The Acolyte's Manny Jacinto Reveals Darth Vader and Kylo Ren Inspirations, 'Fingers Crossed' for Season 2 | D23 2024
Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 1 has come to a close, so The Stranger/Qimir actor Manny Jacinto stopped by D23 2024 to talk about what inspired his character and how the Disney+ prequel show's story might continue.
Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 1 has come to a close, so The Stranger/Qimir actor Manny Jacinto stopped by D23 2024 to talk about what inspired his character and how the Disney+ prequel show's story might continue.
Jacinto shared in-depth details about his role during a panel at this year’s Disney fan event. While listening to classic John Williams tunes and Foo Fighters helped him prepare for his role as The Acolyte’s mysterious, red-lightsaber-wielding figure, it was iconic Force users like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren who inspired his dark side the most. When it came to how his character moved, Jacinto looked at Ray Park’s Darth Maul.
“You can’t help but look back to iconic characters like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren,” Jacinto said. “You have that mask as a starting point, but we definitely wanted it to be of purpose. The biggest purpose was to conceal his identity, so we had that starting point, but we also wanted to make him different. We wanted to make him move differently and fight differently.”
The Acolyte Season 1 started its Disney+ run in June and ended in July, telling a story that examines a largely unexplored area of the dark side. While many weren’t quite sure what to make of the show, others who enjoyed its new angle on the Star Wars universe have been left wondering if it will return for Season 2. Jacinto has teased what he wants to see from another run of episodes in the past, but for now, he’s got nothing to announce.
“I don’t know how we were able to get through this, but we did,” Jacinto said when speaking about his co-star, Amandla Stenberg. “We did it with each other. Amandla is a professional – she’s so smart. I sound so dumb whenever I am next to her because she’s wise beyond her years. Fingers crossed we get to do it again.”
During the panel, Disney revealed some shots of concept art for The Stranger/Qimir. We’ve collected some of the images shown, and you can see them below.
We called The Acolyte Season 1 “Okay” in our 6/10 review. We said, “The Acolyte takes us to an earlier era of Star Wars than we’ve seen on screen, with mixed results. Awkward dialogue and a small scope rob it of some of the series’ signature space magic, but these old-school Jedi are a thrill to watch in action.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
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