Star Wars: The Acolyte unfolded more than a century before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, as the series explored uncharted territory for the live-action franchise. Created by Leslye Headland, the series wasn’t renewed past a single season, despite the strong critical reaction to the story. Still, the show planted the seeds of various integral components of Star Wars lore, some of which we’ll never get to see more of. In the new book The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte, Headland herself confirmed the significance of Manny Jacinto’s “The Stranger,” aka Qimir, and his impact on Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy.
In the book, per The HoloFiles, Headland teased that one storyline she was toying with was this character being the first Knight of Ren, who were first seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The book reads:
“[Qimir’s helmet] felt like it foreshadowed a possible connection to the Knights of Ren with the Kylo Ren shape we landed on … We just started to go in that direction. It was in the design of the character, as well as knowing that we were going to introduce Darth Plagueis, who has to end up with Palpatine as his apprentice. Following the Rule of Two – a precept that limited the Sith to just two at any given time, a master and an apprentice – one way to keep it going is if the Stranger is the first Knight of Ren, part of a Sith-adjacent culture that we know eventually survives.”
She continued, “And since we never name him … you don’t know: Does he have a first name and then his last name is Ren? Is he the original Ren? It’s a good way to nod to it without having to give away too much information.”
What Does This Mean for the Knights of Ren?
The Force Awakens came from filmmaker J.J. Abrams, a storyteller with a penchant for planting mysteries. In the first chapter of the sequel trilogy, audiences met Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, who we’d learn was born Ben Solo. The villain’s armor felt somewhat reminiscent of his grandfather Darth Vader’s, though when we saw a brief flashback of Kylo Ren in the rain, surrounded by similarly clad figures, audiences started to speculate about who these characters were.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi largely overlooked the Knights of Ren, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker saw the character serving Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. The movie itself didn’t dive too much into their backstory, instead with the storyline showcasing their ruthlessness. Ancillary comics books and novels have shed more insight into these characters, though a number of questions have remained.
Now, according to Headland’s remarks, we know that Jacinto’s character could have potentially been one of the first major defectors from the way of the Sith. With no concrete plans of ever seeing this storyline continue in any media, fans are left to speculate about these ramifications, yet even the tease that Jacinto could be named Ren, inspiring the Knights of Ren, will ignite excitement among Star Wars fans.
What Does This Mean for the Rule of Two?
Unlike the Jedi, of which there are many, The Phantom Menace gave us the line from Yoda, “Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” This describes that, for as ruthless as Darth Maul was, he was serving a more powerful master. This phrase has haunted fans, as the introduction of anyone heading towards the dark side came with the implication that either this rule wasn’t true, thus creating a “plot hole,” or it meant a character was about to die.
Based on Headland’s remarks and with the finale teasing Darth Plagueis, some fans thought this would break canon, as The Stranger appeared to be taking on Amandla Stenberg’s Osha as an apprentice. However, it seems that one plan for The Stranger was to have him abandon Plagueis to start the Knights of Ren, who were Force-wielders that were Sith-adjacent.
Whether we’ll ever get more definitive explanations on all of this lore is yet to be seen.
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