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to do it. He wants to manipulate and pretend, to raise his eyebrows snarkily with one breath and bring death in the next. He doesn’t make any sense, as Yord points out, and he doesn’t have to. Qimir moves beyond a rational understanding and transforms into a greater force.

And so, as we watch Qimir dance through battle after battle on The Acolyte, taking in the way he defeats everyone in his path, outsmarts them, and seemingly has a great time doing it, we really do find ourselves asking: Is wanting freedom so wrong? The dark side has truly never looked so good.

Rotem Rusak is Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist and a pop culture enthusiast. She’s always here to find the beauty in a villain.

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Star Wars isn’t Star Wars without a few adorable aliens who look like critters you’d want to buy at a pet shop. And The Acolyte is no different. In episode four, we meet the latest “soon to be a cute toy on your shelf” alien. This is Bazil, a Tynnan tracker. The Jedi utilize Bazil’s tracking skills to find the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca on the planet Kohfar. In the grand Star Wars tradition of old, Bazil is an actual performer in a suit. Hassan Taj, who operated R2-D2 in The Rise of Skywalker, is inside the costume. It’s a suit brought to life by ILM’s creature and droid FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan.

Tynnans are one of the earliest non-George Lucas-created Star Wars alien races. The Tynnan species are anthropomorphic otter/beaver-like beings. They first appeared in the 1979 Legends novel Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley. Lucasfilm officially canonized them in the 2016 novel Catalyst, tying into the events of Rogue One. And no, Han Solo did not punch a Tynnan in that infamous piece of artwork from the ’90s. That was an Selonian queen from the Han Solo novel Assault on Selonia. Totally different otter-like aliens. It’s a big galaxy out there, lots of weird and wonderful creatures inhabit it.

When designing Bazil, Neal Scanlan made sure he had a more prominent snout to sniff out clues with. Bazil also wears a visor and helmet, all adding to the sensory deprivation he requires to focus on the investigation and block out the noise of the outside world. Scanlan told the official Star Wars site, “Bazil was very sensory, so he would obviously smell and hear things probably better than using his eyesight. The idea of having goggles was that he would then sort of go inwardly and become the tracker.”

In episode five, the Star Wars series sets Bazil up to play an important role in future episodes. It seems only Bazil can tell that Mae and Osha have switched places on The Acolyte. After finding Pip in the woods, Bazil can clearly tell there is someone new among the Jedi who shouldn’t be there. He may yet save the day.

Although Tynnans are more like beavers and otters, they definitely have a mouse-like quality too. Since he’s a tracker, which is another way of saying detective, we have to wonder if Bazil drew inspiration from Basil, the titular lead of the animated Disney classic The Great Mouse Detective. For the record, there actually is a mouse-like alien race in Star Wars. In A New Hope, we see a member of the rodent species Chadra-Fan in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Although, that Chadra-Fan ordering drinks was decidedly less cute than Bazil. All we know is Bazil is an adorable new addition to the galaxy, and we must protect him at all costs.

Originally published on June 18, 2024.

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The Acolyte‘s fifth episode featured the shocking deaths of fan-favorite characters like Jedi Knight Yord Fandar and the Padawan Jecki Lon. The episode also finally unmasked the identity of The Stranger who had been training Mae to kill several Jedi—Qimir, Mae’s slimy partner in crime. Qimir presented himself as a lowly and unassuming assistant to Mae. But, as a warrior, he fought with a distressing deftness as he struck each Jedi down. His callousness made his murder of Jecki all the more upsetting, as he wasn’t afraid to kill someone who was clearly still a child. 

Out of all the Jedi who fought Qimir, Jecki arguably had the most heart. She bravely charged Qimir using both her green lightsaber and that of the fallen Master Kelnacca. Using a lightsaber made for a Wookiee is no small feat, as the hilts are longer to fit their tall stature. Jecki’s fight with Qimir met a heartbreaking end though when the Sith suddenly broke his red lightsaber into two pieces. He stabbed her three times through the upper torso in quick succession. A look of shock came across her face before she slumped over, presumably dead.  

For myself and other members of the #JeckiJam, Jecki’s death is hard to accept. However, there’s always a chance that “dead” Star Wars characters actually aren’t as dead as we thought they were. With this in mind, let’s peruse the evidence that gives some of us in the #JeckiJam hope that our favorite Padawan will actually be okay. 

Jecki’s Half-Theelin Heritage Could Be the Key to Her Survival

First, Jecki is half-Theelin and half-human. Her Theelin heritage gives her unique orange stripes and horns on the side of her head. Because she is an alien, there is a chance that her biology is not the same as humans. We are much more fragile to lightsaber wounds (remember Qui-Gon Jinn’s death in The Phantom Menace). Many alien species in Star Wars have a different number of organs than humans. Or they have other things like healing factors that make them tougher than humans. Cereans, like the Jedi Ki-Adi-Mundi, have two craniums. A Trandoshan Jedi Master named Sskeer in Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito’s High Republic comic series not only survives getting his arm cut off, he grows it back.

It has not yet been established in Star Wars canon what number of organs Theelins have, and whether this would extend to someone who is half Theelin and half human. Since Jecki was stabbed through the upper torso, there is a chance that Qimir’s blows may have missed one of her vital organs, depending on her biological differences.

I admit that this sounds a bit delusional, but walk with me here. The Sith who mentored Palpatine, Darth Plagueis the Wise, was of the Muun species. In James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis novel, Plagueis is able to fake his own death after getting stabbed through the heart because Muuns have three hearts in total. Though one heart was fried, Plagueis was able to survive by playing dead and waiting for the right moment to strike. While Luceno’s novel is no longer canon, that doesn’t mean that the same couldn’t be done for Jecki and the Theelin species as a whole. 

At this point in time, Theelins have largely had peripheral roles in Star Wars live-action projects (shoutout to the backup singer in Jabba the Hutt’s lair in Return of the Jedi). There’s so much more that can be flushed out about Theelins, which is part of why Jecki’s death is so tragic. Whether or not Jecki is actually dead or clinging to life, this episode of The Acolyte is an important moment that will establish key points about Theelin biology in canon once the smoke from the battlefield clears. Hopefully, Jecki isn’t the last Theelin Jedi we meet. 

Bacta Could Help Save Jecki’s Life in The Acolyte

Bacta technology was considered new a century before The Acolyte takes place, as shown in the High Republic novels like Cavan Scott’s The Rising Storm and Tessa Gratton’s Temptation of the Force. Bacta is more or less a miracle medicine first seen in The Empire Strikes Back that helps heal wounds and revive people close to death. It also notably brought Boba Fett back to health in The Book of Boba Fett, and revived Luke Skywalker after he nearly froze to death on Hoth in Episode V. 

During the High Republic era that The Acolyte takes place in, bacta was often used in patch form to dress wounds and speed up their healing time. If someone with bacta patches on hand reached Jecki in time, there’s a good chance that she would be able to recover from her wounds. Since Sabine Wren was stabbed through the side of her abdomen in Ahsoka and made a full recovery (albeit with swift medical intervention), Jecki fans can still hold onto hope that the Padawan can make it out alive. 

Surviving Lightsaber Wounds Is Inconsistent in the Star Wars Universe

Finally, the notion of surviving lightsaber wounds is an inconsistent one at best in Star Wars. The biggest case in point here is Darth Maul. In The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan Kenobi brutally bisected the Zabrak Sith apprentice. Maul’s torso and lower body fell through Naboo’s planetary core, seemingly to oblivion. And yet, as revealed in The Clone Wars animated series and then in Solo later on, Maul survived his grave injuries. In fact, the in-universe reason for why Maul was able to survive being cut in half was because he focused all of his energy on his hatred towards Obi-Wan. I am not making this up. Regardless of how I feel about Maul’s survival, I do have to give him kudos for escaping death through the power of being a hater. 

What’s also worth noting is that the two pieces of Maul didn’t happen to land in a state-of-the-art hospital, either. He fell into a pile of trash and was later transported to a junkyard in the Outer Rim, where he subsisted by eating insects. Maul, like Jecki, was only apprentice level and managed to survive being cut in half and falling several stories into a vat of waste that was probably crawling with infections. So I believe Jecki can make a decent recovery. 

Star Wars is not a science documentary, and never has been. Astromech chirp and beep in the midst of dogfights in the vacuum of space. If you are looking for any semblance of “scientific accuracy” in a world where an alien member of the Jedi Council has a comically long neck resembling a q-tip (Yarael Poof, you absolute icon), then you are looking in all the wrong places. 

That said, there is ample in-universe evidence that gives Jecki Lon a fighting chance of survival. Because Star Wars canon is constantly growing, especially for the time period that The Acolyte takes place in, there is so much that has yet to be established. A key element of Star Wars has always been a sense of hope. And I can cling to hope that somewhere, someplace, Jecki Lon survived her wounds. 

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The Acolyte revealed the true identity of its dark side Master in the Disney+ show’s memorable fifth episode. Qimir is no mere trader; he’s Mae’s mysterious mentor and the villain of the series. When Sol confronted Qimir on The Acolyte, the unmasked Force user said he has no name, but the Jedi might call him “Sith.” There’s plenty of reason to believe that’s exactly what he is, but there’s also reason to believe he’s something else. Qimir might be the forefather of the group that Kylo Ren will one day command, the Knights of Ren.

Is The Acolyte‘s Qimir a Sith Lord or a Knight of Ren Ancestor?

Qimir might be precisely what he said the Jedi would name him, a Sith Lord. He embraces the dark side, wields a red lightsaber, has an incredible mastery of the Force, fighting abilities few have ever matched, hates the Jedi, and wants a pupil. That sounds exactly like a Sith.

Yet, The Acolyte gave us reason to doubt if Qimir is one. Sith Lords always have “Darth” monikers and aren’t exactly shy about calling themselves Sith. Yet he did not actually call himself a Sith. Qimir also did not use the Sith term for a Padawan. He didn’t tell Sol he wants an apprentice. Qimir wants an “acolyte,” a word with clear religious connotations.

The Sith Rule of Two demands the Order always has a single Master with a single apprentice. The Acolyte‘s Qimir is searching for his own when he should already have one, if he is a Sith Lord. (Mae clearly was not truly Qimir’s Sith apprentice before she betrayed him.) And while the Sith are a religious order, there’s another group of dark side users in the galaxy far, far away who are more overtly religious in their beliefs.

That sect always wear masks, unlike the Sith. They also worship a red lightsaber and not a person or even the Force. This dangerous tribe is also known for its fearsome fighting abilities, especially in close combat. Its members even live in the shadows, enemy of both the Jedi and the Sith. (Two groups that have sought to control who had the “freedom” to use the Force.) That Star Wars group is known as the Knights of Ren, who will one day be led by the fanatical Kylo Ren, and it could just be The Acolyte‘s Qimir connects to them.

The Connections Between Qimir, Star Wars‘ Ren, and Kylo Ren

That might seem like a tenuous connection on the surface. (Even if Qimir dresses more like a Knight of Ren than a Sith.) For one, the evidence that Qimir is a Sith is compelling. The other is that the Knights of Ren won’t be founded for many more years after The Acolyte. They form only a few years after Luke Skywalker blows up the first Death Star. That’s more than a century after the era of the Disney+ series. But The Acolyte‘s fifth episode gave us plenty of reason to wonder if Qimir will ultimately be the person thought of as the first Knight of Ren.

Qimir Resembles Ren, the Leader of the Knights of Ren

For starters, Qimir wholly resembles the infamous Star Wars character known as Ren.

Star Wars comics introduced the leader of the Knights of Ren. He’s the one who lured Ben Solo to the group and, therefore, the dark side. Known simply as Ren, this gregarious, friendly, charismatic figure was unconcerned with concepts of good or evil. He simply embraced the dark side and did what he wanted. He lived without rules and answered to no one. As Qimir might say, Ren had freedom.

Ren didn’t even want others to follow him. He wanted them to follow the ideas he believed in. That made his Knights more akin to acolytes than apprentices. The skilled warrior who could kill Jedi also had great hair under his sinister mask. He also wore a cape and had muscular arms he was happy to display.

That all might as well be describing Qimir. If not for the huge gap in their stories, we might think that Qimir and Ren are the same person. (Which we can’t actually rule out, considering lifespans in the galaxy far, far away. But for now, that possibility seems doubtful.)

Qimir Played Kylo Ren’s Theme During The Acolyte Episode Five’s Final Moments

If Qimir’s resemblance to the Knights of Ren leader wasn’t enough, The Acolyte actually played Kylo Ren’s theme music during Qimir’s final scene in The Acolyte‘s fifth episode. If there was any doubt, The Acolyte wanted us to at least notice the possible connection between its dark Master Qimir and the Knights of Ren leader, it made sure we heard that connection. Viewers certainly did.

When Qimir healed Osha and spoke of triumph and despair at the end of the episode, The Acolyte played Kylo Ren’s theme. In the language of Star Wars, that musical is basically big flashing red lights.

Does any of this prove The Acolyte‘s Qimir will go on, even indirectly, to found the Knights of Ren? No, we don’t have enough evidence of confirmation yet. What we can’t do is dismiss the possibility.

Nor can we ignore the even more intriguing potential the show has raised.

The Story of the Sith, the Ren, the Jedi, and the Force May All Unite Through The Acolyte‘s Qimir

We’ve been waiting to meet the Sith who will bring the dark Order out of the shadows and onto a path of prominence. It’s the one that leads to the near-total destruction of the Jedi and Darth Sidious becoming Emperor. But what if Qimir is something more than even that? What if he is the dark side figure who will not only make the Jedi fall possible, but give birth to Kylo Ren?

Those two stories are one and the same already. The Knights of Ren’s own journey will lead them into the arms of the Sith they hated. Kylo Ren will lead them, but he’ll do so while unknowingly following Palpatine. It would be fitting if the story of the Sith, the Ren, the Jedi, and the Force was always connected as all things are.

The Sith will one day claim Anakin Skywalker as their own. It might also be the story of how Ben Solo will follow his grandfather to the dark side following a different way that leads to the same place.

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If there was one character that stood out in all of The Acolyte‘s promotional materials, it was the mysterious Sith Lord who hides his face behind a mask. Truly, this enemy of the Jedi is one of the most fearsome creations to ever emerge from a Star Wars property. But although his identity remains shrouded in mystery, Star Wars dark side fans didn’t have to wait long to meet his evil Sith. What did we learn about the menacing evil referred to as “The Master” in The Acolyte‘s first episodes and what has been revealed about him since? Let’s take a look.

The Sith Lord Known as “The Master” Wants Mae to Kill Jedi Without a Weapon in The Acolyte

We only saw The Acolyte‘s villainous Sith Lord once in the series’ first two episodes. Mae meets with him on a deserted beach located on an unknown planet. But in her later scenes with Qimir, we learn a bit more about this so-called “Master” and his agenda for Mae.

Mae reveals she has been tasked to kill four Jedi, seemingly by The Master. But from what she shares, the Sith Lord specifically wants her to kill a Jedi without using a weapon. So far, Mae has not been successful in these pursuits. She kills Jedi Master Indara with a knife and Jedi Master Torbin with poison from Qimir. But she notes that she has two Jedi left to kill in order to fulfill The Master’s command.

Qimir also seems to be in some way involved with the masked Sith Lord. When Osha poses as Mae, he believes for a moment Mae has succeeded in her task and notes, “Wait, you killed Torbin without the poison. He will be so pleased.” It remains to be seen how Qimir, who on the face appears more innocent than the rest, is mixed up with the Sith.

The Master and His Speech

When Mae meets with The Acolyte‘s villain at the end of the first episode, the Sith Lord offers the following speech. He intones, “The Jedi live in a dream, a dream they believe everyone shares, if you attack a Jedi with a weapon you will fail, steel or laser are no threat to them, but an Acolyte, an Acolyte kills without a weapon. An Acolyte kills the dream.”

Perhaps this has to do with why The Master is so set that Mae kills a Jedi without a weapon. The Sith Lord’s speech seems to imply that Jedi can only be taken down via emotional attacks/attacks to their spirit. And maybe that’s what The Master hopes Mae will learn to do. But for now, the practical aims of this villain’s mission remain unclear.

The Master Kills Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca

Although the Master wants Mae to kill the Jedi who oversaw the tragedy on her planet, as she begins to shy away from her mission, he intervenes. But for all his talk, he doesn’t seem to kill without a weapon, either. In episode four of The Acolyte, we find the Wookiee Jedi dead in his home with two lightsaber slashes decorating his chest. Outside the hut, our Jedi heroes gather to take Mae in, but they’re interrupted as the Master emerges from the woods of Khofar. The Sith Lord uses the force to fling Osha away and draws his red lightsaber, ready for a fight.

Who Is Star Wars: The Acolyte’s Mysterious Sith Lord?

But just who is Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s mysterious Sith Lord villain? Well, it turns out that the smuggler Qimir is actually the villainous, masked Master on The Acolyte. His identity is revealed in episode five. Qimir says the Jedi might refer to him as a Sith, but we speculate “the Master” might actually be connected to the Knights of Ren instead.

Is this Villainous Sith Lord the Titular Acolyte on The Acolyte, Is Mae, Or Someone Else?

Another natural question around Star Wars: The Acolyte is related to the identity of the titular Acolyte. Of course, the series seems to imply Mae is the Acolyte in question. Qimir reveals that he is looking for an Acolyte, but Mae has disappointed him. It seems he may turn to Osha instead. We’ll have to wait and see who becomes the true Acolyte.

Here Are Other Looks at Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s Sith Lord Villain

Click To View Gallery

The motivations of Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s villainous Sith Lord Qimir will surely unroll over time. And though he’s unmasked now, we still enjoyed the menace of his disguise. Here are some others images of “The Master” that we’ve seen so far.

The Acolyte is now airing on Disney+.

Originally published on June 4, 2024.

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Star Wars: The Acolyte proved right away that it was a series unafraid to kill its major characters. And ever since it dispatched Jedi Master Indara in its first episode, the Star Wars series has pulled no killing punches. But in episode four of The Acolyte, we were truly stunned by one character’s sudden death. Beware, spoilers await you in this article.

In episode four of Star Wars: The Acolyte, we could not have expected to find Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca dead in his forest hideaway. We knew, of course, that Mae was on the hunt for the Wookiee Jedi. He was one of the four Jedi stationed at Brendok during her childhood tragedy. Two of those Jedi are already dead. As mentioned, Mae killed Master Indara, and she also killed Jedi Master Torbin in previous episodes. But we at least got to see both of those Jedi battle for their lives before they met their ends. (Even if Master Torbin did it while in the deep trance of the Barash Vow.)

However, Kelnacca, the very first Wookiee Jedi to ever appear in live-action Star Wars, did not get that chance. Instead, when Mae finds him on the planet Khofar, ready to turn herself into the Jedi, death has already visited the Wookiee Jedi. The mysterious, villainous Sith Lord, known to us only as the Master, got to Kelnacca first. We see two lightsaber slashes decorating the Wookiee Jedi’s chest, and, yep, he seems quite dead.

We do get to see Kelnacca in flashbacks during episode three of Star Wars: The Acolyte. And it’s possible we will see him again in other looks at the past. But this The Acolyte death still feels incredibly premature. After all the excitement at finally bringing a Wookiee Jedi to live-action, we really only see him alive for a scene or two. And we don’t even get to see him in action. It would at least have been cool to see the Wookiee Jedi take on the Master in an epic lightsaber battle before meeting his death. But, instead, all we get is a slumped-over version of the Wookiee character, dead where he sits before we can ever encounter him in real-time.

Kelnecca’s actor, Joonas Suotamo, shared that the death of the Wookiee Jedi was a shock to him. He reveals that Kelnecca dying was a surprise for him, sharing, “No, that wasn’t discussed. I learned it as we went, and it was very surprising. So I wasn’t aware initially, but ever since studying film at university, I’ve been on the story side as well, so I thought it was a necessary thing to happen in terms of it follows the story and is very sad and very dramatic. And what a shock too to see all these powerful Jedi to meet their fate in such a way!”

Perhaps there’s still a chance Kelnacca is not fully dead but only partially dead. We’ll have to wait for more episodes to see. But The Acolyte really did kill Jedi Master Indara in its first episode. So it feels like we have to believe Kelnacca’s death is also a permanent one. And that seems like a huge shame given the no doubt fascinating existence and history of the character. Wookie Jedi don’t come around every day, after all… Not to live-action Star Wars outings, at any rate. Maybe one day we can visit Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca in a show all of his own.

Originally published on June 18, 2024.

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The Acolyte‘s fourth episode saw Mae’s mysterious dark master step out of the shadows. Who is this sinister Force user wielding a red lightsaber and sending his student to murder Jedi? That unknown masked figure has kept their identity a secret even from their disciple, but might we already know who they really are? These are the four most likely Star Wars suspects for The Acolyte‘s unknown Master.

Mother Koril and Mother Aniseya

We’re combining these two under one banner because they’re both obvious candidates to be Mae’s Master for the same reasons. The Jedi tracked down a coven of powerful witches in hiding because the Jedi didn’t want any unauthorized people training young kids in the ways of the Force. (Especially in ways some consider “dark.”) The Jedi knights didn’t stop Mae from ascending, but they did prevent Osha. They then tested the two girls in the ways of the Force for possible acceptance as Jedi Padawans. That unwelcome intrusion led to the coven’s destruction. An angry Mae, who already had dark side tendencies, caused a deadly fire when her sister was about to leave with the Jedi.

Master Sol said everyone died in that fire, but there’s plenty of reason to doubt the Jedi have been completely honest about what happened on Brendok. Even if Sol is telling the truth, though, he thought Mae died only for her to show back up years later. What if someone else also survived? Someone like the leader of the group, the girl’s powerful Mother Aniseya? Or the stern but loving witch who carried the twins. Mother Koril? Either would make for a powerful Master, both literally and thematically.

If the Master is really Mother Aniseya or Mother Koril (no other witch we met makes sense as a serious possibility) it will mean Jedi arrogance about who can use the Force will have created the very enemy who will destroy them. They could have left those witches to live their lives in peace. Instead they gave them a reason to hate the Jedi.

Of course, someone else on the show who also has close ties to Mae hates the Jedi, too.

Qimir

The number one, most obvious Master suspect—the one we’d wager on—is Mae’s associate, Qimir. He helped her kill Jedi and already seemed to be hiding a big secret before episode four made his activities even more suspicious. Manny Jacinto’s soft-spoken former smuggler is way too capable and knows way too much to just be a random trader. His introduction to the show made us wonder if he’s really a dark side user like Mae.

Our suspicions only grew during episode four. Qimir, who easily stopped a surprise Mae attack in episode two, somehow fell for a basic trap. He then got tied up and left behind right before Mae decided to turn her back on their Master and turn herself over to the Jedi. Except that’s when she found Master Kelnacca already murdered. How did someone cut down a Wookiee Jedi? And in his own home? No one, not even his fellow Jedi, even exactly knew where Kelnacca lived.

Except Qimir. And he wasn’t seen after Mae left him hanging in that tree.

The strangely capable, brilliant Qimir is an otherwise unknown figure aiding and abetting the murder of Jedi. He also (correctly) speaks about Jedi arrogance and knows things about the Order no one else does. And in episode four he disappears right before a powerful Jedi is killed and the Master reveals themself to the Jedi.

That’s a pretty big series of coincidences, enough to have us believing Qimir is the Master. But we can’t be totally sure just yet, especially when there’s a notorious fourth candidate. It’s a “wise” figure Star Wars fans first heard about from the most infamous Sith Lord ever.

Darth Plagueis

In Revenge of the Sith Chancellor Palpatine emotionally manipulated Anakin, worried about Padmé dying, with a story the Jedi would never tell him. Palpatine recounted the tale of the Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis the Wise.

“Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.“

Star Wars later confirmed what the scene only suggested, that Darth Plagueis was Palpatine’s master. Palpatine did tell Anakin Plagueis taught his apprentice “everything he knew.” Unfortunately for Plagueis, who had been obsessed with immortality and saving those he loved, he could not save himself when Palpatine murdered Plagueis in his sleep.

Star Wars has further expanded Plagueis’ story offscreen, albeit only slightly, and shown what he’s look liked. But he’s never appeared in a movie or TV show. That is unless he already has because Mae’s masked Master, the one who will put the Sith on the path to power in the galaxy far, far away, is Plagueis. That would further connect the twins to Anakin…

It’s also possible our third and fourth candidates are one in the same, because Qimir is Plagueis. That would be quite a revelation, but it might not be the show’s biggest secret. Because while we will inevitably learn the identity of Mae’s Master, the show might be hiding something even more important behind that zippered mask: the Master is actually the Acolyte of the show’s title, which means they have an even more powerful master.

To find out why read our piece Who Is The Acolyte’s Title Actually Referring To?

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who can’t wait for Darth Plagueis to finally show up. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Before you go on, make sure to check out our piece on Who Is ‘The Master’ on The Acolyte?

The Acolyte‘s first three episodes appeared to feature a traditional Sith partnership that follows the dark order’s Rule of Two. That ancient decree says there can only ever be a Sith Master and a Sith apprentice. At this point in the galaxy far, fay away, Mae is the student of her masked leader. Only, Star Wars: The Clone Wars established that hierarchy does not preclude a dark side apprentice from having their own follower. And since the show’s fourth episode seemed to prove Mae has never been a Sith Lord (and never will be), it’s not clear who The Acolyte‘s title is truly referring to.

If it’s not her, who is the titular character? The only real candidate is Mae’s secret teacher. And if that’s true, that masked figure is serving an even more powerful figure we have yet to meet.

Yoda introduced fans to the Rule of Two in The Phantom Menace. It began with the infamous Sith Lord Darth Bane. He implemented it thousands of years before. He was hoping to save his dark religious order from their worst instincts so it might one day fight back against the Jedi that had nearly wiped them out. Bane’s rule meant there could only ever be two Sith Lords at once. From StarWars.com‘s entry on this important figure:

An ancient and legendary Sith Lord, it was Darth Bane who saw that the Sith traditions of old were ultimately a dead end. All too often, squabbling Sith in their bid for power upended carefully laid plans. After the Sith were decimated by the Jedi Knights of a thousand years ago, Bane enacted the Sith rule of two: there would be only two active Sith at one time — a Dark Lord to embody the power, and an apprentice to crave it. These Sith would operate in the shadows, favoring guile and conspiracy to bring down their opponents rather than brute force — that is, until it was time to rise and subjugate the galaxy.

That hard and fast Rule of Two turned out not to not be quite as hard or fast as we thought. On The Clone Wars former Count Dooku—secretly Darth Tyranus, apprentice of Sith Lord Darth Sidious— had his own dark side apprentice. Dooku was the master of the powerful Force user Asajj Ventress.

The Rule of Two does not mean a Sith apprentice (who is still a Sith Lord) can’t train another in the ways of the dark side. For that reason alone it’s very possible The Acolyte‘s mysterious Master has their own secret, more powerful Master. What makes that possibility even more likely is that Mae does not appear to be a Sith just as Asajj was not. Mae doesn’t even complete the sacred Rule of Two.

Asajj knew her Master’s identity. Asajj also used a red lightsaber. Mae doesn’t know who is leading her and uses steel daggers. She actually seems to have no use for a lightsaber. In episode one the show made a point to highlight that Mae had no interest in taking Indara’s after she killed the Jedi.

If Mae’s Master has a Master (who could be one of her moms, the strangely capable Qimir, or even the infamous Darth Plagueis!), does that mean the masked figure on the show is the titular Acolyte? Is that term itself a clue they are? Considering Jedi call students “Padawan” and Sith Lord call theirs “apprentice,” the show’s name is a peculiar one in Star Wars. Was it chosen to do more than just reflect the dark religious nature of the Sith? Was it chosen to highlight things are not as they seem in the galaxy and in this story?

That would be fitting when it comes to a story about the Sith. Darth Bane implemented the Rule of Two so his order could operate in the shadows. That is until they were ready to reveal themselves, just as The Acolyte‘s Master did in episode four.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s also forever waiting for Darth Plagueis to show up in live-action. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In the lead-up to Star Wars: The Acolyte, official sources gave us a tease of the characters we expected to meet in the series. One of the characters prominently featured in discussions of The Acolyte was that of Mae, played by Amandla Stenberg. But those who have watched The Acolyte‘s first episodes will know that Mae isn’t the only character Amandla Stenberg plays in the Star Wars series. No, Amandla Stenberg takes on a dual role in the series, twins Mae and Osha. But are Mae and Osha both really present in the world of The Acolyte? And if they do both exist, what is their relationship and history with one another? Let’s dive into everything we know and theorize so far about The Acolyte‘s Mae and Osha.

Is The Acolyte‘s Mae Real, or Is She in Osha’s Mind?

The first episode of The Acolyte seemingly wants you to question whether Mae really exists or whether she is just a presence within Osha. We see Mae fight and kill Jedi Master Indara in the opening sequence of the series, but then The Acolyte‘s first episode cuts to Osha asleep as if it were all a dream. Osha and the other characters in the world also seem to truly believe that Mae died in a fire as a child. This includes Jedi Master Sol, who appears to be a reliable source and claims to have witnessed the death with his own eyes.

Later in The Acolyte‘s first episode, Osha is led into a vision by a younger version of her twin. The two exchange cryptic words, which do nothing to ease the suspicion that Mae lives only inside of Osha’s mind and does not really exist.

However, despite the surreal nature of these early encounters, by episode two of The Acolyte, it seems far more likely that Mae does really exist as her own person in the Star Wars series. We see Mae attacking Jedi Master Torbin at a Jedi Temple at a time confirmed to be temporally identical to Master Sol’s encounter with Mae on Carlac. Additionally, throughout the episodes of The Acolyte, it seems that Mae and Osha are having different conversations and engagements. Mae interacts primarily with Qimir, and Osha remains with Master Sol, Yord, and Jecki. A moment of doubt is cast again when Mae disappears after having poisoned Jedi Master Torbin only for Osha to be found with the vial.

For Now, It Feels Like Mae Is Real on The Acolyte

But Mae and Osha’s face to face meeting in episode three seems to dispel this notion. It still could be possible that Mae isn’t real and is a figment of her twin’s imagination. But for now, we’ll assume Mae and Osha are two separate and existing characters.

Mae and Osha’s Star Wars History

Now that we feel reasonably certain Mae and Osha both exist on Star Wars: The Acolyte, what do we know about their history? Well, from what the first two episodes reveal, Mae and Osha are twins who lived on the planet Brendok. In broad strokes, in their childhood, Mae started a fire in their home that killed their entire family. It seems that neither Mae nor Osha knew their twin survived into adulthood.

But Star Wars: The Acolyte episode three delves much deeper into Mae and Osha’s past. The third episode of The Acolyte takes us back to the twins’ childhood and reveals the events that led them down their current paths. The Acolyte reveals that four Jedi were stationed on Mae and Osha’s childhood planet during the fire. These were Jedi Master Sol, Indara, Torbin, and the Wookiee Jedi Kelnecca. When the Jedi discovered the coven of witches on Brendok, they accused them of teaching children how to use the Force in ways they deemed irresponsible. Of course, the coven on Brendok was simply following their understanding of how to use the Force, or the Thread, as they call it and seemed to be doing just fine. Intervening in the coven’s ceremonial rites of ascenion, the Jedi insist on testing the young twins to see if they are fit to become Jedi.

While Mae resents this idea, Osha welcomes it. The coven tries to convince the pair to lie during their questioning so they fail the Jedi’s tests, but Osha wishes to pass. After she does so successfully, she decides that she will leave with the Jedi. Enraged by this, Mae starts a fire, which seemingly leads to the destruction of the coven. Both sisters think, as mentioned, that the other has died. It seems that after these tragic events, Mae holds the Jedi responsible for dismanteling her life and now seeks revenge.

Mae and Osha’s Force Connection

Of course, even though Mae is not Force possessing Osha, there seems to be something special about their connection. When they meet in Osha’s vision, whispers of the Force swirl around them. Additionally, Mae admits to killing Indara. So, although neither sister appears to remember the vision, it appears to be in some ways real. Both Mae and Osha are Force users.

In their shared vision in episode one, Mae and Osha recite the following cryptic poem: “You’re with me, I’m with you, always one, but born as two. As above sit the stars and below lies the seas, I give you, you, and you give me, me.” At the end of the poem, Mae’s eyes turn black.

In episode three, we learn that Mae and Osha are literally born from the Force/Thread. Like Star Wars‘ Anakin, they have no father and had virgins births. The exact details of how their existence came to be are not yet fully fleshed out, but we know that Mother Anieysa created them and they were carried to term by Mother Koril.

Could Mae and Osha Be a Force Dyad on Star Wars: The Acolyte?

All of this seems to hint toward the possibility that Mae and Osha are part of a Force dyad on Star Wars: The Acolyte. The Star Wars sequel trilogies introduced us to the idea of a Force dyad, two individuals that are one in the Force. In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, we learn that Rey and Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, make up one such dyad. Those who are in a Force dyad are able to connect their minds across time and space, including over long distances. In The Rise of Skywalker, we learn a Force dyad hasn’t been seen for generations. But, of course, the High Republic era is several generations before the New Republic.

In sum, all the information seems to point to the idea that Mae and Osha form a Force dyad on Star Wars: The Acolyte. And, of course, the way they describe their relationship, “always one, but born as two,” echoes the very definition of a Force dyad. Still, there could be other forces at work that we don’t yet know about. For example, we don’t know if being born of the Force as twins acts similarly to being in a Force dyad, or if one can cause the other.

We’ll have to wait and see if this concept is explored further as we watch the relationship between Mae and Osha develop on Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Originally published on June 4, 2024.

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“I carried them.”
“I created them.”
“And what happens if the Jedi discover how you created them?”

We knew The Acolyte, which takes place more than a century before The Phantom Menace, would show the early days of the Sith plan to destroy the Jedi. But the series’ third episode raised an unexpected and troubling connection to Darth Vader and the Skywalker Saga. Like Anakin, The Acolyte‘s twins Mae and Osha have no father because they are children of the Force in the Star Wars universe. While it’s not clear what that means for the power, it is a dark omen for the role they might play in bringing darkness to the galaxy far, far away. It’s also a sign the Jedi helped create their own destroyer.

“Who is his father?”
“There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him. I can’t explain what happened.”

Shmi Skywalker told Qui-Gon Jinn her son Anakin was a miracle conception. Star Wars comic books have expanded the lore surrounding the Chosen One’s birth since The Phantom Menace. His creation is canonically more sinister and less magical than it comes across in the film. Palpatine is responsible for Anakin’s virgin birth. He used dark side powers to manipulate midi-chlorians in Shmi’s womb. Even with that revelation, though, Anakin’s very Star Wars existence remains rooted in the Force itself. He is a literal child of the Force. He also grew up to kill countless beings.

“You and your sister are special, Osha. I want you to stay special.”

Now, long before Shmi will give birth to Anakin, Star Wars: The Acolyte has introduced two more like him. The twins Osha and Mae were conceived in a similar, possibly identical way to Anakin. Mother Aniseya, the witch some accuse of using dark magic, created her twins via the Thread, her name for the Force.

They “have no father.” Unlike Shmi and Anakin, though, The Acolyte’s Mother Koril carried the twins to term. Why did Mother Aniseya do this? The show suggested that the outcast coven forced into hiding had been unable to grow their ranks any other way. The girls are a “miracle” that offers the group hope. But it’s not yet known exactly what Mother Aniseya was trying to create in terms of their power. No matter her intentions, though, like Anakin, capable of both light and dark, the two girls seem to represent both sides of the Force. And if you know Star Wars lore, you know why breaking up a powerful duo like that is so dangerous.

“Ascension is about walking through fear. It’s about sacrificing a part of yourself.”

During the Ascension, two celestial bodies over Brendok, one red and the other blue, converged in the sky. Only the two sisters meant to ascend together did not converge. Mae, so full of anger and already capable of hurting others, went through. The reluctant Osha didn’t even get the chance to refuse her mother, though, because the Jedi showed up and stopped the event. That Jedi interruption, rooted in Jedi hubris and a desire to control a Force that belongs to all living things, produced the very danger they were hoping to avoid in the first place.

The Jedi did not want any unauthorized people using the Force/Thread, especially witches thought to harness their power from the dark side. But Mae and Osha seem to be two parts of the same whole (maybe even a Force dyad). They are a living, natural balance of the very Force that created them. And very bad things happen when the Force is not in balance.

Without their other half, each girl became lost. Mae was lost to the dark side, while Osha gave up on the light side. Separating the two drove Mae to embrace her natural darker nature we saw on display at the episode’s start. Meanwhile, taking eight-year-old Osha away from her protective and adoring sister resulted in so much loss. That experience left Osha with lifelong scars she has yet to heal from. They prevented her from becoming a Jedi. The Jedi meddling in Mae and Osha’s lives led to the twins’ entire coven dying. This The Acolyte occurrence mirrors how the Jedi taking a young, scared Anakin from his mother led to all those Tusken raiders dying. And the Younglings. Alderaan…

Anakin’s fear, hate, and anger led to innumerable suffering. Suffering only he was able to stop when a family member showed Anakin there was another way, the way Osha might have shown Mae on The Acolyte. Instead they’re both angry at one another. For Osha that has meant walking away from everything she wanted. For Mae, it has led to anger. That anger has led to hate. That hate…we know where that leads, both now and in the galaxy’s future.

By creating two girls with the Force, Mother Aniseya might have been trying to embrace her coven’s mantra that the power of two not only overcomes the power of one but gives you the power of many. If nothing else, she recognized her daughters were stronger together, not because both were flawed but because they balanced each other. Only, her girls never had the chance to grow together or ascend together because the Jedi believed they knew better and only they had the right to use the Force.

That hubris pushed Mae to follow a Sith leader we know will help ultimately bring down the Jedi. Osha and Mae’s story, a story of the Force out of balance, will make Palpatine’s rise possible one day. That means the Jedi will have created their own destroyer in The Acolyte, just as they did when they took Anakin Skywalker from his mother without concern for what that would mean.

The Jedi believed they, and they alone, had the right to use the Force. But the children of the Force continue to show why such an attitude is anything but balanced.

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In episode three of The Acolyte, we see a flashback to the planet Brendok, where four Jedi approach the local clan of witches to take the two children, Osha and Mae, to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. One child wants to stay, while another wants to go and become a Jedi Padawan. The practice of Jedi taking children from their families at a young age has always seemed problematic. But what if it’s actually a necessary evil? Star Wars as a franchise has never made a good case for why it must be this way. But over at Marvel, the X-Men comics and films have done something similar, in a way that makes sense.

“He’s too old. Yes, too old to begin the training.” — Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

Ever since The Phantom Menace, we’ve learned that the Jedi Order begins training their Jedi Padawans at a very young age. In fact, the Jedi Council deemed 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker as “too old” in that film, and initially rejected him. In later canonical Star Wars content like Clone Wars, Tales of the Jedi, and even Obi-Wan Kenobi, we learn the Order typically takes children as young as three or four years old into the order, essentially separating them from their parents for the rest of their lives as toddlers. And it seems, for the most part, parents are doing this willingly. But why?

Thus far, Star Wars has done a poor job of explaining why it’s standard galactic procedure for parents to essentially give up their children for adoption to an organization that will never allow them to see their kids again. At the very least, not until they are adults. These parents are all seemingly ok with it. However, it actually does make sense. We’ve seen something similar in the pages of Marvel Comics. However, the X-Men franchise has done a much better job of explaining why than Star Wars ever has.

Jedi Children Have Midi-Chlorians, Marvel Mutants Have the X-Gene

In Marvel Comics lore, a mutant is born with the X-gene, allowing their powers to develop at puberty. In the case of some mutants like Nightcrawler of the X-Men, the mutation can develop at birth. That is rare, however. For most mutants, their abilities start to flourish at moments of heightened emotional distress, usually at puberty. These powers can be not only dangerous to themselves, but to their families and communities as well. So it makes sense that they would need to go somewhere to train in the use of their powers. Not only for the good of humanity, but to make sure no one around them gets hurt. That’s why the most powerful moments need to go to a place like Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters to train.

The Jedi in Star Wars are very similar. Except, for Force-sensitive children of the galaxy far away, their powers can emerge from childhood. We saw it with young Ahsoka in Tales of the Jedi. Even as a toddler, she could unconsciously wield the Force. If a potential Jedi child can do this, they can also hurt those around them. A small child is pure Id. They are all “want,” and not much else. If they don’t get that cookie they want, they may accidentally Force-choke their parent. If another kid is mean to them on the playground? Then they might use the Force to hurt them, or possibly even kill them. Whether they mean to or not.

We think that things like this probably have taken place around the galaxy. Young Force-sensitive kids doing damage without thinking. This explains why it’s standard procedure for parents to give up their Force-sensitive kids to ensure the safety of those around them, however painful that decision may be. Yet that’s something not well communicated in The Acolyte. Or, frankly, in any Star Wars. The Jedi come across as cold, recruiting small kids for the benefit of their own Order. In truth, it’s actually for their own protection and the protection of others. So how does the Star Wars franchise fix this?

The Jedi Temple and Xavier’s School, Are They One and the Same?

This is where Star Wars can take a cue from X-Men, from both the comics and in other media. In the comics, we’ve seen how the emerging powers of characters like Sunspot put the lives of others at risk. In the movies, we saw how Rogue put a boy who kissed her in a coma for weeks when her powers activated. For their own protection, and to stop a witch hunt of everyone with similar gifts, those with the greatest powers must go to a place like Xavier’s School. If only to learn to control their abilities, forget being a superhero of any kind. Star Wars needs to show the bad things that happen when a Force-sensitive child uses their powers for destructive reasons. Even if it’s not on purpose. Only then can we truly understand that what the Jedi Order does is by necessity.

Of course, there are differences. The students at Xavier’s School are not forced to never see their families again once trained. Actually, Star Wars isn’t really clear if adult Jedi are allowed contact with their loved ones when their training is complete. Hopefully, The Acolyte, or other future Star Wars projects, makes all that clear. If that’s the case, and seeing a loved one once you’ve learned to use your powers is against the Jedi Code, it doesn’t paint the Jedi in a forgiving light. But the idea they must leave home for the safety of all is something that does make sense. The folks at Lucasfilm just need to take a cue from the X-Men franchise though when it comes to showing exactly why this is all for the greater good.

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Few Star Wars video games are as beloved as Knights of the Old Republic. The BioWare game first came out in 2003, and was an instant smash. Taking place 4,000 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, the game took fans back to an era when there were thousands of Sith battling thousands of Jedi Knights. For years, there have been rumors about KOTOR becoming a film, or possibly, a Disney+ series. While doing press for The Acolyte, showrunner Leslye Headland mentioned she’d love to tackle an adaptation of KOTOR, focusing on one character in particular — Kreia from KOTOR II. Here’s what she told Omelete, via IGN:

“I’ve always wanted to explore a live-action version of the Knights of the Old Republic game and Kreia’s character. I think it would be a really interesting story to bring to life.”

In the game, Kreia is a character who is blind, yet Force-sensitive. She has a different kind of relationship with the dark side and light side of the Force than the average Jedi. She was the Jedi Master who trained one of the game’s principal characters, Revan. It was he who turned against the Jedi and founded a new Sith Empire. For this and other reasons, she was exiled from the Jedi Order. Star Wars fans often cite her as one of the best characters in the franchise.

So when will Lucasfilm finally adapt Knights of the Old Republic? The epic war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic is one of the most requested live-action projects. And Lucasfilm has teased the possibility of making it for several years. Due to their involvement with Game of Thrones, many believed that Dave Benioff and D. B. Weiss’ now-canceled Star Wars film was based on KOTOR, but it was actually another project. We genuinely believe that if and when Lucasfilm formally announces a live-action Knights of the Old Republic, it would be as big a deal as if they were to announce a Star Wars: Episode X. We’ll just have to wait and see if it ever happens.

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The Acolyte is only two episodes in but it is already a Disney+ darling. According to Deadline, the Star Wars series gained 4.8 million views in its first day, making The Acolyte the biggest series premiere on Disney+. That’s a big deal. People are obviously loving this dive into the High Republic era that’s full of secrets and mysterious happenings.

It will remain to be seen if The Acolyte can continue to keep those views up as the season progresses. There’s a whole lot going on in June with House of the Dragon season two and The Boys season four coming soon. Of course, some people may only watch one series and others may watch them all. But there’s certainly some stiff competition for viewership on the horizon.

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The newest chapter in the Star Wars Universe, The Acolyte, has been chock full of dramatic twists and turns. From the family drama at the core of the story to the larger tensions between the Republic and the Jedi Order, The Acolyte has made it clear in its first two episodes that fans should set aside their expectations. As the series’s opening fight shows, absolutely anything can happen. 

This also applies to the source material that The Acolyte pulls from. As the Star Wars Universe’s first live-action project set during the High Republic, a century before the events of the prequels, the show is in a unique position to incorporate details about the time period from existing High Republic novels, comics, manga, and audio dramas. So far we’ve seen a Wookiee Jedi, a familiar sight to High Republic readers. But one moment in episode 2, “Revenge/Justice,” forges an even deeper connection to The Acolyte’s source material as it introduces the concept of The Barash Vow. 

The Acolyte Introduces the Barash Vow to Live-Action Star Wars

While on her quest for revenge against the Jedi who were stationed on her home planet of Brendock, Mae (Amandla Stenberg) tracks down Master Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman) at a Jedi Temple on Olega. Torbin is in a state of deep meditation, levitating high off the ground, and is impenetrable to Mae’s attacks. Later, another Jedi at the Olega temple notes that Master Torbin “hasn’t spoken to anyone in years,” suggesting that he has been in this state for quite a long time. When Mae confronts him again, she states that she knows he has taken “the Barash Vow,” explaining the meditative form that he has been in. 

What Is The Barash Vow?

The Barash Vow was first represented in Darth Vader #2 (2017) by Charles Soule (one of the architects of the High Republic publishing initiative) and Giuseppe Camuncoli. But it wasn’t officially named until it popped up in the 2021 young adult High Republic novel, Into the Dark, by Claudia Gray. There, it the Barash Vow was described as a vow that a Jedi takes in order to reform their relationship with the Force, typically after they’ve made a mistake they wish to atone for. Those who take the vow go into a state of silent meditation, sometimes for years. Not every Jedi who takes the Barash Vow committed a grave error like Torbin, but it can certainly provide some respite after traumatic events. 

Where Does the Name “The Barash Vow” Come From in the Star Wars World?

Still, you may be wondering, why is this Star Wars state even called the “Barash Vow?” It takes its name from the first Jedi who took the vow, Barash Silvain. The origins of the concept can be seen in Star Wars: The High Republic – The Blade comic book miniseries by Charles Soule, Marco Castiello, and Jethro Morales. Barash Silvain was a Kage Jedi who formed a very close bond with one of the greatest swordsmen the Jedi Order has ever seen: Porter Engle. Porter and Barash met as younglings, and eventually became so close that they referred to each other as “brother” and “sister,” doing everything together. 

While on a mission to the planet Gansevor, Barash made a huge error in judgment, resulting in dramatic political consequences. Though Porter assured her that everything would be smoothed over, Barash felt immense guilt for letting her emotions get in the way of assessing the situation. After taking a moment to reflect, she decided that it would be best for her to mend her relationship with the Force before she entered back into the fold of her usual Jedi activities. 

The Origins of the Barash Vow Mirror The Acolyte‘s Story

The Acolyte bringing in the Barash Vow is a pointed choice, considering the parallels between Barash Silvain and Porter Engle’s relationship with that of Osha and Mae’s relationship on the show. Jedi are discouraged from forming attachments with anyone or anything—hence why the Jedi Council was hesitant to accept 8 year-old Osha into the Order. The Jedi view familial relationships as potential sources for distraction, the type of emotional interference that prevents a Jedi from acting impartially through the Force. Both Osha and Barash had memories of their families before they joined the Order, putting them at risk. For Barash, this was even more serious because the memory of every member of the Kage species begins from birth. Even though the Jedi had taken her in at a young age, she still had years and years of crystal clear memories with her family that she had to reconcile. 

Clearly, by the time The Acolyte takes place, Barash Silvain’s sabbatical from the Jedi Order provided a template for later generations of Jedi to reconnect with the Force. Perhaps the origin of the Barash Vow informed Master Torbin’s decision to take it, considering the role he played in Mae and Osha’s separation. Either way, for fans of the High Republic novels and comics, it is immensely gratifying to see an element of a beloved character like Porter Engle get incorporated into a live-action project. The Acolyte is set centuries after the events of Porter and Barash’s separation, so it is heartening to see their legacy live on, even if the circumstances are tragic. 

A More Unified Future for Star Wars

Ultimately, seeing elements from High Republic stories in The Acolyte points to a more unified future for the Star Wars franchise. Since the High Republic publishing initiative began in 2021, the line has grown to include dozens of novels, comics, manga, and audio dramas spanning two different time periods within the High Republic. As such, it would fair to say that the High Republic has its own distinct mythos. It would be remiss for Disney and Lucasfilm to ignore this in their live-action projects. So far, The Acolyte has struck a fair balance between forging its own vision of the High Republic and honoring the source material that has come before. 

Unfortunately for Master Torbin, the Barash Vow did not provide him with the solace he sought. Barash’s decision to take the vow would continue to affect Porter Engle for decades, even though he understood why his sister needed to take time away from the Jedi Order. Hopefully, for the Jedi’s sake, the Order can strike a balance between achieving atonement for their mistakes and justice for those they’ve wronged on The Acolyte. 

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We knew The Acolyte would bring Star Wars fans back to the era of the High Republic, a century before The Phantom Menace. What we didn’t know is that it would also deliver a shocking death. The Disney+ show’s first episode featured a demise we did not see coming. Who met their end during the series’ start? And more importantly, what does that mean for the show? Here’s everything you need to understand about the death of Carrie-Anne Moss’s Master Indara in the first episodes of The Acolyte.

May the Force be with you, because spoilers definitely will be ahead.

Who Died in The Acolyte‘s First Episode?

The Acolyte opened with Amandla Stenberg’s Mae attacking a Jedi Master, Carrie-Anne Moss’s Indara. At first Master Indara tried not to fight back, merely to avoid being struck. But as the battle continued she realized this unknown young warrior was Force-trained. That’s when Indara became more actively engaged in the duel.

Things completely changed when Indara unmasked Mae and recognized her. After Mae Force threw Indara, the Jedi drew her lightsaber, which Mae took as a sign Indara meant to kill her. The Jedi Master then turned off her lightsaber. Mae threw one of her daggers at the bartender, and as Indara used the Force to stop the knife and save him Mae threw another dagger into the Jedi’s heart.

Why Did Mae Kill Jedi Master Indara?

During their encounter a vengeful Mae insisted Indara attack her with “all her strength.” Later, after Indara said Jedi don’t attack unarmed people, an angry Mae said, “Yes, you do.”

That exchange hints at a dark past between the two, one where Indara or her colleagues did something we would not expect a Jedi to do. From what we saw and heard of Osha’s own sad memories, whatever happened between Indara and Mae happened when Mae was a child.

Creator Leslye Headland Comments on The Acolyte‘s Shocking Death

The Acolyte‘s creator, Leslye Headland, has shared some insights into why Carrie-Anne Moss’s Indara’s death occurred so early in the show.

She noted to Variety, “I thought it was a good tone-setter for the show. [It shows] that the Jedis are going to take some losses, and that the good guys and the bad guys are not always who you think they are.”

Headland additionally shared the following with GamesRadar+ about the death of Indara, “From a filmmaker perspective, I just felt like with the cold open, especially with a new story, that you just have to go hard… You have to say the Jedi are going to take some Ls; you’re not going to know who the good guys and the bad guys are. And it’s going to feel very visceral… Even if you already know it’s going to happen, it doesn’t have to be a big gotcha moment. It just has to be a moment where the emotional and the physical – meaning the fights – melt together. Carrie-Anne, not just being an action legend, is also a phenomenal actress. She was able to play all those beats within the fight as well as, of course, her death scene”

What Does Indara’s Death Mean for The Acolyte?

Like with Drew Barrymore’s death in the opening scene of Scream, The Acolyte began by letting us know nobody is safe on this show. If a Force-using student without a lightsaber can kill an experienced Jedi Master—played by a major star—she can kill almost anyone. (And just imagine what her Master can do.) Indara’s death fully shows the peace of the High Republic is more vulnerable than ever before. As are the Jedi.

Mae’s masked Master said, “The Jedi live in a dream.” Master Indara’s death proves they’ll need to wake up quickly before they are all living in a nightmare.

Originally published on June 4, 2024.

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The galaxy far, far away is a big place, and every new Star Wars show and movie makes it a little bigger by introducing new planets. That’s especially true on Disney+’s new High Republic era show The Acolyte. Which worlds has it visited? And how many are entirely new or places we’ve seen before? We’re keeping track of all the planets seen in every episode and what we know about them.

The Acolyte Episode 1 Planets

Ueda

The Acolyte‘s first location was all-new to the franchise. Mae attacked Jedi Master Indara in a bar located in a village on the planet Ueda. The Jedi was sitting with a diverse group of many species. While we didn’t get to see much of Ueda, its denizens clearly held the Jedi in high esteem.

Coruscant

The Acolyte’s premiere brought fans back to Coruscant, the Galactic Republic’s posh capital planet and main location of the Star Wars prequels. Coruscant and the Jedi Temple looked just as they will during The Phantom Menace, when the Jedi will still call it home.

Carlac

Osha’s prisoner transport ship crashed into the icy, snow-covered world of Carlac, a place Star Wars fans have seen before. Located in the Outer Rim Territories and covered in mountains and forests, it first appeared on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

During that episode Ahsoka Tano helped save a Ming Po tribe from total destruction at the hands of Death Watch. The Mandalorian sect had built an outpost there.

Brendok

Mae and Osha’s childhood home world only appeared in a vision Osha had after her crash. That pseudo flashback showed the girls running through a forest. It also showed a raging fire, an event that haunts Osha.

Mystery Ocean Planet

The Acolyte‘s premiere ended with Mae returning to her Master on an unnamed ocean planet. The two spoke on a rocky coast.

The Acolyte Episode 2 Planets

Olega

The Acolyte‘s second episode introduced Olega, a planet of obvious importance because of its sacred Jedi Temple. Much like Ueda, Olega also appeared to be a bustling world with communities made up of a diverse citizenry. It’s also where Mae convinced Master Torbin to atone for his past sins with a fatal poison.

Khofar

Wookiee Jedi Knight Kelnacca is living in solitude deep in the woods on the heavily forested planet of Khofar in the Outer Rim Territories. Like Olega, Khofar is an entirely new world in Star Wars.

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In The Acolyte‘s second episode Jedi Knight Yord uttered one of the most iconic lines in all of Star Wars: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” But Charlie Barnett almost didn’t get to to say that oft-repeated worry. Neither did anyone else in the cast. Showrunner Leslye Headland told Entertainment Weekly she had to fight to keep that famous line in the show.

Unlike Vanestra Rwoh saying, “May the Force be with you,” Headland said Yord’s talk of having a bad feeling was “hard to get that in.” The fear among some at Lucasfilm was the line could “either take viewers out of the moment, or fail to live up” the impact of the line itself.

Whether it landed or not is up to each individual audience member, but Headland said she simply had to include this Star Wars line. “I just feel like when you get the opportunity to do Star Wars, you’re just going to shoot your shot,” she said to EW. As long as she shot first no one can begrudge her that.

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The latest Star Wars show, The Acolyte, features a new type of character that’s never been shown in a live-action film or television show: a Wookiee Jedi. Fans have loved Wookiees ever since Chewbacca won their hearts in Episode IV: A New Hope, with his skeptical but loyal personality. Now, The Acolyte will expand fans’ horizons about Wookiees and Wookiee culture with the character of Master Kelnacca. Wookiees are already formidable warriors without the Force, making a Wookiee Jedi even more fearsome. Master Kelnacca is the only Wookiee Jedi we’ve seen in live-action. But he is not the only member of his species in the Jedi Order during the High Republic period. In fact, it could be argued that Wookiee Jedi are a staple of the High Republic as a whole. 

The History of the Wookiee Jedi in the High Republic Era

The Acolyte, set during the tail end of the High Republic, takes place a hundred years before The Phantom Menace. In total, the High Republic lasted four hundred years. The Jedi Order was at its most powerful during this period, with scores of Jedi from a diverse array of species scattered in temples across the galaxy. Given how the Jedi Order flourished during the High Republic, it would be strange for there not to be any Wookiee Jedi. 

The High Republic as a time period within Star Wars was first championed by a multimedia publishing initiative that introduced the era’s key players, geopolitics, and more across novels, comics, manga, and audio dramas. It kicked off with Charles Soule’s novel, Light of the Jedi, the cover of which prominently features a Wookiee Jedi named Burryaga. Standing directly behind Master Avar Kriss, the Padawan Burryaga Agaburry (or “Burry” to his friends) fiercely holds his distinctive blue lightsaber, growling at a threat in the distance. 

Burryaga is a beloved member of the Jedi Order because of his selfless and empathetic nature. In fact, Burry has a unique Force power where he can detect emotions with a much greater intensity than other Jedi. This makes him skilled at comforting people in distress, even using the Force to remove some of the emotional burden. He also wields a lightsaber specifically designed for his tall stature, its length nearly as great as a double-bladed lightsaber. The hilt of the saber is made from materials found only on his native planet of Kashyyyk.

The Challenges of Being a Wookiee Jedi

Being a Wookiee within the Jedi Order isn’t without its difficulties though. In Burryaga’s case, he can understand Basic, but he only speaks his native language, Shyriiwook. His master, Nib Assek, is one of the few non-Wookiee Jedi who can speak and understand Shyriiwook fluently. As Light of the Jedi shows, this can be sometimes distressing for Burry. This is particularly true in tense battle situations when he senses vast amounts of fear or danger and can’t convey it easily to other Jedi. 

Master Arkhoff, a Famous Wookiee Jedi in the Star Wars Universe

While Burryaga eventually became a Jedi Knight, there is another, more seasoned Wookiee in the Jedi Order: Master Arkhoff. Master Arkhoff is a wise mentor to many other Jedi, particularly Master Lily Tora-Asi, who was once his apprentice. Briefly appearing in Light of the Jedi, Arkhoff was a principal character in the manga series, The Edge of Balance by Justina Ireland, Shima Shinya, and Mizuki Sakakibara. There, he helped settle refugees on the planet Banchii who were displaced by the Great Hyperspace Disaster. (This took place in Light of the Jedi).

Arkhoff is immediately recognizable thanks to his braided beard. (Or is it facial fur? Do Wookiees even have beards?) His tall stature made him a little intimidating to the younglings at Banchii’s Jedi Temple. Nonetheless, he played a vital role in helping his former Padawan, Lily Tora-Asi, mentor her own Padawan. Unlike Burryaga, Arkhoff worked with Jedi who understood Shyriiwook.   

Master Kelnacca, the Wookiee Jedi in The Acolyte

This leads us now to The Acolyte’s Master Kelnacca. The elusive Jedi Master has hidden himself on the planet of Khofar, known for its thick forests. It has been long established within Star Wars lore that Wookiees prefer wooded environments that resemble their home planet of Kashyyyk. Though we only get a small taste of Kelnacca’s life on Khofar in episode 2 of The Acolyte, we have to assume that the Wookiee was living his best life in seclusion. 

So far, Kelnacca seems to be the only Wookiee Jedi in The Acolyte. Given how instrumental Burryaga in particular was to the very start of the High Republic initiative, it would be a treat to see other Wookiee Jedi in other live-action projects. If we can agree on anything, it’s that the sight of a Wookiee Jedi will always be a winner.

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The Acolyte‘s official description of Qimir makes Manny Jacinto’s character sound like a fun rogue, the type of secondary figure we frequently meet in the galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm calls him a former smuggler-turned trader and supplier of unusual items who has “survived in some of the shadier starports” around. He’s also known as a “shiftless drifter with seemingly no cares at all other than his own amusements.” But his debut in episode two of the new Disney+ Star Wars series indicated there is much more to the insightful and cunning Qimir than he wants anyone to know. His dark side affiliations, unusual wisdom, and clear purpose suggest he’s hiding the biggest secret in the High Republic.

The Acolyte takes place during the High Republic, a time when the Jedi dominated the galaxy without any equals. As the series has shown, the guardians of peace also had outposts on every planet. Denizens of every world interacted with the highly-esteemed Jedi. They also thought no one could realistically fight those powerful Force users. Bar customers laughed at Mae when she challenged Master Indara in the show’s premiere. People of this era clearly had a personal awareness and intimacy with the Jedi Order a century and a half later before Order 66.

And yet, the ubiquitousness of the Jedi does not fully explain Qimir’s deep insights into them. He doesn’t just know about them like most people. He’s not intimidated or awed by them, either. Qimir has a meaningful understanding of who they are, what they want, and how they operate. He also sees they are vulnerable.

“Everyone has a weakness,” he told Mae about the Jedi everyone else thinks unbeatable. She proved him correct twice when she killed two Jedi in very different ways. The death of Master Torbin especially showed the depth of Qimir’s intuition about the Order and its members. He knew Torbin’s decade-long trance (as part of his Barash Vow) indicated the Jedi had not really found peace. Qimir somehow understood—even though the Jedi hadn’t spoken to anyone in ten years—the past still haunted Torbin enough he’d willingly atone with fatal poison.

Qimir also apparently knows what planet the wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca is living on, something the Force sensitive Mae didn’t. He also managed to talk himself out of what seemed like an obvious and inevitable arrest by the Jedi. Qimir then skillfully eluded their detection when he helped smuggle Mae off the planet. And that followed the supposed smuggler-turned-trader without a care in the world physically overpowering Mae, a warrior who’d just bested multiple Jedi.

Indara didn’t even consider Mae a real threat until she recognized Mae could use the Force. Yet somehow Qimir quickly fought back and overtook Mae when she surprise attacked him in that alley. How did he do that? Han Solo couldn’t beat a Force-user in hand-to-hand combat, but this rogue can? And that’s just one of the many intriguing questions the second episode of The Acolyte raised about Qimir. How does he know so much about the Jedi, including what they seek, the lies they tell themselves, where they live, and their own vulnerabilities? And how did he so quickly recognize Osha wasn’t Mae?

One possibility is that Qimir is Force-sensitive himself and has received the same training Mae has from her mysterious Master we saw at the end of episode one. Qimir said he serves that masked figure with the red lightsaber, just seemingly in a different way than Mae. She’s the warrior, he’s simply an accomplice. But it’s not as though a dark side devotee couldn’t hide their identity from another Force user like Mae. Palpatine kept his Sith identity secret from the entire Jedi Order while working closely with them.

There’s an obvious issue with that explanation, however. If the masked Master is the very Sith who will revive the dark Order, they would only have one Padawan. “Always two there are. No more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” If Mae is the Master’s “acolyte,” Qimir can’t also be.

But what if he is the mysterious Master? Despite his official character description, Qimir obviously cares about something. He has a purpose. He’s not just helping Mae kill Jedi, he wants to expose the lie the Order tells itself. That’s the same purpose the Master has. He/she said they wants to “kill” the dream the Jedi live in.

Qimir is also is working with Mae, who knows almost nothing about him (just as she doesn’t even know her Master’s true identity.) Yet Qimir is sharing seemingly unknowable knowledge about the Jedi with her, all while he can physically overmatch her. All of which points to the fact he’s pretending to just be a normal servant of their mutual leader.

Star Wars fans know a powerful Sith Lord can keep a secret identity from everyone. Qimir might be hiding his own as the Master. If he is there, his story would be the kind of poetry George Lucas said drived Star Wars. Qimir’s own story would mirror that of Palpatine, whose own rise was made possible by a dark side user who took on the Jedi during the time of the High Republic.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who thinks Manny Jacinto deserved an Emmy for The Good Place. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Soon, we’ll be heading off into the galaxy far, far away for a brand new Star Wars adventure. Star Wars: The Acolyte will be released on Disney+ on June 4. This series will be set about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace. It’s a period of time that live-action and animated Star Wars projects haven’t really explored to date. And so, The Acolyte will feature a whole host of brand-new Star Wars characters for us to get to know. Until recently, these figures were largely a mystery. But now, The Acolyte‘s main players have received descriptions from the official Star Wars website.

Let’s meet all the new characters that will feature in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s New Characters

Jump to: Mae // Jedi Master Sol // Jedi Master Indara // Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca // Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh // Jedi Knight Yord Fandar // Padawan Jecki Lon // Former Smuggler Qimir // Mother Aniseya

Mae: The Acolyte‘s Masked Marvel

Mae is the main character of The Acolyte. Her official description reads, “Mae gets swept up into a sinister mystery—one that puts her into the center of a conflict in unexpected ways.” And additionally, we know that this new The Acolyte character is “a masked marvel who isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with a Jedi.” Finally, Mae is said to be “a dangerous warrior from Jedi Master Sol’s past.”

Who Will Play the Character of Mae in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Amandla Stenberg will play Mae in The Acolyte.

Sol: The Acolyte’s New Jedi Master Character

We’re about to meet many Jedi in The Acolyte, but one new character we meet is Jedi Master Sol. Sol’s official description is as follows: “Master Sol is a wise, highly respected, powerful Jedi Master, strong in the ways of the Force, who is going through emotional conflict.” Lee Jung-jae shares of Master Sol, “I definitely was inspired by a lot of the past Jedi Masters and the wonderful actors that played them. And one of my favorite characters was Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson. I really kind of tried to find the connective tissue between him and my character, Master Sol.”

Additionally, The Acolyte‘s synopsis shares, “an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past.”

Most mysterious indeed.

Who Will Play the Character of Sol in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Lee Jung-jae will play the new character of Sol in The Acolyte.

Indara: Another New Jedi Master in The Acolyte

Jedi Master Indara is referred to as a “protector of the peace.” In The Acolyte this new Star Wars character is described as “a Jedi Master of great physical and mental skill.”

Who Will Play the Character of Indara in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Carrie-Anne Moss will play Jedi Master Indara in The Acolyte.

Kelnacca: The Acolyte‘s Wookiee Jedi

Wookiee’s can be Jedi too. And Jedi Master Kelnacca will certainly prove that when he appears as a new character in Star Wars: The Acolyte. Kelnacca is described as “a Wookiee Jedi, a loner who lives a solitary life.” Star Wars: The Clone Wars was the first canon story to bring a Wookiee Jedi to life, but Jedi Master Kelnacca marks the first Wookiee Jedi in live-action. This new The Acolyte character will also be the first canonical Jedi Master Wookiee in Star Wars because The Clone Wars‘ Gungi was a Youngling.

Who Will Play the Character of Kelnacca, the Wookiee Jedi, in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Joonas Suotamo will play the Kelnacca, the Wookiee Jedi, in The Acolyte.

Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh: A New The Acolyte Character but a Familiar Star Wars Face

Fans of The High Republic book series will know Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh. In The Acolyte, Vern Rwoh will leap from page to screen as she debuts in the live-action world. Vernestra Rwoh will be the only character we’ll see from The High Republic books, though. But still, we’re very happy to have her.

Vernestra’s description reads, “Vernestra Rwoh is an elder Jedi Master who has ascended the ranks of the Jedi from a teenage prodigy to a leader in the Order. She became one of the youngest Jedi Knights in a generation at age 15, and solidified her status as a prodigy when she took Imri Cantaros as a Padawan the next year. With a purple-bladed lightsaber that can change into a lightwhip, young Rwoh led with unwavering faith in the Force and devotion to the Jedi Order. But in the year after the fall of Starlight Beacon — while mourning those lost in the destruction, including her own Padawan — Vernestra pulled back from the Order and shifted her focus to heal herself.”

Additionally, Vernestra Rwoh is a Mirialan character. According to an Empire interview with the showrunner, Rwoh is 116 years old in the series and has been through some serious trauma that will alter her personality from The High Republic books.

Who Will Play the Character of Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Rebecca Henderson will play the live-action version of The High Republic‘s Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Jedi Knight Yord Fandar: The Acolyte‘s Jedi Temple Guardian

Another character new to The Acolyte will be Jedi Knight Yord Fandar. Yord is “a Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, [who is also] an overachiever and a rule follower. His need to be a by-the-book Jedi can cloud his mind.”

We can’t say Yord sounds like the most fun new character from The Acolyte, but we guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Who Will Play the Character of Yord Fandar in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Charlie Barnett will play Yord in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Jecki Lon: A New Padawan Character From Star Wars: The Acolyte

Padawans can be critical characters in the Star Wars world, and so we’re glad to meet another one in The Acolyte. Jecki Lon “is the Padawan apprentice to Master Sol. Although she is young, she projects calm and conducts herself with maturity.” With her close connection to Sol, she’ll undoubtedly be a critical character.

Dafne Keen shares of her new Star Wars: The Acolyte character, “I’m very happy that I get to say that she’s an alien and that she’s a Padawan and that she’s a Jedi. She’s a mixed species — part Theelin, part human. She’s very cool and I have some very cool fights I do with the lightsaber.” And additionally adds, “‘d say she is a very dedicated Padawan. She’s definitely in awe of him in a very kind of sweet way. She thinks the absolute world of him in a way that I think they have a very sweet relationship, but she’s much more aware of the authority difference than, for example, Obi-Wan and Anakin. She’s very much like, “No, he’s the master and I’m the Padawan and he’s perfect. And everything he says, I have to follow to the T.”

Additionally, Keen reveals her character is like a Jedi David Bowie. She notes, “For sure – ‘Starman’ was, like, my tune while we were filming. I had it in my trailer all the time. As soon as we put that makeup on, I went to Leslye and I was like, ‘This is David Bowie.’ And she was like, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ We had the running joke that it was like Jedi David Bowie. Jedi Bowie, like, duh! It’s almost funky ‘70s, ‘80s-looking, which is really cool. I was so excited by the braid – as a Star Wars fan, to get a Padawan braid is, like, the sickest thing ever. I was so excited when they put it in. ‘Oh my god, I have my own Padawan braid!’ It was really cool. There were a ton of Bowie songs on set, all the time.”

It sounds like Jecki will be a Padawan like we’ve never seen before. We can’t wait to meet her.

Who Will Play the Character of Jecki in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Dafne Keen will play Jecki in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Qimir: Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s Former Smuggler and Trader

Who doesn’t love a charming rogue? Qimir joins a long line of dashing smugglers that have lived in Star Wars‘ world. This new The Acolyte character “is a former smuggler who now makes his living as a trader, procuring unusual things and enjoying a life of leisure.” Manny Jacinto recently commented on his The Acolyte character to Total Film (via Slash Film), sharing some interesting details. He noted, “Qimir isn’t the most fashionable person,” the actor said when describing his character’s digs. “I think he’s spent a lot of his money eating at his home planet’s cantina. His fashion sense is basically hobbit meets … poverty.” That’s quite the description.

Jacinto added, “Qimir is an everyday guy minding his own business,” and he’s “doing his own thing and gets pulled into this whole storyline, whether he likes it or not.” Total Film notes that “Jacinto doesn’t seem keen to categorize him as a hero or villain.” He also doesn’t appear to wield a lightsaber at any point. Ultimately, this Star Wars: The Acolyte character is “trying to do his best, but has certain faults,”

Qimir sounds like fun. Though we bet Yord won’t think so.

Who Will Play the Character of Qimir in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Manny Jacinto will play Qimir in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Mother Aniseya: A Leader of a Coven of Witches

We are obsessed with Mother Aniseya. She’s Mother, after all. This new witchy character is Star Wars: The Acolyte‘s independent thinker. Her description reads, “Mother Aniseya is the leader of a coven of Witches who value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers.”

These new Witches may have some kinship with the the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Showrunner Lesyle Headland shares, “The Clone Wars [inspired The Acolyte], a lot being inspired by Nightsisters. We don’t have any Nightsisters in this show, but being inspired by them, being inspired by Asajj Ventress. My favorite episode is ‘The Wrong Jedi.”‘ I definitely took some inspiration from that.”

Who Will Play the Character of Mother Aniseya in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Jodie Turner-Smith will play the new character of Mother Aniseya in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Originally published on March 21, 2024.

The post Meet THE ACOLYTE’s New STAR WARS Characters appeared first on Nerdist.

The next few years are going to bring about many exciting Star Wars series to Disney+, including Ahsoka and further adventures for The Mandalorian and Andor. But one, in particular, announced in 2020, is The Acolyte.

In a wholesome video, Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, welcomes The Acolyte‘s Amandla Stenberg to the world of Star Wars. Christensen offers, “I just wanted to send you a quick message to say congratulations. And I’m very excited for the show, and wanted to wish you all the best and welcome you to our Star Wars family. Hopefully I’ll get to meet you soon, maybe at a Star Wars Celebration or something.” This is the kind of content we love to see.

Here’s everything we know about The Acolyte, a set a century before the events of the Skywalker Saga.

Title

The official title for the upcoming Lucasfilm Star Wars series is The Acolyte. Its official title may or may not wind up as Star Wars: The Acolyte.

The Acolyte’s Plot

The Acolyte‘s trailer gives us our first good look at the series, which cautions that even in times of peace, evil is always rising. A synopsis shared with the trailer reveals:

In “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….

When Disney officially announced the series back in December 2020, we got a slightly different description, which noted:

The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated. 

We’ve also learned that the drama unfolds about a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, during a time when the Sith were still in hiding, getting ready to make their move to take over the galaxy. Aside from canon novels, the High Republic is an era totally unexplored in any live-action or animated Star Wars projects.

Behind the Scenes

Leslye Headland is on board as writer and producer. Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). A release shares, “Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.”

The Acolyte’s Cast

The Acolyte‘s cast is turning out better than we could have imagined. Playing the lead role in the show is Amandla Stenberg, recently seen in Bodies Bodies Bodies. Joining Stenberg are Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joonas Suotamo. Suotamo is playing a Wookiee and Henderson will portray Vernestra Rwoh. This High Republic character was one of the youngest ever to become Jedi Knight. Of course, we’ll see her much older in this Star Wars series.

In The Acolyte, the green-skinned Jedi Master, played by Rebecca Henderson, is a cool 116 years old and lives in the temple on Coruscant. In an interview with Empire, series creator Leslye Headland affirms that Rwoh is the only character from that book series who will be in The Acolyte …at least, for now. Headland speaks more on the character’s personality, saying she’s been through a lot. “That has resulted in her going from this fun-seeking adventurer character [in the books], to a little bit closer to the [type of] Jedi that we see in The Phantom Menace.”

The Acolyte‘s Release Date

The Acolyte will release on June 4, 2024. It will premiere with its first two episodes.

Originally published on May 10, 2023.

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The Acolyte is almost here and Star Wars fans can’t wait to witness this fresh adventure. We have a solid explanation of The High Republic era in both print and video format but it is impossible to have too much information. Star Wars has an entire YouTube playlist with all the Star Wars: The High Republic episodes to make sure you’re a certified expert. (Thanks to the fantastic Krystina Arielle for bringing this to our attention via the site formerly known as Twitter.) 

Some of the videos are short bites about certain characters while others are longer deep dives and convention panels. So, settle in and get your High Republic knowledge up with this Star Wars playlist. Oh, and please do check out our video below.

The post This STAR WARS YouTube Playlist Will Up Your High Republic Era Knowledge appeared first on Nerdist.

When the newest Disney+ Star Wars series, The Acolyte, was first announced in 2020, one of the big takeaways from the then-enigmatic project was that it would take place during “the waning days of the High Republic.” The promise of a live-action series brought a new spotlight to the ambitious new multi-media literary effort slated to debut in early 2021. It offered a swath of new Star Wars stories set in an era that was older than the New Republic but newer than the Old Republic. This era is The High Republic.

Over the last several years, the High Republic gained a loyal cult following of Star Wars fans to its pages. The Acolyte will be many fans’ first real experience with the storytelling of this galactic era and some of the unique characters created for it. As such, we’ve decided to offer you a history of the era, as far as we know currently. While each book and story within the High Republic has its share of twists and turns, consider this a broad overview of the main overarching throughline of the High Republic as a collective in anticipation of The Acolyte. For a more in-depth coverage, check out our video timeline.

The High Republic Origins 

The real-world origins of the High Republic began in 2018 under the name Avengers Initiative. Wait, sorry, the All-Star Initiative, and later, Project Luminous. The initial project included five authors: Justina Ireland, Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, Daniel José Older, and Charles Soule. Each are fan-favorite authors, both within the Star Wars canon and their outside work. They would later add more authors to the mix, like George Mann, Alyssa Wong,  Zoraida Córdova, and Tessa Gratton. 

Starting around 500 years before the first Star Wars movie, or “500 Before the Battle of Yavin,” the High Republic era is one of exploration and expansion. The Galactic Republic has largely recovered from the dark ages following the fall of the Old Republic. Now the Republic is trying to expand out again to the Outer Rim. This is especially true for the region known as the Galactic Frontier. This Frontier is popular among pirates including familiar faces like Maz Kanata. 

This is a golden age for the Jedi. Believing the Sith threat fully defeated generations earlier, the Jedi focus on their mission as the “guardians of peace and justice” as Obi-Wan Kenobi would say. These Jedi often rally around the cry “For Light and Life.” They frequently dress in resplendent gold-on-white temple robes, though Jedi in the field still wear the more familiar brown vibes. 

Story-wise, The High Republic consists of three main phases. We’re going to discuss them in chronological order instead of publishing order. We’ll start with Phase 2, which takes place in 382 BBY, 150 years before the rest of the series. Star Wars was like, “we heard you like prequels so here’s some prequel for your prequel.”

The High Republic Phase 2 – 382 BBY

Phase 2 introduces a few different religious groups with affiliation to the Force, including groups that have appeared in previous Star Wars media. These groups include the Guardians of the Whills and the Church of the Force. We also meet a more fanatical cult known as the Path of the Open Hand. They believe the Jedi and any other Force sensitives who use powers are actively harming the Force. Their belief is basically a hyper-extended version of Chaos Theory. The use of the Force, even innocuously, in one spot could cause catastrophe somewhere else in the universe. Their own catchphrase is “The Force shall be free,” because any good cult should have a motto. 

A good cult needs a false prophet too, and the Path has one in The Mother. Despite the cult’s beliefs, the Mother is secretly a Force-user herself, with a bitter personal grudge against the Jedi. She comes into possession of creatures that feed off of Force users, causing them to have intense, terrifying hallucinations before the creatures devour their essence, leaving a lifeless husk behind. The Mother calls these creatures the Leveler, but the Jedi and later books call them the Nameless. 

The Mother’s powers allow her to pass most charisma checks, causing followers to flock to her, often not knowing why they find her so alluring. The Mother manipulates current events and even tries to sabotage the peace talks of a major generational war between two worlds to destabilize the region and drive more followers to her flock.

One such follower is Marda Ro, a member of refugee alien race the Evereni whom the galaxy at large distrusts. A great storm destroyed the Evereni homeworld, and then a corrupt government left the survivors distrustful of everyone but themselves. Marda is a true believer in the Path of the Open Hand. However, her love for the Jedi Padawan Kevmo Zink tests that faith.

Kevmo and his master are killed by the Nameless. Marda, in her fanaticism, interprets their deaths as an example of the destruction that follows from using the Force. This only strengthens Marda’s devotion to the Path’s cause. She claims they are now the Path of the Closed Fist, a more militant version of the cult. Soon more Jedi arrive at the Path’s homeworld of Dalna after their sabotage of a peace treaty leads to a full-scale riot and battle on the pilgrim’s moon of Jedha. Jedha, of course, is where Jyn Erso later visits in Rogue One. 

The Nameless’ effects on the Jedi, as well as internal tensions within the cult, cause events to escalate into a massacre known as the Night of Sorrow. Marda swears revenge against the Jedi. The Path of the Closed Fist now becomes a gang of marauders called the Nihil. 

Afraid public knowledge of the Nameless could harm the Jedi, Grand Master Yoda and other Jedi keep information about them out of the archives. Over the next few decades the Nameless become something of a Jedi folklore, a nursery rhyme to scare younglings in an era before Anakin Skywalker existed. And we come to the end of Phase 2. 

The High Republic Phase 1 – 232 BBY

A cargo ship known as the Legacy Run travels through hyperspace when a strange shadowy object appears in front of it causing a collision. The impact of the crash sends huge chunks of starship careening through hyperspace. These chunks cause more crashes and destruction along many high-traffic routes. These force ships in the region to drop out of hyperspace lanes and become stranded. This event is known as The Great Hyperspace Disaster.

The pieces of the ship emerging from lightspeed threaten to obliterate a system known as Hetzal, home to over 40 billion people. Every Jedi within reach of the system converges in an attempt to avert the disaster. Their leader in this Avar Kriss, a powerful Jedi who uses her impressive Force abilities to guide this task force to work as a collective unit. 

The Republic’s current Chancellor, Lina Soh, engaged in a series of Great Works projects to present the Republic as a shining symbol of hope. One such project is the Starlight Beacon. This Jedi space station positioned near the Galactic Frontier would serve as the Jedi’s base of operations on the Galactic Frontier. It would allow them to respond to calls for aid sooner than the Temple on Coruscant could provide. As the Hero of Hetzal, Avar Kriss becomes marshal of the station.

In the last 150 years the Nihil have evolved, or devolved, into a marauding group of Viking-like raiders with a prominent storm theme. They are led from the shadows by Marchion Ro, a descendant of Marda, who carries her mission of vengeance with him. At first, the Nihil seem like opportunists, extorting worlds threatened by the emerging starship remnants from the Great Disaster. We later learn that the Nihil caused the explosion to begin with. Marchion sacrifices a third of the Nihil during a space battle against the Jedi and Republic, appearing that they lost.

231 BBY

A year after the Great Hyperspace Disaster, the Republic grows complacent thinking that the threat of the Nihil has gone. Chancellor Soh moves forward with her plans for another of her Great Works, The Republic Fair. This is like a World’s Fair but in Star Wars. 

Shocking probably nobody except the characters in the book, the Nihil attack! A massive coordinated assault by the Nihil informs the Republic that they are indeed still around. The Jedi and Republic begin Operation: Counterstrike, an effort to seek out and destroy the Nihil. In an attack on a Nihil base, the Jedi learn that the marauders have some of the Nameless. One of the creatures kills a Jedi named Loden Greatstorm, reducing him to a Force-drained husk. 

The Jedi mistakenly believe that one of Marchion Ro’s top lieutenants, a Twi’lek woman named Lourna Dee, is the leader of the whole organization. Avar Kriss and her Starlight Beacon Jedi defy the council and send Jedi undercover into Nihil territory to capture Lourna. 

230 BBY

Once again the Jedi and Republic mistakenly believe that they’ve defeated the Nihil. Marchion Ro springs the next phase of his plan. He launches a series of assaults on a number of worlds, creating a refugee crisis at Starlight Beacon. A Nihil sabotage team takes advantage of how overwhelmed the Beacon is and slips through, moving quickly throughout the station causing systemic and structural failures. They also unleash a Nameless into the station to cause havoc among the Jedi onboard. Despite their best efforts, the Jedi are unable to save the station. Starlight crashes onto a nearby world, killing many of the Jedi serving on it. The Republic watches in horror as the crash rips the symbol of the Jedi’s light from the sky. It’s at this time that Marchion Ro finally reveals himself to the galaxy.

The High Republic Phase 3 – 229 BBY

The Nihil have installed a massive barrier in space called the Stormwall. This series of disruptive buoys pull ships out of hyperspace preventing lightspeed travel beyond them. The Nihil have declared a region of the Galactic Frontier to be the Nihil Occlusion Zone. Thus far they have prevented the Jedi and Republic from traveling beyond this border. Avar Kriss finds herself trapped behind it in Nihil-controlled space. After months of isolation, Avar manages to get past the Stormwall and return to the Jedi Temple to report on her time behind enemy lines. 

Phase 3 is still in the middle of publishing, so we don’t fully know how the events will play out beyond this point. We also don’t know how they’ll feed into the story of The Acolyte close to a century later. How much the events of these stories still press on the Jedi will become clear when the series debuts on June 4.

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Those concerned about needing to stay up late to watch Star Wars: The Acolyte need not worry. Disney+ has revealed the release time for The Acolyte and it’s in keeping with the latest Disney+ trend.

When Will Star Wars: The Acolyte Episodes Release? 

The Star Wars series will have a “prime time” release. That is The Acolyte will release at 6 pm PT/9 pm ET on Tuesdays. That has been Disney+’s new normal for a while, but it sure is a relief to see it continue.

Will This Earlier The Acolyte Release Time Apply to All Other Disney+ Series?

So, will all Disney+ Marvel and Star Wars series will release in this prime time slot? Although Disney+ has not made an official statement, it does seem like this timing trend is likely to continue for The Acolyte and beyond.

Star Wars: The Acolyte will have a two-episode premiere on June 4 at 6 pm PT. We can’t wait to go on this galactic adventure at a reasonable time.

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The newest show in the Star Wars universe, The Acolyte, is nearly upon us. Set during the High Republic, a century before the events of the prequel films, The Acolyte will introduce fans to a new group of Jedi. However, readers of the High Republic novels and comics will see at least one familiar face: Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson). This Mirialan Jedi already has a storied history within the High Republic books. So, let’s look at the Star Wars moments that shaped Vernestra Rwoh. 

Which Star Wars High Republic Books Does Vernestra Rwoh Appear In?

Vernestra Rwoh appears in several High Republic books for adults, young adults, and middle-grade readers. She is also in issues 2-5 and 15 of Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito, and Mark Morales’s Star Wars: The High Republic (2021) comic book series published by Marvel. I don’t want to overburden you with every possible detail about Vernestra’s publication history. So I will tell you that the core of her story is told in middle-grade books A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland and Race to Crashpoint Tower by Daniel José Older. We also get her story in YA novels Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland and Defy the Storm by Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton.

She also appears in two short stories in the anthology, Tales of Light and Life. It provides connective tissue for Vernestra’s adventures outside the novels. The novels that Vernestra appears in are tied to major events that happen across all of the High Republic books. They all explore the Republic’s biggest battles from different perspectives. 

The History of Vernestra Rwoh

Vernestra, or “Vern” to her closest friends, is an alien of the Mirialan species, originating from the planet of Mirial. Mirialans have a variety of skin tones ranging from green, to yellow, to pink, and blue. Like Vernestra herself, many Mirialans have face tattoos. In The Acolyte, Vernestra sports tattoos on the outer corners of her eyes, as well as an intricate set on her scalp. Her scalp tattoos are a new addition to her character design. All her other appearances in High Republic books show her with her trademark purple hair. The Acolyte takes place a century after the current setting of the High Republic books. So there is probably a good reason for why Vernestra ditched her previous look. 

Among the Jedi, Vernestra is known as a wunderkind. She became a Jedi Knight at the age of fifteen, and took on her first Padawan, Imri Cantaros, at age seventeen. This made Vernestra one of the youngest Jedi Knights in the Order’s history.

Vernestra and Her Relationship With Her Jedi Master, Stellan Gios

The Jedi Master that Vernestra studied under was Stellan Gios, one of the most important Jedi in the High Republic. Stellan, a human, was immediately recognizable from his ornate blue lightsaber with a crossguard on it. His handsome looks made him popular on the holograms. But Master Gios had a reputation for rambling about minute Jedi lore and philosophy. In contrast to his best friend, the renegade Jedi Master Elzar Mann, Stellan was a traditional, by-the-books Jedi. He felt comfortable politicking where others shied away.

Unfortunately, in one of the most heartbreaking twists of the High Republic, Stellan Gios was killed in the destruction of the Republic’s Starlight Beacon base in the Outer Rim (as seen in The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray). He bravely refused to evacuate the base, instead piloting it in his last moments so others could flee. 

While Vernestra was no longer Stellan’s Padawan at the time of his death, his loss was devastating to her. Before his death, she had considered telling him that she had modified her own lightsaber so that she could use it as a light whip by turning a bezel on the hilt of her saber. This was going to be an important moment for her. In fact, she had procrastinated because she was nervous about how her traditional mentor might view such a modification. To make matters worse, in the destruction of Starlight Beacon, Vernestra also lost her Padawan, Imri Cantaros, who was declared missing after the incident. 

Vernestra’s Journey as a Wayseeker

To deal with her grief, Vernestra became a Wayseeker. It is more or less the Jedi Order’s version of a sabbatical. Wayseekers go off on their own to the furthest reaches of the galaxy to meditate and reshape their relationship with the Force. One crucial part about Wayseekers is that they are not beholden to act as ambassadors for the Jedi Council’s policies. As individuals, they can choose to get involved in political conflicts in the Outer Rim, if they believe that the Force wills them to. Vernestra went to the remote planet of Ibbe where she lived peacefully.

Who are Vernestra Rwoh’s Friends?

That is, until her close friend, Avon Starros, arrived to ask her to help her find Imri Cantaros. Avon Starros is part of a larger network of allies that Vernestra has across the galaxy. A brilliant inventor, Avon is the daughter of Ghirra Starros, a senator of the Republic who defected to the villainous pirate group, the Nihil.

Vernestra is friends with another daughter of a Nihil member, Sylvestri Yarrow. Sylvestri’s mother, Chancey Yarrow, was mistakenly killed by Jedi Elzar Mann. This happened during the destruction of Starlight Beacon, as she was trying to prevent the base from crashing. Elzar’s poor judgment directly led to the death of his best friend Stellan Gios, adding an extra layer of tension between Vernestra and him. In the absence of her mentor, Vernestra grew close to Stellan’s other best friend, Jedi Master Avar Kriss. 

In addition, Vernestra has close ties to a member of the prominent and wealthy San Tekka family, Jordanna Sparkburn. The San Tekkas made their money as hyperspace prospectors, essentially seeking out “highways” that could be traveled safely through hyperspace. Vernestra’s connections to the San Tekka family would later elucidate her mysterious Force powers. 

Vernestra’s Powers, Abilities, and Lightsaber, Explained

Vernestra has special Force abilities that allow her to see “lanes” in hyperspace. She can also see visions of events taking place in other parts of the galaxy. Because of this, she can navigate a ship manually while in hyperspace without setting coordinates. In the Out of the Shadows novel, Vernestra had hyperspace visions of a long-lost member of the San Tekka clan, Mari San Tekka, who possessed similar hyperspace abilities.

Through a series of visions, Mari San Tekka instructed Vern on how to use her mysterious Force abilities. This eventually led Vernestra to where the elder San Tekka was held captive by the Nihil. While Stellan Gios had encouraged Vernestra to develop her unique Force abilities, she had been reticent to do so. But after learning from Mari San Tekka, Vernestra became more welcoming of her strange skills. 

As mentioned earlier, Vernestra Rwoh has a unique purple lightsaber in the Star Wars universe. It can transform into a light whip by twisting a bevel on the hilt. Vernestra uses her saber as a light whip particularly when she is fighting in close quarters, or is sustaining intense blaster fire. She can spin the whip at such a velocity that it acts as a shield against blasters. 

Thus far, we have only seen Vernestra Rwoh as a young Jedi Knight in the High Republic books and comics. Considering that she is a Jedi Master in The Acolyte and sporting a whole new look, there is lots more to her story that we haven’t yet seen. Did she ever take on another Padawan after Imri Cantaros? What became of her friendships with Jordanna Sparkburn, Avon Starros, and Sylvestri Yarrow? The Acolyte may not answer all of these questions, but it hopefully will build off of everything we already know about Vernestra Rwoh. 

The post Who Is THE ACOLYTE’s Vernestra Rwoh? The Mirialan Jedi’s STAR WARS History, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Star Wars is a sprawling universe that fans have only seen a fraction of in movies and television shows. Film and television projects can take years to materialize. However, Star Wars novels and comics have been at the forefront of this expanding universe. The official timeline for the Star Wars universe is in place. Therefore, it’s important that the franchise ties its film and television projects to its canon novels and comics. The upcoming Disney+ show, The Acolyte, seems to be doing this by hinting that the Path of the Open Hand, a High Republic novel group, will make its Star Wars live-action debut.

The Star Wars History of the Nihil and the Path of the Open Hand, Explained

The Acolyte will transport Star Wars fans to the High Republic era. The High Republic is also known as the golden age of the Jedi. The collective was at the height of its power more than a century before the events of the prequel films. In the books, the main enemy of the Jedi during the High Republic wasn’t the Sith. It was a chaotic group of pirates known as the Nihil. As the power of the Republic expanded across the galaxy, the Nihil were an antagonistic force attacking the Republic’s cosmopolitan values. This was first explored in Charles Soule’s novel, The Light of the Jedi, which kickstarted the High Republic publishing initiative. 

The Nihil, however, can trace their roots back to a cult called the Path of the Open Hand. Located in the Outer Rim, far away from the political center of Coruscant, the Path of the Open Hand did not want anyone to ever use the Force. The group believed using the Force in the manner of the Jedi was to “abuse” it, as described in Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton’s novel, The Path of Deceit. The members of the Path of the Open Hand are “acolytes” who serve their leader, a woman called “the Mother,” in The Path of Deceit novel. 

The Path of the Open Hand Fights Users of the Force

The Path of the Open Hand pursued their goals by stealing artifacts rich in the Force. But eventually, they resorted to something even more terrifying. They would use creatures called the Nameless that hunt Force-sensitives and drain them of their life energy until their bodies are nothing but husks of stone. The Eye of Darkness by George Mann and other novels in the High Republic line affirm that even the most powerful Jedi are helpless against the Nameless. 

With this in mind, the trailers for The Acolyte pepper in several clues to the involvement of The Path of the Open Hand, or another group that holds a similar ideology. A Jedi named Yord Fandar (Charlie Bennett) says that someone has been “killing Jedi” and “it doesn’t make sense.” This matches the sense of confusion that the Jedi experience upon discovering the calcified bodies of Nameless victims in High Republic novels. The Nameless are a horrific and existential threat to the Jedi, disrupting Force-sensitives’ ability to connect to the Force. The fear on so many Jedi’s faces in The Acolyte’s trailers hint at something on par with the Nameless.  

The Acolyte‘s Mother Aniseya Could Be the Path of the Open Hand’s Leader

Additionally, the appearance of a character named Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) also hints at the Path of the Open Hand. Aniseya is referred to as “Mother,” just like Elecia, the Mother of the Path of the Open Hand. (“Aniseya” and “Elecia” sound super similar, don’t they?) Furthermore, Mother Aniseya has a design drawn on her forehead in a circular shape with two dots in the center. The Path of the Open Hand’s acolytes initially drew three horizontal lines on their foreheads. But the group they later turned into, the Nihil, frequently painted a circular symbol with a dot in the center. This represented the eye of a storm, a central element of Nihil philosophy. While Mother Aniseya’s symbol is more intricate than the Nihil’s, their visual similarities are worth consideration. 

Beyond surface-level similarities with the Path of the Open Hand and the Nihil, Mother Aniseya espouses a similar philosophy to both groups. In the below trailer, she says, “This isn’t about good or bad. This is about power, and who is allowed to use it.” Mother Aniseya’s statement fits in with the character arc for the Path of the Open Hand’s Mother.

Mother Elecia was revealed to be Force-sensitive, and used it to fuel her followers’ devotion. Elecia preaching against the Jedi’s use of the Force while hunting them down with the Nameless was a way to consolidate her own power as the leader of the Path of the Open Hand. Additionally, when she was a child, Elecia was not selected to be trained by the Jedi, while her sister was. This prompted a discussion of “who” can use the Force, and how, in The Path of Deceit. We have yet to see what Mother Aniseya thinks about the Jedi. However, it’s clear that the Path of the Open Hand’s Mother provides a compelling template for The Acolyte’s conflict. 

Of course, “acolyte” is also a Sith term. And, the appearance of a red lightsaber in the trailer makes it clear that the dark side isn’t too far away. There also remains a question of how and why the philosophy of the Path of the Open Hand would continue to persist at the tail end of the High Republic. After all, the Path of the Open Hand transformed into the Path of the Closed Fist, before becoming the Nihil. Still, the High Republic publishing initiative spent years developing a conflict over the use of the Force in the galaxy. The fact that The Acolyte’s first trailer begins with a Jedi instructing younglings to reach out to the Force is a hopeful sign that this spirit will continue on in the show. 

Lastly, The Acolyte takes place further down the timeline from where the High Republic novels take place. Perhaps the connective tissue between these two time periods within the High Republic will be Jedi Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson). She was a young Jedi Knight at the time of the Republic’s first clashes with the Nihil. In The Acolyte, Vernestra is a seasoned Jedi Master, who will no doubt be instrumental to the Jedi’s fight.

The Acolyte premieres on June 4, so let’s see what Lucasfilm has in store. 

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“No one is safe from the truth.” That tagline for Disney+’s The Acolyte reveals a whole lot more than its brevity suggests. The show’s final trailer, released during this year’s Star Wars Day, teases a big Jedi secret. An ancient secret could ultimately change how we think about the Order forever. But this last The Acolyte trailer also teases another big secret via a nightmarish introduction. It finally lets us see the mysterious dark side figure who will challenge the Jedi Order in the Star Wars series. And he’ll do it from behind one of the franchise’s most terrifying masks ever.

Did Stefon cut this trailer? Cause it has everything: secrets, Padawans lost to the dark side, a coven of witches, a guy with a zipper mask. Speaking of that red lightsaber wielder in The Acolyte‘s trailer, while we don’t know who that horror movie-like figure is, they’re almost certainly the big bad behind the show. At the very least, it’s who showrunner Leslye Headland told StarWars.com is their “favorite character.”

But who is The Acolyte‘s mystery villain? Their identity is certainly going to be a major revelation, and we can’t wait to learn who they are. But we’re even more intrigued by this secret past no one is safe from. This trailer suggests the Jedi’s eventual fall will ultimately result from something the Order itself did long ago. In The Acolyte‘s trailer, Manny Jacinto’s former smuggler and trader Qimir says that the “peace” the Jedi use to justify their galactic dominance “is a lie.” What does he mean by that? What exactly is the lie? And do any of the current Jedi know about this past?

Soon, we’ll have more than a trailer for The Acolyte. We’ll start to get answers to all these questions and more this summer. The Acolyte premieres with two episodes on Disney+ on June 4. Until then, we should be relatively safe from the truth about the Jedi. After that, we can’t guarantee that all of us won’t fall to the dark side.

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The first trailer for Star Wars: The Acolyte dropped on Tuesday and introduced us to a lot of Jedi and at least one foe. Set during the era of the High Republic, the dramatic series promises many, many Jedi. We love seeing more Jedi for a number of reasons. For one, they’re usually interesting—especially given that this time period that hasn’t been explored on the screen yet. What will the Jedi Order be like?! Also, Jedi make for excellent action figures. To that end, Nerdist has a closer look at five of Hasbro’s Black Series figures for The Acolyte. This unveiling is part of a fanstream for Lucasfilm’s Imperial March and comes just in time to celebrate The Acolyte’s trailer release.

The Acolyte Black Series figures include: Padawan Jecki Lon, Jedi Knight Yord Fandar, Jedi Master Indara, Jedi Master Sol, and the assassin Mae. See each individual figure more closely in the gallery below and then learn more about the figures.

Click To View Gallery

All figures are premium six-inch with multiple points of articulation and inspired by the characters as seen in The Acolyte.

• Padawan Jecki Lon – played by Dafne Keen in the series, the Jecki Lon figure comes with a lightsaber accessory with a removable blade.
• Jedi Knight Yord Fandar – played by Charlie Barnett in the series, the Yord Fandar figure comes with a lightsaber accessory with a removable blade.
• Jedi Master Indara – played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the series, the Indara figure comes with a lightsaber accessory with a removable blade.
• Jedi Master Sol – played by Lee Jung-jae in the series, the Sol figure comes with a lightsaber accessory with a removable blade.
• Mae – played by Amandla Stenberg in the series, the Mae figure comes with five entertainment-inspired accessories including four knife accessories and a removable face wrap.

The Acolyte Black Series figures will be available this summer from Hasbro; each costs $24.99. You can pre-order them on March 21 at 1:00pm ET from Amazon, Hasbro Pulse, and other major retailers. The series premieres on Disney+ on June 4.

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Sheev Palpatine was the mastermind behind the Galactic Republic’s demise, but he wasn’t the only Sith who helped bring darkness to the galaxy far, far away. The evil lords who came before him laid the foundation for his empire. Now Lucasfilm is introducing us to those who helped their sinister order return to power. And the first trailer for Disney+’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte offers a tantalizing glimpse at the Sith who rose up against their ancient foes the Jedi.

The Acolyte comes from creator Leslye Headland (Russian Doll). She also serves as showrunner on the series, which marks the live-action debut of Star Wars‘ High Republic era. The Acolyte and its trailer take place a century prior to the events of The Phantom Menace. That was an age of light when the Jedi truly were guardians of peace. But that’s also when a war the Order was not prepared for began. It’s when darkness began its march towards power.

In addition to The Acolyte‘s first trailer, Lucasfilm also released an official synopsis for the series:

In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…

The show also stars Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. The new Star Wars series makes its sinister debut on Disney+ this summer on June 4. The Acolyte‘s trailer also reveals that the show will premiere with its first two episodes, which Headland also directed. Kogonada (episodes 3 and 7), Alex Garcia Lopez (episodes 4 and 5). and Hanelle Culpepper (episodes 6 and 8) round out the series’ directors. And composer Michael Abels (Get Out, Us) provides the score for The Acolyte.

The Sith, as always, will provide the darkness.

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