At Dragon Con 2024, Qimir/the Stranger actor Manny Jacinto explained how Star Wars’ newest Sith Lord pulled off his incredibly creepy entrance in The Acolyte episode 4. Despite The Acolyte’s cancelation, the show remains a fascinating addition to Star Wars movies and TV shows. In fact, in spite of the show’s mixed reception (to say the least), many viewers found Qimir/the Stranger absolutely fascinating. Part of the success of this character was due to how truly evil, powerful, and creepy he was, and his episode 4 entrance was a great example.
As shared by oshaniseyas on X, Manny Jacinto revealed many new details about his experience playing Qimir/the Stranger in The Acolyte at Dragon Con. Among these reveals was an explanation of how the Stranger floated down from the sky when he made his entrance in The Acolyte episode 4; evidently, the scene was simply filmed in reverse, with Jacinto being lifted up on wires.
Although this was a very simple approach, it worked brilliantly in the show, as Qimir/the Stranger descending from above and landing silently behind Osha was genuinely terrifying and ominous.
The Sith Lord’s Episode 4 Arrival Was Truly Chilling
Qimir/the Stranger’s arrival in The Acolyte episode 4 was genuinely creepy, so much so that it seemed almost like a moment from a horror movie. This is largely in keeping with Qimir’s character throughout The Acolyte. In fact, although this moment took place in episode 4, The Acolyte episode 5 saw how truly dark the show would become, as Qimir cut down multiple Jedi, including by stabbing Jedi Padawan Jecki Lon through multiple times and referring to her as “it” and snapping Yord Fandar’s neck unceremoniously.
This entrance in The Acolyte episode 4 also tied into another Star Wars moment, although not one from Star Wars canon. In a way, this moment with Qimir re-canonizes Count Dooku’s gliding power from Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003). Despite The Acolyte’s controversies and backlash, this is just one of multiple examples of the show taking something from Star Wars Legends and making it canon. Indeed, though Darth Plagueis was already canon, The Acolyte brought him to the Star Wars screen for the very first time and introduced cortosis on-screen as well.
Given how much The Acolyte introduced, it’s impressive that the show found such straightforward workarounds for what needed to be done on screen. Again, while Qimir’s entrance in episode 4 was truly chilling, it was executed in such a simple way. Sadly, with The Acolyte officially not being renewed for season 2, the show’s innovations and approaches have come to an end. However, Star Wars can continue to learn from The Acolyte, particularly when it comes to bringing a more horror-like element to the franchise—the Sith Lords especially.