Star Wars: Canceled Show’s Connection to Kylo Ren and Sith Lord Revealed

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As a big Star Wars fan, I recently came across a fascinating detail! It turns out there was a planned connection between the canceled series The Acolyte and Kylo Ren from the sequel trilogy. Apparently, the main villain of The Acolyte, this shadowy Force-user named Qimir – also known as the Stranger and played by Manny Jacinto – was supposed to tie into Kylo’s story. It’s a shame the show was canceled after only one season, especially since it was reportedly due to the high production costs and a lot of negative feedback from fans.

With the cancellation of The Acolyte, fans worried they wouldn’t find out more about the mysterious character known as the Stranger, or how he related to the brief appearance of Darth Plagueis. Even though The Acolyte sparked a lot of debate and wasn’t popular with everyone, the Stranger was a character that most viewers enjoyed and wanted to see more of in a potential second season.

A recently revealed detail from the book The Art of the Acolyte confirms a planned connection between the character known as the Stranger and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the primary villain in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Kylo Ren led the Knights of Ren, a secretive group of dark side users who weren’t Sith. According to Leslye Headland, the creator of The Acolyte, the Stranger’s story was potentially linked to the origins of the Knights of Ren.

The initial design for Kylo Ren hinted at a link to the Knights of Ren, and we began exploring that idea. We also knew we wanted to introduce Darth Plagueis, who would eventually become Palpatine’s master. To maintain the Sith’s Rule of Two – the tradition of only having a master and one apprentice – we theorized that the mysterious ‘Stranger’ character could be the first Knight of Ren, establishing a group with ties to the Sith that would ultimately endure.

According to creator Leslye Headland, the ‘Rule of Two’ in Star Wars dictates that there can only ever be two Sith at a time: a master and their apprentice. The character of the Stranger in The Acolyte would have made it impossible for Darth Plagueis to take on Sheev Palpatine as his apprentice, according to this rule. However, Headland had already planned a way around this issue: the Stranger would become the first of the ‘Ren’ and establish the group that Kylo Ren would eventually lead.

The series The Art of the Acolyte continued to draw parallels between the Stranger and Kylo Ren, particularly through their shared musical theme—the same orchestral piece used to represent Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy. Showrunner Leslye Headland also highlighted that the Stranger doesn’t have a real name; “Qimir” is just an alias used to mislead the Jedi, adding to the mystery surrounding his potential connection to the Knights of Ren.

Because we never reveal his full name, it’s left ambiguous whether “Ren” is just his last name, or if he has a first name as well, and if he’s the very first Ren. This allows us to hint at a larger story without giving away too many details.

Creature designer Nick Tyrell explained that the Stranger’s helmet was intentionally designed to resemble Kylo Ren’s, sharing its flat front and the samurai-like detail around the back.

The Stranger’s helmet is a roughly made, flat-faced design with a breathing mask that looks like a snarl and small eye slits. A small, decorative ridge on the back of the helmet recalls the samurai-inspired designs of earlier characters, most notably Darth Vader. This detail suggests a connection between the Stranger and Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequels, a link the story’s creators intentionally built into the character’s design.

If The Acolyte had continued, the character known as the Stranger likely would have evolved into the founder of the Knights of Ren. This would have been a great addition to Star Wars history, as the Knights of Ren remain largely unknown, appearing only briefly in the Star Wars sequel films and the Rise of Kylo Ren comics.

There’s still potential for Star Wars to incorporate Leslye Headland’s concept for the Knights of Ren. The story introduced in The Acolyte has already been expanded through books and comics like The Crystal Crown and The Wayseeker. Future books or comics could easily continue the story of the Stranger and officially establish ideas that The Acolyte didn’t fully develop on screen.

Currently, Disney and Lucasfilm have no official plans to continue the story of the Stranger from The Acolyte or explore his potential connection to the Knights of Ren. The focus is now on theatrical releases like The Mandalorian and Grogu, and there are no announced plans for further tie-ins to The Acolyte. However, the link established between the Stranger and Kylo Ren still offers fans some hope for future developments.

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2026-01-28 23:41