New Acolyte book reveals that the Stranger was the first Knight of Ren in Star Wars

After just one season, the dark and deceptive Star Wars prequel series, The Acolyte, was canceled, and with it, one of the coolest characters to ever join the franchise vanished along with it. No matter how much hate the series set 100 years before The Phantom Menace got, one thing that many could agree on was Manny Jacinto's Jedi-evicerating villain, Qimir, aka The Stranger, who rocked dual lightsabers and stole the show. Now, following the release of a new book, The Art of the Acolyte, details have been revealed (via the SFF Gazette) that showrunner Leslye Headland had plans for Qimir to become the first Knight of Ren.

“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 it is if the Stranger is the first Knight of Ren, part of a Sith-adjacent cult that we know eventually survives."

Given Qimir's impressive headgear and how he handled his lightsaber, it did feel fitting that he'd have some connection to the recent trilogy's big bad, played by Adam Driver. In fact, even in the show, fans noticed that Kylo Ren's theme from the films was only lightly applied, sparking theories that there was some kind of connection between the two eras.

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Unfortunately, as far as we know, that link will never be investigated further, given that the show was cut short after one season. Of course, there's a galaxy of stories to be told in the Star Wars franchise, and who knows? The Stranger could refamiliarize himself in future tales somewhere down the line. For now, though, we've got a host of other Star Wars adventures to get in on, and you can get the full list of what's in store right here.