The Acolyte’s Manny Jacinto Reveals His Inspirations for Darth Vader and Kylo Ren, ‘Fingers Crossed’ for Season 2 | D23 2024

Star Wars: The Acolyte season 1 has come to an end, so The Stranger/Qimir actor Manny Jacinto stopped by D23 2024 to talk about what inspired his character and how the Disney+ prequel story could 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 and Foo Fighters tunes helped him prepare for his role as the mysterious red lightsaber-wielding character, 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 took inspiration from Darth Maul, played by Ray Park.

“You can’t help but think of iconic characters like Darth Vader and Kylo Ren,” Jacinto said. “The mask is a starting point, but we definitely wanted it to have a purpose. The main purpose was to hide his identity, so we had that starting point, but we also wanted to make it different. We wanted him to move and fight differently.”

Season 1 of The Acolyte began airing on Disney+ in June and concluded in July, telling a story that explores a largely unexplored area of ​​the dark side. While many weren’t sure what to make of the series, others who enjoyed its new angle on the Star Wars universe wondered if it would return for Season 2. Jacinto has has discussed what he wants to see in another series of episodes in the pastbut for now, he has nothing to announce.

“I don’t know how we pulled it off, but we did,” Jacinto said of her co-star, Amandla Stenberg. “We did it together. Amandla is a professional, she’s so smart. I look so silly next to her because she’s so wise for her age. Fingers crossed we can do it again.”

During the conference, Disney revealed some concept images of The Stranger/Qimir. We’ve rounded up some of the images shown and you can check them out below.

Concept art of the Acolyte D23 2024 sign | D23 2024