Joonas Suotamo first joined Star Wars when he took over the role of Chewbacca from Peter Mayhew, and now he's back as a brand new Wookiee: Kelnacca. Fans were thrilled when they first learned about the new character because it marked the first time a Wookiee was also a Jedi in a live-action Star Wars project. Sadly, Kelnacca died in the show's fourth episode without ever seeing any action. However, the most recent episode of the series, "Choice," was a flashback to the events of Brendok that featured a great Kelnacca scene. The Wookiee was mind-controlled by the witches and forced to fight his fellow Jedi. After the episode dropped, many fans took to social media to celebrate Kelnacca's big moment.

"This duel from the latest episode of The Acolyte was seriously so great," @jtimsuggs tweeted. "The choreography in this show has been nothing short of spectacular, and finally seeing Kelnacca in action was as entertaining as it was terrifying."

"Seeing a Wookiee Jedi go ham in live-action has gotta be a top 10 Star Wars moment of the decade," @TheSWU wrote. "Wookie Jedi fight was such a delight," @ArmandDoma added.

"My fave part of Acolyte Episode 7 is seeing a Wookie Jedi use a lightsaber in a good fight, first time in 47 years! They have strength and saber / Force skills, much better than weakling humans. Now I want to see the entire SW franchise with Wookie leads instead!" @kevinwinston praised.

Leslye Headland Explains Kelnacca's Big Fight Scene:

ComicBook recently had the chance to join a press roundtable with The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland, and we asked what went into the choreography of the fight considering they had to balance Kelnacca's Wookiee strength with his Jedi skills all while being mind-controlled.

"Wookiees are not obviously against antagonists ... They can be very aggressive, but they have this honor code specifically about extending their claws, which they don't do for anything except climbing," Headland explained. "So what we talked about was that when he was under this particular influence, not only would he be so aggressive against his friends and ostensibly the heroes of the story in a way that felt pretty vicious and unlike his own personality, but that also he would unknowingly make this horrible, horrendous choice that he would never make in under his own will. He would never have done so."

"I guess technically he would get a pass for that, but I don't think he gives himself a pass for it," she continued. "But the fight was incredible. I mean, that was all Kogonada who directed the episode, Chris Cowan, my action choreographer, and also the second unit director, the actors. Joonas is the only person who fits in the suit. So he did all of his own stunts in fighting. JJ did almost all of his own stunts in fighting. My only contribution to it was the one time when Sol is grabbing his arm and saying his name. I just thought it felt like Sol would try to get through to him emotionally, not just fight him."

The season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte drops on Disney+ on July 16th.

Star Wars: The Acolyte's seventh and penultimate episode, "Choice," was released earlier this week and it answered many of the questions that have been looming throughout the season. The episode was another flashback to Brenok, this time showing the events from the Jedi's perspective. In the third episode, "Destiny," fans saw the events from Osha and Mae's perspective. ComicBook recently had the chance to join a press roundtable with The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland, and she spoke about some of the episode's biggest moments. We also asked her how they chose to map out what would be seen in "Destiny" versus "Choice."

"We settled on the genre of a mystery thriller early on for the season," Headland explained. "So we wanted to have three major mysteries, which was 'Why was Mae killing the Jedi she's killing?' 'Who is Mae's Master and how does he fit into all of this?' And then, 'What actually happened on Brendok between the Jedi and the witches?' So what we wanted to map out was that Rashomon kind of idea of Episode 3. Tease up the answer for the first question, which is, 'Why is this young woman hunting these Jedi? Oh, okay.' She believes that they stole her sister and invaded her home, but by the end of Episode 4, all those Jedi are dead except for Sol. So then it's sort of like we're wrapping that up."

"All three of those can't be solved in the finale. So we wrap up that one. Then you're thinking, 'Okay, so now the Master will be the next thing. He gets unveiled in the next episode. So that gets solved. And then the last one, which is the one that's most personal between the protagonists of the show, is what actually happened on Brendok, though that became a reason to rebreak Episode 3, now that everybody knows the characters and understands what's at stake emotionally for everybody, now here's what actually happened. So it was mapped out in terms of those three mysteries."

Can Master Sol Be Redeemed?

During the roundtable attended by ComicBook, Headland was asked about Sol's choice and whether or not he can be redeemed.

"I think it's really up to interpretation," she explained when Jedi News asked about Sol. "I can say, my personal opinion, which is that I think that it's just super messy. Each of the Jedi have their own blind spot in this episode, and Sol's is definitely an emotional, spiritual blind spot. He just feels like, 'This is my padawan, I'm Qui-Gon, this is my Anakin, this is the warrior I am meant to train.' And so, the paternal protectivism gets kicked in."

"And that's a thing that, obviously is in media especially, is usually coded as something very, very good. But I think that can also be a dangerous thing," Headland continued. "It's not always coming out of what's best for the child or the object of that protected. And it could be coming out of his own preconceived notions or his inflated sense of self as well, thinking, 'I am the person who can help this child live up to their potential. I'm the person that can save this child from potential danger.' So I think it's a little bit of both. It comes from a very good place and it's very natural, but at the same time, it's not automatically good just because you feel it."

"I mean, I think it's in the hands of the person harmed," Headland added when asked by Screen Rant if Sol can be redeemed. "That's truly what it is. Does Vader deserve redemption? Luke thinks so, and we saw what Anakin did, but Luke believes that. So I think it's in Osha's hands ... To me, it's between the two of them. It's not an easy moral question for the audience to answer."

The season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte drops on Disney+ on July 16th.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is currently seven episodes deep on Disney+, and it's the first time fans have seen a Wookiee Jedi in live-action. Joonas Suotamo, who took over the role of Chewbacca from Peter Mayhew, played Kelnacca in The Acolyte, but the character met an early end in the show's fourth episode. However, the most recent episode, "Choice," was another flashback, and featured a big moment for Kelnacca. The Wookiee was mind-controlled by the witches on Brendok and forced to fight his fellow Jedi. ComicBook recently had the chance to join a press roundtable with The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland, and we asked what went into the choreography of the fight considering they had to balance Kelnacca's Wookiee strength with his Jedi skills all while being mind-controlled.

"Wookiees are not obviously against antagonists ... They can be very aggressive, but they have this honor code specifically about extending their claws, which they don't do for anything except climbing," Headland explained. "So what we talked about was that when he was under this particular influence, not only would he be so aggressive against his friends and ostensibly the heroes of the story in a way that felt pretty vicious and unlike his own personality, but that also he would unknowingly make this horrible, horrendous choice that he would never make in under his own will. He would never have done so."

"I guess technically he would get a pass for that, but I don't think he gives himself a pass for it," she continued. "But the fight was incredible. I mean, that was all Kogonada who directed the episode, Chris Cowan, my action choreographer, and also the second unit director, the actors. Joonas is the only person who fits in the suit. So he did all of his own stunts in fighting. JJ did almost all of his own stunts in fighting. My only contribution to it was the one time when Sol is grabbing his arm and saying his name. I just thought it felt like Sol would try to get through to him emotionally, not just fight him."

Joonas Suotamo Explains Kelnacca:

During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Suotamo broke down Kelnacca's character traits and explained how he played him differently from Chewbacca.

"Kelnacca is a very proud Jedi," Suotamo shared with EW. "He's obviously completed his Jedi training, but I thought he always felt as a bit of an outsider because, obviously, he's not human-born. So that caused me to think that he's a bit of a lone wolf sort of thing. So he's with the others, but he's also mindful that he might not a hundred percent belong with the other Jedi in that way."

"It's in how you carry yourself, your posture, how you move, and all these choices of this physical acting," he added of the difference between playing Chewbacca and Kelnacca. "And it was actually Rian Johnson when we were filming The Last Jedi, he recommended that I watch the silent masters of cinema - Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton - so that I could learn more about how to show what my character is thinking and what he's doing. And I've tried to do that.

So whenever we get the page, I try to choose 'How would Kelnacca go about doing what he's doing?' And comparing to Chewbacca, he's very trained, he's in control of his own desires, and he's very talented in doing these things that only Jedi can do. He was sort of like a samurai master, but also being of imposing size, that sort of led me to believe that he's like the Mufasa of Star Wars- that he's walking there and a very, very imposing figure for the others."

Stay tuned for more from the roundtable interview ComicBook attended with Leslye Headland. The season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte drops on Disney+ on July 16th.

Star Wars: The Acolyte only has one episode left, and each week has brought more twists and turns. The biggest shocker came in the show's fifth episode, "Night," which saw Qimir (Manny Jacinto) being unmasked as the Stranger and killing both Yord and Jecki, the Jedis played by Charlie Barnett and Dafne Keen. Star Wars fans were pretty devastated about the deaths, especially after falling in love with Yord and Jecki. While they may dead in the present timeline, that doesn't mean we won't see them in some sort of prequel or in another format. In fact, the Jedi Wookiee Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) also died, and now he's getting a spinoff comic. ComicBook recently had the chance to join a press roundtable with The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland, who was asked about the possible return of Yord and Jecki.

"Yeah, definitely," Headland replied when asked by Jedi News if Jecki and Yord had more to their backstories, and if we might see them in another format. "Pablo Hidalgo and I have talked about that, and since wrapping up the season, there's definitely some stuff that I would love to see come to fruition."

"Obviously, Vernestra already exists in publishing, so also going to do something there," she continued. "There was a lot of background done on them both by the actors in the writers' room. Yord Fandar, I've said this before, was a character in a campaign that I played, so there's a pretty large backstory to him. But yeah, it was always the plan to kill them in Episode 5 halfway through the season. So it was kind of fun to think about them a lot and then think, 'Well, because we didn't spend a lot of time with them, maybe there's a way we could keep playing around with them somehow.'"

Charlie Barnett and Dafne Keen React To Their Characters' Deaths:

While chatting with Entertainment Weekly, Barnett and Keen opened up about being killed in The Acolyte.

"No one ever wants to be cut out of a show," Barnett explained. "But when you're playing a character that you know is going to die, it's a little more fun. If it's a surprise to you and your job is gone next week, it sucks. But when you know what you're walking into, you get to have a little more control over it. And I tried to find the lemonade through the lemons."

"Me and Charlie were joking about that all the time," Keen added. "Whenever we were on set and anyone would be complaining, me and Charlie would be like, 'Peace out, we're dying in two weeks!' ... I had so much fun doing the death. It was a huge honor to get to be the person that took the helmet off him ... That was something really exciting to me."

Stay tuned for more from the roundtable interview ComicBook attended with Leslye Headland. The season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte drops on Disney+ on July 16th.

The seventh episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte, "Choice," was released on Disney+ this week, and it featured some shocking reveals. Not only did fans finally learn the truth about what happened on Brendok 16 years ago, but more was revealed about Mae and Osha's (Amandla Stenberg) history. We learned in the third episode, "Destiny," that Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) created the twins using the Force, but turns out, there's more to their creation. Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) determined a vergence (a unique concentration of Force energy around a single location) was used to split one consciousness into two, meaning Mae and Osha are more than just twins. ComicBook recently had the chance to join a press roundtable with The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland, who was asked about Mae and Osha's connection as well as their creation's potential connection to Darth Plagueis.

"I would say I would leave that up to future chapters of the story," Headland teased when Screen Rant asked if Osha and Mae could live without the other. "But what I can say is that I believe that because Aniseya utilized this power, which is I think all of Aniseya's power is very potent, but a lot of it is unknowable ... She knows the extent of what she's capable of, but not exactly sure when she experiments with it, what will happen."

"So for example, she's playing around with powers that could create life, that can create life, and instead of creating one life, it ended up being two lives," Headland continued. "So I think her intention, and one of the reasons the Coven is so obsessed with keeping the twins together, is that they believe that this very special miracle that was able to happen under their roof, it could be broken if the two of them are separated. Now in our story, they are separated and they're separated for a very long time."

"So it seems unlikely to me that if one of them came to harm, the other one would drop dead," Headland added. "But I do think that because their power and their essence has been split, they both feel incomplete without the other one. And whenever another person notices one of them as different, or their whole selves, the way that Sol responds to Osha, the way that the Stranger responds to Osha, I think that also means that while they're split, they are not solely dependent on each other as one half and one half, even though that's what their family of origin would say. And I think it's the way that the Jedi understand their creation to make sense."

Are Osha and Mae's Powers Tied to Plagueis?

Darth Plagueis is well-known in the Star Wars universe thanks to Palpatine's monologue about the character in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. In the film, Palpatine details "Darth Plagueis the Wise" and his ability to create life using midi-chlorians, and defeat death. During Headland's roundtable, she explains how Plagueis' quest for life-giving power ties into Osha and Mae's creation. In fact, she compares the situation to the real-life events depicted in Oppenheimer.

"Of course they do. I am surprised more people haven't asked me that question. I'm like, 'Obviously,'" Headland said when asked by Screen Rant if the twins' powers are connected to the powers of Darth Plagueis. "The Sith are looking for the atomic bomb, they're looking for 'What's the card that we can have over the Jedi? What is the Force power that the Jedi do not have?' And so, as far as the Sith are concerned, they're in an arms race and the Jedi don't even know that arms race is happening because the being that can get the power that Aniseya has started playing with will start the Manhattan Project."

Stay tuned for more from the roundtable interview ComicBook attended with Leslye Headland. The season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte drops on Disney+ on July 16th.

The penultimate episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte, "Choice," was released on Disney+ this week and it finally revealed the truth of what happened on Brendok when Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) were young. Warning: Spoilers for The Acolyte Episode 7 ahead... During their time on the witches' planet, Sol's (Lee Jung-jae) concerns for the twins clouded his judgment and his refusal to listen to Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) led to a showdown with Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith). Aniseya turned into a cloud of black smoke, and Sol mistook the action for an attack, killing Aniseya in front of Mae. When the dust settled, Indara chose not to tell the Jedi Council the truth of what happened despite her previous instance of keeping them in the loop. Earlier today, ComicBook had the chance to join a press roundtable with The Acolyte creator, Leslye Headland, who spoke about Indara and Sol's choices in the episode.

"I think it should be left up to interpretation," Headland said when Jedi News asked why Indara chose to cover up what happened on Brendok. "My personal opinion is that she sees this entire situation as a terrible, terrible tragedy and Sol's insistence that he turn himself in at the expense of the one survivor of this. She believes it to be an incredibly selfish act ... If this has all been for anything, let's have it be for this little girl to grow up having achieved what she wanted to achieve, which I think is an incredibly passionate thing for a Jedi to decide even if it's misguided."

"Again, I think it's really up to interpretation," she added when asked about Sol. "I can say, my personal opinion, which is that I think that it's just super messy. Each of the Jedi have their own blind spot in this episode, and Sol's is definitely an emotional, spiritual blind spot. He just feels like, 'This is my padawan, I'm Qui-Gon, this is my Anakin, this is the warrior I am meant to train.' And so, the paternal protectivism gets kicked in."

"And that's a thing that, obviously is in media especially, is usually coded as something very, very good. But I think that can also be a dangerous thing," Headland continued. "It's not always coming out of what's best for the child or the object of that protected. And it could be coming out of his own preconceived notions or his inflated sense of self as well, thinking, 'I am the person who can help this child live up to their potential. I'm the person that can save this child from potential danger.' So I think it's a little bit of both. It comes from a very good place and it's very natural, but at the same time, it's not automatically good just because you feel it."

Can Master Sol Be Redeemed?

During the roundtable attended by ComicBook, Headland was asked by Screen Rant if Sol can be redeemed for what he did on Brendok.

"I mean, I think it's in the hands of the person harmed," Headland explained. "That's truly what it is. Does Vader deserve redemption? Luke thinks so, and we saw what Anakin did, but Luke believes that. So I think it's in Osha's hands ... To me, it's between the two of them. It's not an easy moral question for the audience to answer."

Stay tuned for more from the roundtable interview ComicBook attended with Leslye Headland. The season finale of Star Wars: The Acolyte drops on Disney+ on July 16th.

Star Wars Outlaws is very much about blending firsts with established pieces of the Star Wars universe. This being the first open-world game and featuring a new protagonist, Kay Vess, are perfect examples of such as are the planets that players will be able to explore in Star Wars Outlaws. Some of those confirmed planets are ones that we've seen in past Star Wars movies and other mediums including Akiva and Tatooine, though there are also brand new locales to explore.

One of those is called Toshara, and it's 100% new to the Star Wars universe thanks to Star Wars Outlaws just like Kay Vess and her companions are. While the other locations mentioned previously are indeed planets, Toshara isn't and is classified as a moon instead.

But in the Star Wars universe where there are already so many different planets that have played countless roles in different Star Wars stories, where does Star Wars Outlaws developer Massive Entertainment start when making a brand new one? During a recent hands-on opportunity with the game, we spoke with art and world director Benedikt Podlesnigg to learn more about Toshara and the work that went into it.

"So, creating a planet that is completely distinct from everything that we've seen was very interesting because in Star Wars, there are many planets. It's a big galaxy," Podlesnigg said. "We have already seen a lot, so the first thing was 'What do we want it to look like? What is the biome?' Star Wars planets usually have just a single biome, but for a game, we wanted to push it a little more to have more variety. So we're looking at 'What could we do?' and one thing that we honed into was the savannah, and especially the African Savannah which was fairly untouched, and it gave us the freedom to add an exotic element onto it."

Along with seedy undertakings, bandits, and more, Toshara is home to a striking topography filled with canyons throughout the moon as well as a unique orangish color made possible by the windiness of the moon and the effects those breezes have on the land.

"Taking that kind of familiar element of the African Savannah, pushing that very strong wind element into it that really shapes the landscape," Podlesnigg continued. "So having an exotic element, that the wind scrapes the crust off this moon, brings forward as an element to create this kind of contrast, [an] orange kind of material. Something I've never seen. Looking at a planetary scale, down at the moon, it's even more substantial so you can see the big canyons."

Star Wars Outlaws is scheduled to release on August 30th.

First announced way back in February 2023, Hasbro finally released the Star Wars The Black Series Ki-Adi-Mundi figure back in May and it sold out super fast. If you missed it, you have a second chance as the figure is back as part of a bundle with a Phase I Clone Trooper. It's in stock and available to order now with an automatic 10% discount applied at checkout here at Entertainment Earth via our exclusive link. Just keep in mind that if you get over the $79 threshold, the shipping charge will be dropped in the US. A 10% discount will automatically be added to any additional in-stock items purchased through the link.

The Star Wars The Black Series Ki-Adi-Mundi figure is inspired by the alien Jedi that appeared in the prequels, complete with an elongated head that makes him look like he comes from the same planet as the Coneheads. The figure includes a lightsaber accessory.

Star Wars: The Acolyte Honors All Eras Of Star Wars

With Star Wars: The Acolyte taking place in The High Republic, the canvas is a lot more open for the creative team to spread their wings. Such an idea makes Leslie Headland very excited. She told Total Film that her approach to the Disney+ series was to include as much Star Wars as possible. So, expect elements from all across the franchise to pop-up in unexpected and delightful ways when The Acolyte streams on Disney+. This has remained a fun element of the current era of Star Wars. Creators can sift through untold tomes of ideas to make their own shows or movies. While paying respect to, and rewarding longterm fans for their investment.

Headland told the site, "It's a show packed with everything I wanted to explore: I wanted EU [Expanded Universe] stuff in there, references to the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace, the Disney sequels... it's absolutely packed. Because you never know, you may not get the chance again."

"[Cinematographer] Chris [Teague] and I talked a lot about honoring George Lucas' camera moves," the showruner continued. "I would say the original trilogy became our touchpoint for how to craft the world, while the Episode I-ness of the show is a bit more thematic."

Disney+ has a new description for the live-action series: "In "Star Wars: The Acolyte," an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems...."

Star Wars: The Acolyte is now streaming, exclusively on Disney+.

The Acolyte initially hooked Star Wars fans with a murder mystery about why a Force-sensitive assassin was killing Jedi. While it was quickly revealed that Mae (Amandla Stenberg) was the killer, the reason for her campaign of vengeance has been kept secret - until now.

With The Acolyte Episode 7 "Choice," we revisit the story told in Episode 3, "Destiny", this time from the perspective of the four Jedi who came to Mae and Osha's home and changed both their lives forever.

The Acolyte Episode 7 Recap (Spoilers)

Stranded on Brendok - The episode opens with a shot of Brendok and the caption "Sixteen Tears Earlier". We find Jedi Knights Sol (Lee Jung-Jae) and Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo), padawan Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman), and Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss) in a forest, using instruments to conduct scientific surveys of the plant life on Brendok. They work in silence until Kelnacca calls out at the sky, where the rumble of thunder soon follows. The Jedi make camp around a small fire; Torbin is having trouble eating a hot meal, but Indara warns her padawan against rejecting a Wookiee's cooking. Torbin is grousing about how the group has been on Brendok for seven weeks, and found no signs of a civilization, and how he wants to go home to Coruscant. Indara warns her padawan not to center himself around negative feelings like anxiety; Torbin explains that he needs inspiration and that their mission is meaningful. Sol counters that they are looking for a "vergence" - i.e, a unique concentration of Force energy around a single location, and a pretty meaningful discovery if they can prove the vergence created life on Brendock, which had been marked as lifeless following the Great Hyperspace Disaster event a century before (which was the opening to Star Wars' High Republic storyline). Sol calls it a noble mission. The next day, the Jedi resume their studies; Indara pulls Sol aside and they discuss the mission and Torbin, with Indara warning Sol against letting his own passion for proving the vergence/life connection cloud his judgment, as Torbin is not the only one struggling with emotional management. She points out that recognizing that difference is why she is ready for a padawan and Sol is not. The Jedi split up and Sol is sent to explore the uncharted Northlands. After taking a speeder bike out of the location, Sol stumbles upon a young Osha and Mae using their Force abilities on some butterfly creatures (as seen in the opening of Episode 3).

[Title Logo Plays]

Witchy Business - Sol follows the girls back to Mother Koril (Margarita Levieva) and the witch coven stronghold, after not being able to contact Indara. Sol infiltrates the stronghold and finds Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) training Osha and Mae in Force-push combat exercises, startling Koril and Aniseya as he departs. Sol finds a group of witches outside the stronghold preparing for the Ascension ceremony that we saw Osha and Mae subjected to. Sol escapes and takes his findings back to Indara and the other Jedi. He deduces that the group is a coven of witches, which gets Torbin worrying that they are up against the Nightsisters. Indara warns against jumping to any conclusions, but Sol pushes back that he saw what looks to be preparations for a ceremony, and that the girls could be in danger of being used. Sol begs Indara to come back with him to the coven and see for herself and she concedes. The Jedi arrive at the coven stronghold, which Torbin recognizes as an old mining site; Inadara wants to go in alone, but Sol is apprehensive about the witches' numbers (over 50). Indara sees it as 50 women and two children who are wary of outsiders, but once again concedes when Sol insists they enter as a team.

Meet The Mother - The Jedi enter the coven stronghold to find Mother Aniseya, Koril, and the witches waiting for them (another replay of Episode 3). This time, we get to see inside of Torbin's mind as Aniseya uses her powers to invade and possess him, using his frustrations and fears about the mission on Brendok against him. We learn that Torbin willingly gave himself over to Aniseya, much like being seduced by the dark side, in exchange for getting back home to Coruscant. Osha declares she wants to be tested by the Jedi, Inadara presses Aniseya for to honor a just request and gets that request granted. Torbin is released and the Jedi depart

Council and Guidance - Back on the ship, Indara confirms in conversation that Sol used the testing as a means to stall for time, and that she plans to contact the Jedi Council on the next moves. Sol confesses to feeling a connection to Osha and wanting to actually test her, but Inadara dismisses it, as the girls are too old and the coven too insular for Osha to ever have a real chance at getting free and becoming a Jedi. Sol uses the implications of the Ascension - Mae being marked and Osha not being marked - as fuel for his desire to act - a passion that Inadara once again warns him against. Torbin is meditating when the coven arrives with Osha and Mae; he takes a blood sample from Mae, who is passed off to Sol and Indara. Mae is impatient and rushes through the test, but Sol exposes her disingenuous answers. When Mae asks to go back to her family, Indara asks what the coven was doing in the courtyard the night before, when the Jedi arrived. Mae tries to explain Ascension after Indara flatters her about her marking, but stumbles when asked what the ultimate purpose of the ceremony is. Mae repeats Mother Aniseya's words that everyone must "walk through fear" and "be sacrificed to their destiny," which the Jedi take more literally than metaphorically. Sol requests a different approach for Osha, and Indara once again concedes. Sol uses his own story of joining the Jedi to inspire Osha, and Inadara is bothered when Osha passes the test. After Osha is gone Indara has Torbin run the blood sample, telling them she'll meet them at their campsite with the results and further instruction from the Jedi Council. At the campsite, Sol grows restless in wait. Indara finally returns with bad news: it's a no from the council. Sol and Torbin are particularly upset by the rejection, with Torbin labeling the witches as dangerous and getting upset when it's mentioned that they still cannot return home to Coruscant. Sol takes a stand against the decision, but Indara warns him yet again not to mess with the destiny of another, because he feels. personally connected to her. Torbin gets back the blood test results, and not only finds the twins have a uniquely high M-count, but identical "symbionts" that mark them as having been artificially created. Sol and Inadara theorize that a vergence was tapped for the Force power required to split one consciousness into two, which would be a miraculous feat.

Fear Leads to Anger Leads to Suffering... - Torbin realizes that Osha and Mae's existence could be his ticket home and takes off on a speeder bike to secure them. Indara sends Sol in pursuit and rallies Kelnacca to go with her on the main ship. As Torbin heads for the coven, Mae, Osha, Mother Aniseya, and Koril have their falling out over Osha's decision to join the Jedi. Aniseya compassionately lets Osha have her wish, but Koril takes Mae aside and riles her up, pushing her to fight against her sister. Aniseya faces the coven and declares she's putting motherhood over her role as a leader; however, Mae disables the door to the stronghold, while witches loyal to Koril help prepare to fight the Jedi. Mae traps Osha in her room; Indara flies the ship over the coven and drops Kelnacca in; Koril and Aniseya have a final falling out about whether to violently respond or not; Mae starts the fire and immediately tries to put it out, but it's too late. Sol and Torbin arrive and find the witches waiting for them. Koril and Aniseya face them, but Sol claims to have noble intentions; however, when he asks how the twins were created, Aniseya and Koril are angered, with Aniseya claiming the Jedi's so-called noble intentions will destroy them one day. Torbin goes for his saber; Mae runs out asking for help with the fire and is mistaken for Osha. Koril and Torbin start to attack each other; Aniseya screams "No!" and turns into a dark mist - a transformation that starts to happen to Mae, as well. Sol panics stabs his lightsaber into the cloud, and ends up impaling Aniseya, who confesses she was trying to calm things and was going to let Osha go. When Aniseya dies, Koril screams for Mae to run, and the witches attack. Koril duels Sol, who refuses to fight back; Torbin holds his own against a squad of archers with energy bows. The fire causes the coven stronghold to begin exploding; Koril turns into mist and vanishes, as do the archers. Koril's voice is heard telling Sol and Torbin they made a mistake bringing him to the stronghold. Torbin insists his mind is ready to resist, but it turns out Koril is referring to Kelnacca, who has been possessed by an entire group of witches chanting a spell. Kelnacca attacks Sol and Torbin, seriously wounding them both (including scarring Torbin's face and maiming his left eye). Sol is nearly strangled by the Wookiee until Indara jumps in, taking down Kelnacca and using the Force to push the witches out of his head. The witches are left unconscious and Indara orders Sol to get the twins as the stronghold becomes an inferno. Sol finds the girls on opposite ends of a collapsing catwalk and chooses to focus his Force powers on saving Osha, instead of Mae.

Stand On That Lie - The Jedi ship heads back to Coruscant. Torbin his ashamed, but Sol is resolute in his choice. Indara and Sol argue and start to come to blows, but settle down their tension. Indara declares that their report to the Jedi Council will be that Mae started the fire and the coven was lost, save for Osha. Sol wants to confess the actual truth, but Indara won't let him off the hook that easy: his confession would almost certainly keep Osha from becoming a Jedi, and that dream is the only thing she has left. Indara makes Sol weigh why he made the choice he did. When Osha wakes up, Sol begins to recite the lie that will come to define him for the next sixteen years.

[End Credits ft. the song "The Power of Two" by Victoria Mon?t]

The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.

shaA few weeks before his work on Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters, one of director Shawn Levy's next blockbusters has gotten a massive update. On Wednesday, reports confirmed that screenwriter Jonathan Tropper will pen the script for Levy's currently-untitled Star Wars movie. Tropper has worked with Levy multiple times over the years, including on 2014's This Is Where I Leave You and 2022's The Adam Project. The news of Tropper's involvement in the film was first reported by The Insneider.

Outside of his work with Levy, Tropper has showrun Apple TV+'s See, and created the television shows Banshee and Warrior. Levy's Star Wars film does not currently have a release date, as the director has prioritized his work on Deadpool & Wolverine and the final season of Netflix's Stranger Things.

What Is Shawn Levy's Star Wars Movie?

Plot details about Levy's Star Wars movie currently remain under wraps. As the director previously revealed, the finished product of his movie will uniquely reflect his storytelling style and connection to the franchise.

"When [Lucasfilm president] Kathy Kennedy brought me on board to make a Star Wars movie, her central mandate to me was, 'I want a Shawn Levy movie. I want a story and a tone that reflects you and your taste and what you bring to your movies -- with a Star Wars story,'" Levy shared with Variety in the fall of 2023. "So I have felt extremely empowered. We are in early days, unfortunately, because the development process was abruptly paused [due to the WGA strike], but I feel very empowered to trust my instincts in the development of this story and movie."

What Is the Next Star Wars Movie?

Directed by Jon Favreau and produced by Favreau, Filoni, and Kathleen Kennedy, The Mandalorian and Grogu will follow the ongoing adventures of Din Djarin / The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and his pint-sized ward, Grogu. The film is confirmed to have a release date of May 22, 2026.

"I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created," Favreau shared in a statement. "The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting."

"Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have ushered into Star Wars two new and beloved characters, and this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen," Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, added.

One of the most controversial plot devices of the Star Wars prequel trilogy is revealing itself to be an important part of Star Wars: The Acolyte. We're talking about midi-chlorians, the microscopic organisms that Qui-Gon Jinn explained to young Anakin Skywalker exist within all living things. A high M-Count in an individual usually means a higher connection to the Force, which is why Anakin's midi-chlorian reading going "off the chart" was such a big deal to the Jedi at the time. This has often been regarded as one of the sillier elements that George Lucas introduced in the prequels, but midi-chlorians are nevertheless making a comeback with the latest Star Wars series.

In the third episode of The Acolyte, Torbin (Dean-Charles Chapman) took an M-Count reading of Mae (Leah Brady) and Osha (Lauren Brady), so fans knew the readings were being used at that point in time. In the penultimate episode of the season this week, The Acolyte doubled down on the device and used it to offer some pivotal information about the twin girls.

Torbin discovered that both of the twins had a high M-Count (not as high as someone like Anakin), but he was also able to see the structure of the midi-chlorians in each of them and figure out that they were carbon copies of one another. Midi-chlorians led to the reveal that Mae and Osha were actually genetic copies, creations from Mother Aniseya that weren't "born" like most other living beings.

The whole midi-chlorian thing doesn't appear much in other parts of the Star Wars timeline, but it makes sense for The Acolyte to be utilizing the readings based on the era in which it takes place. The Acolyte is set near the end of the High Republic Era, about a hundred years before the prequels. With the Jedi at the height of their power as an organization, and clinging to many of the flawed principles that led to their downfall during and after the Clone Wars, it's no surprise to see them using some of their outdated approaches to the Force.

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

Funko is choosing the Dark Side with their latest wave of Star Wars Funko Pops, but there is a bit of light in that darkness, and it comes from a glow-in-the-dark Darth Maul Hologram Specialty Series exclusive. But that's not all! There are bronzed figures, Deluxe Pops like Kylo Ren with Darth Vader's helmet and Darth Vader on the throne, and more.

Below you'll find a complete breakdown of Funko's Star Wars Dark Side Pop figure wave complete with pre-order links. Note that U.S. shipping is free on orders $79+ at Entertainment Earth. You can keep up with all of this week's Funko Pop releases right here.

• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Darth Maul Hologram (Glow): Specialty Series Exclusive
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Darth Maul (Bronzed): Funko Exclusive
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops -Kylo Ren (Bronzed): Target Exclusive
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Darth Vader on Throne: See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Darth Vader in TIE Fighter: See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops -Kylo Ren With Darth Vader's Helmet: See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Emperor Palpetine: See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Emperor Palpetine (Jumbo): See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
  
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Darth Maul: See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon
• Star Wars Dark Side Funko Pops - Count Dooku: See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon

Is Star Wars: The Acolyte Renewed for Season 2?

At the time of this writing, Star Wars: The Acolyte has yet to be renewed for a second season. As showrunner Leslye Headland has already confirmed, Season 1 of the series sets up a narrative arc that can easily dovetail into several more mysteries in a new season.

"I threw everything into season 1, because who knows what's going to happen?" Headland explained. "And then I'd say there are four to five major mysteries and plot points that have to get hit in season 2, but until we get a proper pickup, I worry that spending a lot of time in that world -- especially being in a period where I've worked so long on this project that honestly I'm exhausted by it coming out -- to kind of jump right into like, "All right, season 2...." It will probably be more that I know what needs to happen, and I know what the character development needs to be in order to hit the plot points and the character points for a second, third, or fourth season. So I look forward to working on that, but right now, I haven't."

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th. New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST.

Star Wars Outlaws is indeed an open-world game - a first for Star Wars games overall - but it's still got a mainline narrative to follow that takes every player through the story of Kay Vess, the game's protagonist who's also new to the Star Wars series. To achieve that sense of openness and give players room to create their own unique playthroughs while still maintaining a shared experience, Star Wars Outlaws developer Massive Entertainment employed the use of a reputation system that'll govern what your standing looks like with the different factions at play in the game.

During a hands-on preview of Star Wars Outlaws, ComicBook spoke to John Bj?rling, the associate narrative director working on Star Wars Outlaws, about this reputation system and how it'll give you room to play around with the decisions you'll end up making in-game.

"Because it's an open-world game, and we want a lot of player agency while still telling Kay's story as it should play out, we did try to strike a balance there," Bj?rling said. "What is the best approach to that player agency? And one of the things that we felt was the most valuable to do was focusing on the reputation system where you have these criminal syndicates like the Crimson Dawn, Ashiga Clan, Pykes, and Hutts."

When playing Star Wars Outlaws, it was apparent that even main quests would give players room to make decisions that'd affect your reputation. Actions would sometimes result in popups that said your reputation with one group had increased while it decreased with another faction to indicate that someone really liked what you did, but the other didn't care for it nearly as much. Bj?rling compared Star Wars outlaws to a roller coaster in this sense where you're often thrown into predetermined situations outside of your control, but you can still decide some things for yourself.

"In a lot of cases, you actually get to decide who you focus on and where you want to focus your efforts," he said. "That ecosystem is what we felt was the best focus for that kind of openness. We didn't really want to do something where we have multiple endings or anything like that. We knew that Kay's story needs to go from A to B to C with certain milestones, but give as much freedom and openness in between those."

Star Wars Outlaws is scheduled to release on August 30th.

Star Wars fans will almost certainly get more out of Star Wars Outlaws if they're deeply in tune with the Star Wars universe overall, but do you have to be so invested in the fandom to enjoy the game by itself? According to the game director, Mathias Karlson, the answer is "no," you don't have to be a hardcore fan deeply attached to certain characters or stories before you can get something out of Star Wars Outlaws. Conversely, Karlson says that it's as simple as saying if you can start the game, you can engage with it and finish the story.

Much of that accessibility that Star Wars Outlaws offers can be attributed to Kay Vess, the game's protagonist who's new to the Star Wars franchise herself. As opposed to some of the established characters in the Star Wars universe that already have defined relationships, known stories, and other tricky lore complications to navigate in order to create a cohesive narrative, Karlson says Kay Vess offers a bit of a "blank slate" for players to engage with.

"I think it was one of our very stated objectives that this is a game that everyone should be able to engage with, enjoy," Karlson said. "And if you if you can start it, you can complete it. A big part of that is that Kay and the type of character that she is, is very relatable. And it's a little bit of a blank page in the beginning, but has the personality that very naturally gets into big, tricky situation and takes on new things. So getting a speeder, getting a ship and growing into this world and into what the game has to offer, I think is very approachable because you don't have to have a previous deep attachment to someone or something within Star Wars to latch on."

The factions present in Star Wars Outlaws are another example of how some established elements of Star Wars are mixed with new components a bit at a time so that newcomers and longtime fans can enjoy them. One of the factions, for example, is the Ashiga Clan, a group comprised of the Melitto species which was based out of the planet Kijimi. Both the species and the planet are already known fixtures in Star Wars, but the Ashiga Clan is new. Of course, you also have other well established factions at play, too, like the Hutts which included the infamous Jabba who we already know will be in the game.

Star Wars Outlaws releases on August 30th.

We're nearing the end of the first season of Star Wars: The Acolyte, the new live-action Disney+ that has been a flashpoint of the franchise thus far. The series, which is set during the High Republic era, tackles the histories of a wide array of characters, with identical twins Osha and Mae (Amandla Stenberg) at the center. As The Acolyte's penultimate episode reveals, there has been a lot more to the twins' origin than meets the eye. Major spoilers for Episode 7 of Star Wars: The Acolyte, "Choice", below! Only look if you want to know!

"Choice" is the second episode to flash back to the inciting incident between the Jedi order and coven where Osha and Mae were raised, which appeared to end in all of the witches meeting their demise. Framing the situation around the Jedi's point of view, the episode reveals that the bloodwork they did on Osha and Mae came back with surprising results. Not only are the two young girls twins -- they are completely biologically identical, and possess a very high "M-count" of Midichlorians. The group deduces that Osha and Mae are actually one consciousness split into two bodies by some unknown means. Later in the episode, when a conversation between the two groups turns deadly for one of Osha and Mae's mothers, Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), it is implied that the two girls are somehow physically linked to Aniseya's essence.

Is Star Wars: The Acolyte Renewed for Season 2?

At the time of this writing, Star Wars: The Acolyte has yet to be renewed for a second season. As showrunner Leslye Headland has already confirmed, Season 1 of the series sets up a narrative arc that can easily dovetail into several more mysteries in a new season.

"I threw everything into season 1, because who knows what's going to happen?" Headland explained. "And then I'd say there are four to five major mysteries and plot points that have to get hit in season 2, but until we get a proper pickup, I worry that spending a lot of time in that world -- especially being in a period where I've worked so long on this project that honestly I'm exhausted by it coming out -- to kind of jump right into like, "All right, season 2...." It will probably be more that I know what needs to happen, and I know what the character development needs to be in order to hit the plot points and the character points for a second, third, or fourth season. So I look forward to working on that, but right now, I haven't."

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you purchase one of the awesome products featured above, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

The penultimate episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte's first season was released on Disney+ Tuesday night, and many of the big questions about the show's flashback timeline were finally answered. The third episode of the series was set entirely in the past, telling some of the story of the night on Brendok when the Jedi came for Osha and Mae and their entire coven ended up dead. This week's episode offered another account of those same events, revealing the full picture and delivering a big character twist heading into the Season 1 finale. WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for The Acolyte! Continue reading at your own risk...

Back in the third episode of The Acolyte, there was a scene that featured both Osha and Mae on either side of a collapsing bridge, with Sol on a nearby platform trying to save them. Mae's side of the bridge collapsed, but Sol was able to reach out and save Osha from the same fall (though Mae ultimately survived). In Tuesday's new episode of the series, another perspective on the same sequence painted the events in a different light.

In the penultimate episode, we learned that Sol was actually trying to save both of the twins, using his Force powers to hold up each side of the bridge. But it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to keep that up for very long, potentially risking the lives of both girls. So Sol intentionally let Mae fall, seemingly to her death, so he could save Osha.

Sol had already seen the differing attitudes from the twins when it came to the Jedi and their ways. Osha wanted to be a Jedi, while Mae rebuked them. Sol made a decision to save the one sister who wanted to go about exploring her powers "the right way," in his eyes.

What makes that twist even more impactful is remembering that Osha, his former Padawan, is no longer the sister he's with. Mae took Osha's place on the trip back to Coruscant, which means she's learning the entire truth about Sol's decision to let her die. Of course, Sol already knows he's speaking to Mae, so his honesty might end up winning her over by the time the season wraps up.

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

The first addition to Hasbro's Star Wars The Black Series holiday lineup for 2024 has been revealed, and it's super fun. Specifically, it's a Halloween 2-pack that includes Inquisitor Dracula and a Duros Bounty Hunter Frankenstein. Of course, many will wonder why Christopher Lee's Count Dooku isn't in this set as Dracula. We have to imagine that there's a rights issue involved here, because it's hard to imagine that Hasbro would pass up the opportunity to create the greatest crossover action figure of all-time.

The Star Wars The Black Series Inquisitor and Duros Bounty Hunter Halloween Edition 2-Pack comes with six accessories including a Mynock and an Anzellan. The set appears to have launched at 12am ET on July 9th priced at $44.99, but was listed as "currently unavailable" here on Amazon at the time of writing. The set doesn't appear to be an exclusive, and it may be that it accidentally launched early. That said, keep tabs on that link for a restock. This article will also be updated with new information when it becomes available.

In other Star Wars The Black Series news, Hasbro recently released an electronic helmet inspired by The Acolyte character that fans have dubbed 'Dark Teeth", though Disney appears to be officially calling him 'The Stranger' for the purposes of spoiler-free merchandising.

The helmet is available to pre-order here at Entertainment Earth (free US shipping on orders $79+) priced at $99.99. As always, the helmet is fully wearable. You can also flip the helmet upside down to view illuminating interior lights and press and hold the side button for 3 seconds to start an hour-long collector display mode. Below you'll find additional details on the helmet along with previously released Black Series figures in The Acolyte lineup.

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES THE STRANGER ELECTRONIC HELMET ($99.99): "Reimagine iconic scenes from the Star Wars saga -- and create your own -- with Star Wars helmet and Lightsaber adult roleplay items! This officially licensed roleplay item is based on The Stranger's helmet from the Star Wars: The Acolyte live-action series on Disney+. Featuring highly detailed sculpt and padding for an adjustable fit for most head sizes, fans and collectors can wear the helmet inspired by the mysterious character from the series."

Over the last two years, Disney Dreamlight Valley has featured a wealth of content based on various Disney and Pixar properties. A lot of major characters have been added to the game, but Gameloft has mostly avoided the worlds of Star Wars and the Muppets. That could change in the future, as Disney Dreamlight Valley developer Gameloft has released a new survey about the game, asking about several potential characters and licenses that players would like to see added. Among franchises like Robin Hood, Cars, and Cinderella, it also asks participants about Star Wars and the Muppets, and even lists potential character additions.

Mentions of Star Wars and the Muppets start 23 questions into the survey, in a question about the top three franchises the participant wants to see added. If the participant chooses Star Wars and Muppets from the list, the next questions will ask specifically how they might want to see these franchises represented: via DLC, new Realms, clothing options, or quest lines. The survey then gets into the nitty gritty, asking about specific characters they'd like to see added as new villagers. Grogu is the only Star Wars character listed (no Din Djarin?), while Kermit and Miss Piggy represent the Muppets side.

Back in 2022, ComicBook spoke with Gameloft's Manea Castet about the possibility of Star Wars and Marvel characters appearing in the game. At the time, Castet said that the team was "closing no doors but there is no plan" for characters outside of the traditional Disney and Pixar umbrellas. This survey would seem to suggest that plans have changed a bit, and Gameloft might be looking to expand the types of characters and franchises seen in Dreamlight Valley.

Surveys have become a common way for Disney Dreamlight Valley to gauge the community's interest in changes and new additions to the game before going through with them. In a survey back in January, the developers asked participants if they'd like to see rewards previously exclusive to Star Paths brought back via the Premium Shop. A few months later, Gameloft went through with that decision, so participants likely voted in favor. Basically, if you're a fan of Disney Dreamlight Valley and you want characters like Grogu and Kermit added, you should go take the survey right here and let Gameloft know how you feel!

Would you like to see Star Wars content in Disney Dreamlight Valley? Do you plan on taking the survey? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

We're nearing the end of the first season of Star Wars: The Acolyte, a new live-action Disney+ series which has been sending fans on quite the narrative journey. Set during the High Republic era, The Acolyte is jam-packed with Easter eggs and references to the franchise's publishing initiative -- including some that are hidden in plain sight. An entry on Star Wars' official databank reveals, the name of Vernestra Rwoh's (Rebecca Henderson) ship actually has a surprising tie to her past. The ship is dubbed the Cantaros, after Vernestra's former Padawan Imri Cantaros. Given Vernestra's long lifespan compared to humans, this could potentially signify that Imri already died prior to the events of The Acolyte, and she named the ship after him in his honor.

"Despite being unsettled by hyperspace travel for most of her long life, Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh keeps a ship ready for whenever she needs to leave Coruscant," the description reads. "Named for her former Padawan Imri Cantaros, Vernestra's ship is a Valkeri-Kuat Consolidated Enterprises VKCE-7100x Starcutter, an experimental design with an integrated hyperdrive, a rarity for the era."

Who Is Star Wars' Vernestra Rwoh?

Vernestra "Vern" Rwoh originally made her debut in 2021's A Test of Courage, a young-adult entry in the initial wave of High Republic publishing titles. Written by Justina Ireland, A Test of Courage chronicles Vernestra's early days as the youngest Jedi Knight, taking on the role at the age of 15. A Mirialan who can live for long stretches of time, Vernestra also stands out in the Star Wars mythos for being armed with an elastic lightsaber blade nicknamed a lightwhip.

Since her debut, Vernestra has appeared in an array of High Republic adventures, spanning both the comics and prose novels such as Out of the Shadows, Mission to Disaster, and Defy the Storm.

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you purchase one of the awesome products featured above, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

One lucky Star Wars fans may soon be able to own Princess Leia's iconic bikini from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Heritage Auctions has posted a new listing for the "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (TCF, 1983), Carrie Fisher 'Princess Leia' Production Made Bikini Costume from Richard Miller." It is indeed one of the costumes used in the Return of the Jedi production, and the bidding is set to begin at $30,000.

Carrie Fisher cemented herself as both a movie star with her appearance as Leia in the first act of Return of the Jedi. The opening of the Star Wars original trilogy threequel saw Leia, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) come together to infiltrate the palace of notorious gangster Jabba the Hut and save his captive, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). The plan hits a serious snag early on when Leia (disguised as a bounty hunter) fails to intimidate Jabba into releasing Han. Instead, Leia is exposed and gets taken prisoner by Jabba, who immediately turns her into his personal pet, complete with a chain around her neck and the now-iconic bikini. Leia got the last laugh, of course: when the final showdown came, Leia used her chains to strangle fat slug Jabba to death.

Princess Leia's bikini remains one of the most iconic pieces of movie memorabilia around - so how much would you pay to own it? Find out details of the auction. below.

Per auction description, "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (TCF, 1983), Carrie Fisher 'Princess Leia' Production-Made Bikini Costume from Richard Miller. Without question, Carrie Fisher's 'Slave Leia' costume is among the most memorable in the Star Wars franchise. This iconic 7-piece costume ensemble includes (1) bikini brassiere, (2) bikini plates (front and back), (2) hip rings, (1) armlet, and (1) bracelet, created by ILM Chief Sculptor, Richard Miller. This costume is comprised of resin and urethane production pieces from the sculptor's collection."

"Based on designs by Nilo Rodis-Jamero, Miller created a wire armature on a mannequin created from Carrie Fisher's body cast, then sculpted the details using jewelers' techniques with wax. With the wax sculpts, he produced test castings in resin and finally in red-colored urethane. The bikini brassiere is the early version crafted of rigid resin and is production-used, as evidenced by eye hook on-set repair and glue residue on the interior surface from attempts to add material to make it more comfortable for Fisher. The textile elements, including brown faux-suede lining and skirt veils, are recreated for display, as well as the leather cording and wig. Miller can be seen discussing the creation of Leia's bikini in the documentary on YouTube entitled 'Behind the Scenes of Star Wars the Original Trilogy ILM Special Effects Makers' (timestamp approx. 49:55 - 52:04). Ensemble exhibits age and production wear with hardening of urethane on armlet and bracelet. Comes with a signed LOA from Lorne Peterson, ILM veteran of 33 years, who hired Richard Miller to create Leia's slave costume. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions."

Star Wars: The Mandalorian is confirmed to have a fourth season on Disney+, but that's not the only place fans will be able to watch the adventures of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu. It was previously announced that The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau will be directing a new feature film titled Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is confirmed for a 2026 release date. Not much is known about the project, but there have been some big casting rumors and a few teases since the film was announced. It's unclear which characters from The Mandalorian will be popping up in the new film, and one star from the show recently revealed she hasn't been approached by Lucasfilm about the project.

Emily Swallow (The Armorer) recently spoke with Screen Rant and was asked if she has heard anything about joining The Mandalorian and Grogu. "No," Swallow shared. When the interviewer added that they hope Swallow gets a call to join the project soon, she replied, "I hope so, too."

Emily Swallow Talks ADR in Star Wars:

In a recent appearance at MCM London (via Popverse), Swallow recalled how many ADR lines changed from what was originally filmed in her The Book of Boba Fett scenes. While Swallow didn't share exactly what had changed, she explained how wearing the Mandalorian helmets caused some difficulties, but ultimately allowed the filmmakers to alter lines easier.

"We need that connection in the scenes. It wouldn't play the same," Swallow recalled of not being able to hear fellow actors. "You can't see our lips move -- it wouldn't play the same if we were sort of guessing what the other one was saying. It wouldn't have the right energy. There is still a timing to it. There's still a connection to it."

"My episode of The Book of Boba Fett, I spend three or four hours in an ADR session -- which, if you don't know, stands for Additional Dialogue Recording, and it's when you have to record stuff after you've already shot it -- because they changed so many of the lines. Which you can do when you can't see somebody's mouth open," she added.

Stay tuned for more updates about Star Wars. Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu is scheduled to be released in 2026. In the meantime, you can watch new episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte on Disney+ every Tuesday.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian is expected to return to Disney+ for a fourth season. Currently, it's unclear when Lucasfilm plans to end The Mandalorian, but Dave Filoni is eventually going to direct a movie that will culminate the Disney+ shows that take place in that era such as Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett and Star Wars: Ahsoka. While Ahsoka is already confirmed to be getting a second season, there's no word on the future of The Book of Boba Fett. However, Boba Fett actor Temuera Morrison has an idea for how his character could return...

Morrison recently appeared at MCM London Comic Con (via Yahoo!) and addressed The Book of Boba Fett episode, "Return of the Mandalorian." While fans agreed it was a good episode of television, it was also an odd choice to put focus on Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his storyline from The Mandalorian during Boba Fett's show. Morrison now believes it's his turn to take over someone else's show.

"I would actually like my character to visit The Mandalorian, the Mando fort or something, and come in there and kick some real serious a** as well," Morrison shared. "The way he did and came into my show, and stole an episode of my show - so I'd like to do the same thing."

Temuera Morrison Addresses The Book of Boba Fett Season 2:

"No word yet. I don't even know if there is going to be a Season 2," Morrison shared with Newshub in December. "I don't know what's going on. We're coming out of this downtime period so I think everyone is settling back in and it all goes back to budgets and what they want to do and how much everything costs. I really don't know. Judging by the fans I've met, they all want a Season 2 of Boba Fett, but I don't know what's going to happen."

Morrison first revived Fett in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, continuing the character's story after he fell into the Sarlacc pit in 1983's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The Book of Boba Fett revealed what happened to the character after his apparent death while detailing the aftermath of his time spent with Din Djarin.

Stay tuned for more updates about the Star Wars shows on Disney+. Currently, you can watch new episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte on the streaming site every Tuesday.

Even before Star Wars: The Acolyte had been made available for public viewing, the series was scoring negative reviews from users across multiple platforms, confirming the old adage that no one hates Star Wars as much as Star Wars fans. In the weeks since the series has premiered, the series has continued to amass scatching reviews from users, though series creator Leslye Headland confirmed that not only did she anticipate such a response, but that she isn't at all bothered by it. While some of these negative reactions are seemingly done in good faith, The Acolyte is clearly the most recent target of the trend in the last few years of trolls attempting to overwhelm movies and TV series that have diverse characters or progressive themes.

"Everybody knows what review bombing is like. Truly when the show first came out, my publicist was like, 'OK, with the review...' I was like, 'Does anybody take that seriously anymore?'" Headland confirmed to Collider. "I understand the point of it, which is that the average viewer would look at the site and say, 'Oh, the user review is really low.' But I think that, if you're in the Star Wars fandom, I think you already know what review bombing is."

She continued, "So I guess if you're totally new to the fandom and you're considering watching the show, it could affect you. But I also think that my work in the past has been very word-of-mouth anyway, so I don't know if it ... I think that because, behind the scenes, we all know what it is -- it's not that it's not concerning -- but I think it's pretty expected. I would say."

One of the first major instances of audiences review bombing a project before its release was the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, with its first trailer earning a tremendous number of "thumbs down" votes. The film even contained a joke mocking people who decried the female-led revival.

In 2019, even with the massive success of virtually every entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe among fans, the Brie Larson-starring Captain Marvel became such a major target for trolls that review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes even had to change its policies for user reviews, requiring users to confirm they purchased a ticket for the film before offering an opinion.

Confirming Headland's point, review bombing has become so commonplace among any piece of media that doesn't meet the approval of the broadest audiences imaginable that these incidents hardly even register with anyone anymore.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte premiere on Disney+ on Tuesdays.

What do you think of the filmmaker's remarks? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

Star Wars: The Acolyte changed the game for the series and the larger franchise with Episode 5's reveal of The Master (or "The Stranger"), who proved to have the dark side powers of a true Sith. However, there were just as many new questions as there were answers when it was revealed that affable and goofy smuggler Qimir (Manny Jacinto) was the murderous villain under The Stranger's helmet - not to mention the The Acolyte throwing in a Parent Trap plot turn, which saw twin sisters Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) switch places to get first-hand views of master the other sister chose to follow.

But did the light/dark side trade-off have a profound effect on Mae and/or Osha? And what more do we learn about Qimir and the nature of his dark side powers, as well as his grudge against the Jedi?

The Acolyte Episode 6 "Teach/Corrupt" Recap (SPOILERS)

Wrong Side of the Bed - Osha wakes up in a bed in a strange cavern-like dwelling. She finds the wound on her side to be treated and bandaged. Osha cautiously gets out of bed and starts surveying her surroundings, finding a canteen of water that she drinks down greedily. Osha spots some kind of critter native to place she's in - she also finds a pile of clothes with "The Master's" cloak in it. Osha walks out of the cavern and finds she's on a plush island surrounded by a violent ocean.

[Title Logo Appears]

Meet the Master - A wider shot of the "Unknown Planet" Osha is on reveals a second, smaller, island nearby with ship docked on a thin strip of land. Osha emerges from the cavern and walks onto the rocky beach - where she spots Qimir walking along the shore a ways ahead of her. Osha crouches low and follows after him.

Calling For Help - Sol 's (Lee Jung-jae) ship takes off from the Planet Khofar. A battered Sol calls into the Jedi Temple to report what happened in the battle with The Stranger. Sol hesitates before confirming that his entire team of Jedi are dead. The transmission is garbled and broken; Sol cuts it off rather than making a second attempt. Meanwhile, Mae sneaks through Sol's ship, finding herself flooded by memories of when she was last on it, taking the test to be a Jedi as a young girl (see Episode 3). Mae hears Sol in the cockpit attempting to call for help; she sneaks up on him brandishing one of her throwing knives, ready to strike; instead, Sol calls to "Osha" saying he's attempting to reset the communications transceiver and asks her to pilot in his place. Sol goes down to the ship, where he's overcome by emotion and grief. When Sol departs, tracker-critter Bazil emerges from his hiding spot and embarks on his own side-mission: getting the head of Osha's droid Pip recharged.

Bath Time - Qimir makes his way down a path to a calm water pool in a secluded enclave. Osha sneaks up behind him, stealing Qimir's lightsaber from his piles of clothes. Osha pops out and orders Qimir not to make any sudden moves, fully understanding the danger of his power. Qimir takes a relaxed, unbothered, approach, asking Osha if it feels good to hold a lightsaber again and how it's probably the first time since she left the Jedi Order. QImir coaches her on her stance and says that if Osha isn't coming into the water if he can get dressed again. Standing naked before Osha, Qimir gets her off-balance by seemingly reading her thoughts and doubts about just killing him there, unarmed, explaining that her anger betrays her thoughts. Osha asks why she was abducted instead of murdered; Qimir points out that she's holding the lightsaber and has the power. Osha inquires if Sol and Mae were killed - giving Qimir another opening to call out her asking about Sol first. Qimir gets under Ohsa's skin, critiquing the intimate nature of the master-student relationship with Sol. Qimir gets dressed and grabs his bag, walking away calmly. Osha follows, still clutching the lightsaber.

Off The Books - Mae docks Sol's drop-ship with its main thrusters in orbit above Khofar. Sol returns to the cockpit and unexpectedly grabs Mae and embraces her in a hug. He thanks "Osha" for saving him from the dark place he went to during the fight with Qimir, nearly slaughtering the villain. Sol solemnly proclaims that he's sorry, and it's time to tell Osha the entire truth of what happened on Brendok, sixteen years ago. Before Sol can tell his story, the comms come back on, with the Jedi temple attempting to get clarity about Sol's transmission. When Sol tries the comms, the lights on the entire ship go out; Sol looks at Mae for an awkward moment before asking "Osha" if she can go examine the problem (since she's a mechanic). Mae snaps back into character, saying she'll need a few minutes. Back on Coruscant, Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) is making a call to Senator Isedwa Chuwant about the increasing popularity of a Senator named Rayencourt, who is making the Jedi presence in the expansion territories unpopular. Vernestra is approached by a fellow Jedi named Mog (Harry Trevaldwyn), who informs him about Sol's distress call and the news that the entire team of Jedi was killed. Vernestra is clearly disturbed by the news and orders Mog to get Sol back on comms. When Mog asks why Sol and his team were on Khofar, Vernestra replies that she sent him there.

It's Your Force - Osha catches up to Qimir, asking if he is a Jedi. Qimir explains that he was a Jedi a long time ago - much longer than Osha might assume. She asks Qimir why he really brought her there, and he deflects by asking what she thinks the reason is. Osha deduces that it could be a leverage play: by having her with him, Qimir can bait Sol into coming to him, instead of hunting his enemy down. When Osha asserts that Sol's strength in the Force will help him beat Qimir, Qimir counters that someone should've taught Osha that the power of the Force actually belonged to her. Qimir offers to let her leave - if she can swim to the ship on the other island - or join him for a meal. Osha takes a long look at the ship but follows Qimir.

Mae vs. Support Staff - Mae heads into the bowels of Sol's ship and gets jumped by Bazil. After doing some unimpressive martial arts Bazil stomps on her foot, while Pip uses the ship's controls to squirt oil into her eye. Mae retaliates by taking Pip's head off its dock and rebooting the droid, to follow her commands (switching Pip to a display of red lights)

The Sith Way - Osha is curious about what Qimir meant about 'her Force.' As he cooks, Qimir gives his sales pitch, saying that the Jedi's method of accessing the Force is just one way; that emotions like fear, anger, or desire are another way to get there. Isha recognizes the rhetoric as the pathway to the dark side, which Qimir calls "semantics." He rationalizes the Jedi he killed as survival, defending his own existence; that Yord's principals made him betray Osha's friendship, while Jecki would've only been loyal to the Jedi Order. Qimir questions why Osha shows such loyalty to those who can never love her back the same way. Osha proclaims that she's not as easily corrupted as Mae was and walks outside; Qimir follows, grabbing Osha's hand and his own lightsaber and demanding she complete her goal of destroying him. Qimir goads her into acknowledging her feelings of anger and acting on them, saying that it was that anger - that darkness - the Jedi saw in her, causing them to 'throw her away.' Osha denies that take, but when Qimir keeps asking why she isn't a Jedi, Osha loses it, sparking the lightsaber and holding it to Qimir's neck, saying she failed to make it as a Jedi. Qimir shares that he too knows that pain, as failing to become a Jedi made him lose everything - and that only after losing everything did he gain freedom. Osha relaxes her grip on the saber.

Not Fooling Anyone - Vernestra approaches Mog about leaving the temple and heading to Khofar to investigate what happened to Sol. Mog reminds her that hyperspace travel makes her ill, but Vernestra insists that this matter is one she has to investigate herself. Rwoh, Mog, and several other Jedi board a ship. Back on Sol's ship, Mae returns to the main den of the ship and finds Sol brooding over his blindspot in sensing Qimir's dark side power when they first met him on Olega (Ep. 2). Mae tries to play her part, telling Sol in semi-self-confession that personal feelings create personal delusions, making us see what we want to see and miss obvious truths. Sol switches to talking about "Osha" being reunited with PIP, and Mae clearly doesn't have the same emotional connection to the droid. Sol presses by saying he admires Osha's love of even a droid being, and Mae spins that into saying her actual family bonds were destroyed by the Jedi. Sol apologizes if her feelings about her experience are that bad - but Mae questions if there is any other way to feel. She presses him to confess what happened on Brendok, but Sol demurs. The ship lights come back on and Mae goes to the cockpit to send a comms message - only to be shot with a stun beam by Sol, who shakes his head sadly, calling "Mae" by her name. Bazil and PIP are shocked, but when a Jedi calls the ship saying the rescue team is inbound, Sol inexplicably turns off his locator and hits the hyperspace drive, jumping away just as Vernestra, Mog, and co. arrive. Vernestra's ship lands on Khofar and Mog interviews those at the camp site where Sol parked his ship. Mog comes away with a story about the giant insects that Sol's party encountered in the forest, saying that locals suspect the Jedi wandered into a hive of the bugs and were killed that way. Vernestra says it's a possible explanation, but leads her team into the woods, regardless.

Seduction of the Dark Side - Osha watches Qimir repair his helmet and asks if he's simply repeating the same pitch he gave to Mae. QImir admits that he misjudged Mae as someone who wanted more than revenge - to become a second dark side power to his own. Ohsa spots a gnarly, crooked scar lining Qimir's back and asks how he got it; Qimir claims it came from "someone who threw me away," but won't confirm if it was his Jedi master, or someone else. Qimir switches topics to talk about his cortosis helmet, revealing that it's a sensory-deprivation helmet, that brings him into greater attunement with the Force when fighting. He invites Osha to put it on and see what visions the Force reveals to her; Osha says she doesn't trust Qimir enough to do that, and he counters that she only needs to trust herself.

True Detective: Jedi - Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar's corpses are still lying in the dirt of the Khofar forest outside Kelnacca's hut, as Vernestra, Mog, and co. all come upon the grisly scene. Vernestra can hear the echoes of what happened through the Force, but says nothing, inquiring what Mog sees before him. Mog's reading is that a single powerful Force user battled and killed the Jedi - and he wonders aloud if Master Sol could've fallen to the dark side. Vernestra refuses to confirm such a wild leap of speculation - but also doesn't dismiss it entirely. As she and Mog are talking one of the giant bugs still nearby attacks; Rwoh slashes the bug in half without looking, using her whip-style lightsaber. When Mog wonders who else would have the power to kill so many Jedi, Rwoh quietly recites the earlier thought from Sol that Mae's Master was trying to tip the scales of balance in the Force - almost like it reminded her of something. When Mog then questions why Sol would send a distress signal if he was the killer, Rwoh orders everyone back to the ship to prepare the bodies for burial.

Right Side of the Bed - Mae wakes up on a bed in Sol's ship, in restraints. Sol is sitting in the shadows watching her, claiming he means her no harm. Mae wants to be let go and Sol pledges he will, as they need to find and defeat Qimir and save Osha. But first, Sol says he and Mae are going to have a conversation that he's been waiting sixteen years to have, and he's making sure she will have to listen.

Visions of the Dark Side - Alone in Qimir's lair, Osha approaches the cortosis helmet and touches it. She feels the metal and seems to notice more of the ore lining the walls of the cave. Osha puts the helmet on her head and we get her perspective inside the helmet, barely seeing light through the thin slit for the eyes, before the light fades altogether and all we hear is the sound of her breathing in the darkness.

[End Credits]

Star Wars: The Acolyte Streams new episodes on Disney+.

Star Wars: The Acolyte has offered plenty of things for the Internet to unpack, from shocking plot twists to fascinating additions to the franchise's High Republic canon. The series' most recent episode, "Teach/Corrupt", was no exception, particularly with regards to the storyline involving Qimir / The Stranger (Manny Jacinto) and Osha (Amandla Stenberg). All of the duo's scenes together in Episode 6 took place on an "Unknown Planet", which fans instantly speculated might be Ahch-To, the planet where much of 2018's Star Wars: The Last Jedi takes place. As The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland revealed in a new interview with Collider, the "Unknown Planet" isn't actually Ahch-To, but it was designed to look familiar to that planet in a meaningful way.

"It's not Ahch-To," Headland explained. "I know it's similar, and it was intentionally supposed to be similar in terms of terrain and feeling isolated and surrounded by water and less lush green and more rocky. But the idea is that cortosis is mined on this planet, so I don't think that's the case with Ahch-To. Part of the reason this is his home base is that cortosis is a very rare metal. I don't think we say it explicitly in the show, but that's a reason it's not Ahch-To."

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you purchase one of the awesome products featured above, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 6 "Teach/Corrupt" depicted the aftermath of Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and his fellow Jedi battling a dark side warrior known as "The Stranger," who was eventually revealed to be the true identity of smuggler Qimir (Manny Jacinto). Every Jedi on the team but Sol was killed in the fight, while twin sisters Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) switched places and masters, with Mae being confronted by Sol, while Osha faced corruption from Qimir.

Like so much of The Acolyte, There wasn't a direct line of connection between the High Republic era of The Acolyte and the Skywalker Saga, but fans have still noticed some interesting connections between the expanded story of Qimir and two of Star Wars' biggest Sith Lords...

There have been many theories that The Acolyte's position on the Star Wars timeline (about a century before the Skywalker Saga begins) is a clear indication that the series will track the line of Sith Lords that eventually culminate in the rise of Darth Sidious and the Sith conquering the galaxy for decades. After the appearance of The Stranger/Qimir and new details from Episode 6, fans now see a line of Sith succession taking shape that could fill in a pivotal piece of history.

Is The Acolyte Introducing Darth Tenebrous & Darth Plagueis?

Darth Tenebrous and Darth Plagueis are two names that are known within Star Wars canon (and the unofficial "Legends" universe) as the predecessors to Darth Sidious (aka Emperor Palpatine). Plagueis is more well-known, thanks to Palpatine's monologue about him in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Tenebrous was the master of Plagueis, and has far less of a defined arc or characterization in Star Wars canon.

The Acolyte Episode 6 revealed an "Unknown Planet" where Qimir hides out - a planet whose design seemed in line with a pivotal Star Wars world: Bal'demnic. According to "Legends" lore, Bal'demnic is an ocean planet peppered with "rocky tropical islands"; it was an obscure planet located in the Outer Rim territories and one that was distinguished by being abundant with one key element: cortosis. For that reason, Darth Tenebrous learned of the deposits of cortosis on Bal'demnic and seized them along with his apprentice, Darth Plagueis. Plagueis would turn on Tenebrous, murdering him on Bal'demnic, and keeping the planet and its cortosis off the radar of galactic politics until the Clone Wars, when the Confederacy of Systems (secretly led by Sith Lords) came looking for the ore.

As seen in The Acolyte Episode 5, "The Stranger" has harnessed cortosis for his gauntlets and helmet, giving him a powerful edge to both block and temporarily short-circuit lightsabers. Showrunner Leslye Headland pulled cortosis straight from Legends lore; she indicated that it was only part of the Legends mythos she was pulling into the main canon and that revealing the other borrowed elements would result in massive spoilers.

So to review: Cortosis now canon, and a mysterious Sith is running around wearing it while hanging out on a planet that may also tie back to the Legends mythology. How hard is it to assume that the rest of the Legends story will become canon?

The Sith Story Is Not Official

The fact of the matter is that any "truth" about the Sith that came before Palpatine is wrapped in thick folds of mystery and deceit. The dark lords conspired in secret for a century (or more) before Sidious was exposed, and any details about their race, gender, or physical appearance that we've seen or heard in canon have been through third-party accounts, historical logs, or auxiliary canon like official companion books to films, etc.

That's all to say: there's no official record about the actual people behind the Sith names "Tenebrous" and "Plagueis," just scarce details of information from indirect sources. If it turns out that Qimir is Darth Tenebrous, and his acolyte becomes Plagueis, or Qimir's true "Master" turns out to be Tenebrous and Qimir is revealed to be Plagueis (hence the hints in Episode 6 that he's lived an unnaturally long life). Either way, the truth of the Sith's identity will likely be covered up or lost (if everyone who knew dies), and the myths about Tenebrous and Plagueis overwrite the real story.

We'll find out as The Acolyte wraps up its run in. the final two episodes.

One of the major challenges with Star Wars stories featuring helmeted characters is that audiences don't get to see emotions on a character's face, but the advantage of these restrictions is that recording dialogue for these characters can allow for changes long after filming, with Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett star Emily Swallow recalling how many ADR lines changed from what was originally filmed. The actor didn't detail exactly what about the role had changed, though pointed out how wearing the helmets caused some difficulties yet ultimately allowed the filmmakers to tell the best story they could.

"We need that connection in the scenes. It wouldn't play the same," Swallow recalled of not being able to hear fellow actors while at MCM London back in May, per Popverse. "You can't see our lips move -- it wouldn't play the same if we were sort of guessing what the other one was saying. It wouldn't have the right energy. There is still a timing to it. There's still a connection to it."

She continued, "My episode of The Book of Boba Fett, I spend three or four hours in an ADR session -- which, if you don't know, stands for Additional Dialogue Recording, and it's when you have to record stuff after you've already shot it -- because they changed so many of the lines. Which you can do when you can't see somebody's mouth open."

The embrace of ADR for The Book of Boba Fett or The Mandalorian isn't entirely unexpected, as countless other movies and TV shows utilize the filmmaking technique to tweak a project in post-production, though many of those projects have limited options of needing a character to be off-screen to insert dialogue that sounds organic. Given that The Book of Boba Fett didn't undergo massive reshoots, it would seem unlikely that any significant changes were made to the overall trajectory of the series in post-production, yet the extensive ADR confirms more fine-tuning than what Swallow seemingly experienced with The Mandalorian.

While fans can likely expect Swallow to be involved in the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, it's currently unknown if there will ever be a Season 2 of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. Based on how many characters overlap between these series, and with Dave Filoni developing an original movie set during this time period, it's expected we'll also see Boba Fett again, yet it's unknown when or where.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, and The Mandalorian & Grogu.

What do you think of the actor's remarks? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

Last week's episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte showed fans some of the most unique ways for a Force-user to wield a lightsaber. The sixth episode of the series, which hit Disney+ on Tuesday night, brought to life another unique element of the iconic weapons. A variation of the lightsaber known as a lightwhip has only appeared in comics and text to this point, but the new edition of The Acolyte brought it into live action.

Vernestra Rwoh has been a recurring character throughout the High Republic era books and comics, and has become the most famous wielder of a lightwhip throughout canon. Rebecca Henderson plays Vernestra in The Acolyte, and her latest appearance in Tuesday's new episode of the series featured her weapon for the first time. Star Wars fans that have been reading about the character's lightwhip got to see it used in real time.

For those wondering how the lightwhip works, it's not all that different from a lightsaber, it just takes an enormous amount of control. They are essentially modified lightsabers that have flexible containment shields, allowing for a more fluid and flexible blade to be utilized.

Vernestra's lightwhip is a lightsaber most of the time, but it has an option for the whip to be utilized instead of the standard saber blade. In the new episode of The Acolyte, Vernestra brought out the purple saber blade and activated the whip when she sensed a dangerous creature lurking in the trees behind her.

If you had told me a few years ago, we'd be seeing a lightwhip on screen, let alone in live action, I probably would have called you mad!

Maybe tonight we'll get to see Vernestra bust it out and show everyone why she made Knight at 16? #TheAcolyte pic.twitter.com/xXzNbVYHMV

-- Ice (@iceskyguy) July 3, 2024

Given where The Acolyte's story is with two episodes left, it stands to reason that this won't be the last time we see Vernestra's unique weapon. She's trying to piece together what happened to Sol's team that cost so many Jedi their lives, and a potential conflict with Qimir is looming.

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

Spoilers follow for Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 6! After the surprise events of last week's episode of The Acolyte fans were greeted to a slower start to the series with Osha having been taken by The Stranger/Qimir to a new planet. In a move that feels very much not like Star Wars, their location isn't revealed at all, with a title card calling it an "Unknown Planet." It's surprising that this would be done considering Star Wars has never shied away from introducing new planets for the first time via a similar method, so why not do it in this case? Is it because it's a planet we already know?

Star Wars fans were quick to immediately notice the similarities in the atmosphere and terrain looked VERY similar to Ahch-To, the planet where Luke Skywalker has exiled himself in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. From a larger storytelling perspective it would make since for The Stranger/Qimir to have made his way there since the planet has a history with the Jedi Order's origins. As fans are well aware though, there's a sinister side to Ahch-To as well, like the cave where Rey was briefly tempted by the Dark Side, which could very well have been a lure for Qimir too.

There's at least some evidence in favor of this "Unknown Planet" NOT being Ahch-To however. First of all, the wildlife. Only a family of tiny little creatures are seen on the planet and even though they bare a slight resemblance to the Thala-sirens seen on Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we can't rightly say they're related. The other notable inhabitants of Ahch-To in the sequel trilogy are of course the Lanai (aka the Caretakers) and the Porgs, neither of which are seen here.

If the "Unknown Planet" ISN'T Ahch-To, the other likely candidate is Bal'demnic. Another rocky/ocean planet, Bal'demnic is notable for being a major location in the Darth Plagueis novel by James Luceno. In that book, and in Star Wars canon, the planet of Bal'demnic became very valuable for Plagueis because of its rich cortosis mines. The latest episode of The Acolyte not only brought up cortosis once again, but even let The Stranger/Qimir explain it to Osha and the benefits that it offered when fighting against jedi.

If the "Unknown Planet" was in fact Bal'demnic it would make sense for that fact alone; however it brings up a major question, why not just say it's Bal'demnic? Why the secrecy? Only two episodes remain of Star Wars: The Acolyte season one, so the reveal of what this "Unknown Planet" really is will likely be revealed in some way soon, but right now there are two major answers that seem likely.

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres new episode on Disney+ every Tuesday at 9 PM ET.

Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 5 introduced a lot of fans to a game-changing new piece of Star Wars technology: cortosis armor. The ancient metal dates back to the Old Republic's Jedi-Sith War; it has the unique ability to create a feedback loop in lightsabers that strike it, temporarily shorting them out. Now, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland is opening up about how she pulled from the Star Wars Legends section of the franchise to bring cortosis armor into mainstream live-action TV!

During an interview with Inverse, Headland was asked about whether or not cortosis was the only piece Star Wars Legends mythos The Acolyte was bringing into the official canon. Headland admitted that it wasn't (though she couldn't reveal what else they borrowed), and also explained why she picked cortosis for The Acolyte:

"It's a spoiler, though... but cortosis was a big one. It's a tricky thing because you respect George Lucas in the sense that you don't want to weaken the power of a lightsaber. It's almost hallowed in that sense, not just within the series, but in pop culture. But cortosis was such a great new element, and I had always thought of it as such a cool thing to incorporate."

Headland went on to describe the challenge of taking cortosis and making it into an actual tangible material within the reality of the show, and creating the larger lore around it:

"[Lucasfilm lore consultant] Pablo Hidalgo and I worked a lot on the machinations of it before we started designing it. It was very important that it be breakable, that it basically not be super hard. It's why Jecki can get the helmet off him so quickly. It's kind of a brittle thing. There's also a limited resource of it, which is why he doesn't have a whole suit of armor, and it only works for maybe a minute. We worked really hard on what it would look like, because we didn't want it to look too powerful or too goofy. Pablo, [visual artist] Rob Bredow, and I talked a lot about it. So that's the cortosis story, but the other Legends stuff we can talk about after the finale."

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ACOLYTE EPISODES 1-5 FOLLOW!

Cortosis armor was part of the attire worn by "The Stranger," aka the mysterious Sith "Master" that was training Mae (Amandla Stenberg). The Stranger was also revealed to be Qimir (Manny Jacinto), the man who pretended to be assisting Mae on behalf of her master.

Star Wars fans were thrilled to see the way Qimir used his cortosis gauntlets and helmet in brawler-style fight sequences against the Jedi. The defensive capability of the armor created deadly offensive openings for Qimir to strike down Jedi, in the moments when they were baffled by the failure of their lightsabers.

More importantly, the inclusion of cortosis armor has once again shined a light on the Star Wars Legends brand, which was the playground of expansive ideas for the franchise for decades before Disney took over. And The Acolyte's use of cortosis is further proof of why.

Star Wars: The Acolyte streams on Disney+.

Mercedes Mon? has been busy since exiting WWE. The former Sasha Banks departed the sports-entertainment giant in 2022 and took her talents to New Japan Pro Wrestling. Within a couple of weeks of her debut, Mon? captured the IWGP Women's Championship, and her work outside of wrestling allowed for that newly-minted title to be paraded around places New Japan never went before. Mon? brought the IWGP Women's Championship to The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere, a show she guest-starred in as Mandalorian warrior Koska Reeves. Mon?'s role within the galaxy far, far away represents one of the biggest Hollywood gigs a wrestler has landed while maintaining his or her full-time in-ring career.

WWE "Tried So Hard" to Block Mercedes Mon?'s Star Wars Role

WWE did not want The Boss in Star Wars.

Speaking to Hot 97, AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mon? reflected on getting her start in acting when she debuted on The Mandalorian Season 1 in Fall 2020. At the time, Mon? wrestled as Sasha Banks for WWE, and her employer was not keen on letting her take on the intergalactic project.

"I love WWE, but they tried so hard to not make me do The Mandalorian," Mon? said. "[They] put me on house shows when I was supposed to film. It was pulling teeth just to get on that show, just to be a part of that show."

Mon? has appeared in five total episodes of The Mandalorian across the show's second and third seasons. Depending on whether she was present at The Mandalorian Season 3 reshoots, all five of those episodes were shot while she was still under WWE contract.

"With these new doors of opportunity here at AEW, I have all the time in the world to go do acting and more," Mon? praised her new employer. "(AEW President) Tony Khan will pick me up on the private jet to take me to the shows and back to the other show to film. It's so beautiful. It's so cool that I get these new doors, and I feel like it's just the universe being like, 'We want you to be this beautiful superstar that we see you as.'"

Mon? has since acted in a feature film, starring opposite Lucas Till and Ruby Rose in The Collective (2023). Today, Mon? wrestles every Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.

Star Wars fans met their new favorite villain last week, as Star Wars: The Acolyte used its fifth episode to flip the script on its own story and reveal Manny Jacinto's Qimir as the Sith presence looming large over the season. Jacinto's character, known also as the Stranger, has become the talk of the galaxy over the past week, and fans are clearly ready to see more of him over the last three episodes of The Acolyte Season 1. As it turns out, however, the Stranger wasn't supposed to be featured much on the show after his big Episode 5 reveal.

Speaking to Inverse, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland said that the plan was to tuck Qimir back into the shadows after his identity was revealed, saving him for a bigger story in Season 2. Once she saw Jacinto in the role, though, she knew she had to change some things.

"This is an interesting tidbit: Originally, even up until shooting, The Stranger was not in a lot of the rest of the season," Headland revealed. "He was much more of a tee-up for a second season arc. But I saw Manny's screen test early on in pre-production and I just thought, 'There will be riots in the streets if I don't [go further]. Here we go, I guess I'm rewriting an episode.' Manny was so impressive in every aspect.'

Headland also revealed that the Stranger initially had a bunch of armor during his big Episode 5 fight. But the creative team believed Qimir would've had the confidence to believe that he wouldn't get hit at all, making any cumbersome armor unnecessary.

"So much of Qimir was understanding how to use your body and not just standing there in a suit or being encumbered by a suit," the showrunner explained. "We were like, 'We have to get him in something more flowy.' As soon as I said he didn't have to wear armor, everyone lost their mind. 'How can you not have armor?' I was like, 'Why would you wear armor if you're not going to get hit?'"

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

The ComicBook Nation crew reviews the A Quiet Place prequel Day One, and discuss The Acolyte's big reveal of "The Stranger," The Bear Season 3 and Suicide Squad Anime debuts, and some bloody new episodes of The Boys Season 4 and House of the Dragon Season 2.

PLUS: Geek news rundown includes the Batman: Caped Crusader trailer, Warner Bros. changing things up with HBO and Max, the Suicide Squad Isekai anime and what Marvel Studios needs to do in Hall H at SDCC to renew faith in the MCU!

A Quiet Place: Day One Review

Here's what ComicBook Nation Host Kofi Outlaw had to say in his 2.5 (out of 5) star review of A Quiet Place: Day One:

Even by the end, given the story premise and where we know the connective threads (like Djimon Hounsou's Henri) lead, there's little to feel good about or celebrate. It's a bad sign when concern for the animal protagonist is the driving force of a horror movie.

A Quiet Place: Day One would've been a compelling indie horror film about a doomed woman facing an apocalyptic situation, but after the heights the franchise has reached and all the promises that came with the prequel, the end result is a fine film that is comparatively the worst entry in an otherwise excellent horror franchise.

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LEGO is adding to their lineup of Star Wars sets that celebrate the 25th anniversary of their partnership with Lucasfilm with the Creative Play Droid Builder (75392), the Desert Skiff & Sarlacc Pit (75396), and C-3PO (75398). All of these sets will officially launch on July 31st / August 1st at 9pm PT / 12am ET, but some are available to pre-order now. A full breakdown can be found below.

The Return of the Jedi Desert Skiff set comes with 558 pieces as well as minifigures of Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and an exclusive LEGO Star Wars 25th Anniversary Nien Nunb. Features include levers to move Sarlacc's tentacles and space for an unfortunate LEGO minifigure inside its mouth. The set is listed here at the LEGO Shop with a price tag of $79.99. Look for it to go live on the morning of August 1st.

The Droid Builder set includes 1186 pieces that allows fans to build, customize, and mash up four classic Star War droids - R2-D2, Chopper (C1-10P), QT-KT and R5-J2. It also comes with LEGO Star Wars 25th anniversary minifigure of Young Princess Leia with her droid L0-LA59, aka Lola. With the Creative Play Droid Builder, accessories are a big part of the customization options, with a duck, cowboy hat, baseball cap, hat with flower, mustache, ice cream, balloon, glasses, bow, bow tie, headphones, 2 jet boosters and 2 stud shooters included in the set. Pre-orders are available now here at the LEGO Shop priced at $99.99. Note that the LEGO Firework Celebrations set (40689) will come free with the order until 7/7.

The C-3PO set includes a posable head and arms, and includes 1138 pieces along with a C-3PO LEGO minifigure with information plaque and a LEGO Star Wars 25th anniversary brick. It is priced at $139.99 and can be pre-ordered here at LEGO now. Again, the LEGO Firework Celebrations set (40689) will come free with the order until 7/7.

Though it's not part of the Star Wars 25th anniversary lineup, LEGO has also unveiled the Ahsoka Tano's Duel on Peridea (75385) set, which is based on the live action Ahoska series on Disney+. It includes 382 pieces as well as minifigures of Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger, Morgan Elsbeth, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and a Night Trooper. It also features a platform with 3 built-in turntables for spinning LEGO minifigure battles along with a function to recreate Ezra's leap off the platform from the Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 1 finale. It is listed here at the LEGO Shop with a price tag of $54.99. Look for it to go live on the morning of August 1st.

Keep in mind that this isn't the only LEGO Star Wars release that's on the horizon for August 1st. There are crazy LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy mashup sets, an Imperial Star Destroyer set that comes with 7 LEGO Star Wars minifigures, including a 25th anniversary minifigure of Cal Kestis, and more. The current list of LEGO Star Wars pre-orders for August 1st can be found below.

• LEGO Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer - $159.99: Pre-order at LEGO
  
• LEGO Star Wars The Dark Falcon - $179.99: Pre-order at LEGO
• LEGO Star Wars TIE Fighter & X-Wing Mash-up - $109.99: Pre-order at LEGO
• LEGO Star Wars C3-PO - $139.99: Pre-order at LEGO
  
• LEGO Star Wars Droid Builder - $99.99: Pre-order at LEGO

"The LEGO Star Wars collaboration has enjoyed a most impressive 25 years with products, video games, animated content, big builds, merchandise, and more! We want to celebrate all those years and milestones with everyone who helped us get here, but especially with the fan community as we would never be where we are today without their creativity and passion," says Mike Ilacqua, Head of Product at the LEGO Group.

"It's been 25 years of true fun combining Lucasfilm's expansive Star Wars galaxy with the ingenuity of the LEGO Group, offering fans exciting ways to recreate their favorite scenes, vehicles and characters from our stories," said Paul Southern, Senior Vice President, Lucasfilm Franchise and Licensing, Disney Experiences. "With the enthusiasm of our fans to engage with the Star Wars galaxy and express creativity through building, we look forward to continuing the legacy of fun for decades to come."

It was an epic yet sad week for Star Wars fans as the fifth episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte, "Night," blew viewers away with its extravagant lightsaber fights and huge reveals. Warning: Spoilers for The Acolyte Episode 5 ahead... Qimir (Manny Jacinto) was confirmed to be the masked "Sith" stranger, and he fought and killed both Yord and Jecki, the Jedis played by Charlie Barnett and Dafne Keen. While fans are devastated by the loss, they've also been incredibly hyped about the episode. Since Barnett's Yord debuted on the show, fans of the character have had a lot of fun on social media naming themselves the "Yord Horde" and creating puns with the character's name. Yord may be gone, but that's not stopping fans from talking about him on social media. In fact, some fans have been excited to learn that the character is supposedly from a very special Star Wars location: Alderaan.

In an interview with Collider, Barnett revealed that he presented The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland with a few options for Yord's home planet. The actor said he picked "some really obscure" and "weird" locations, but Headland's vast knowledge of the franchise led to his options being shot down for various reasons. "I'm like, 'I'm not just gonna be from Alderaan,'" Barnett recalled. "Let it be known, I chose Alderaan eventually," he added with a laugh. You can watch the interview below:

@colliderdotcom

Charlie Barnett tried to catch out Leslye Headland on set of The Acolyte but she knows too much! ? LeslyeHeadland TheAcolyte CharlieBarnett TheAcolyteEdit TheAcolyteStarWars StarWarsStarWarsEdit Collider Yord

? original sound - ColliderDotCom - ColliderDotCom

Why Yord Being From Alderaan Makes Sense:

While Yord hasn't been confirmed to be from Alderaan on The Acolyte, we hope the character's home planet soon becomes an official part of the canon. Of course, Alderaan is an incredibly important part of Star Wars history. It was first mentioned as Princess Leia's (Carrie Fisher) home planet in Star Wars in 1977 before it was blown up by Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) via the Death Star.

Alderaan was located in the Core Worlds with a mostly human population and was known as a beautiful and sophisticated planet filled with arts and culture. Considering Alderaan was one of the oldest members of the Galactic Republic that saw prosperous times during the High Republic, it makes sense that Force-sensitive children like Yord would be among those who were sent to Coruscant to train.

The planet was first seen in live-action in Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022, and its pristine decor and the seemingly well-ordered lifestyle of its people definitely fall in line with Yord's whole vibe. We learned early on in The Acolyte that Yord is a strict rule-follower who likes things neat and tidy. In fact, the scene in which he steams his Jedi robes has become an Internet sensation.

Yord also has some sass to him, which is a trait often associated with Alderaan's most famous former resident, Princess Leia. Upon further reflection, Leia and Yord would probably have a great sibling-type dynamic if they had lived in the same era. (The kind of fun dynamic between two people who grew up together, not the kind where you don't know you're siblings and kiss each other.)

When the video of Barnett started to spread on Twitter, many fans took to the social media site to share their thoughts on his choice of home planet.

"Star Wars actors having headcanons for where the characters they play are from is actually one of my favorite things in the world. Charlie saying Yord is from Alderaan is very special to me," @andorisms wrote. "Alderaan has the shittiest luck as a planet. Yord dying, Cara Dune being born there, and also it blew up," @IndianaOld1899 joked. "It makes a lot of sense that someone like Yord is from a place like Alderaan," @WalloMarto observed. "ANOTHER WIN FOR ALDERAAN AND THE YORD HORDE," @bailbreha celebrated.

The first five episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+.

The Acolyte The Black Series Darth Teeth Helmet was the big Star Wars release from Hasbro this week, but they also snuck in The Black Series Rebel Trooper and Stormtrooper 2-pack, which makes troop building for the Rebels and the Empire super convenient. Inspired by Star Wars: A New Hope, the Rebel trooper figure comes with a helmet, data disk, and blaster accessory. The Stormtrooper includes a blaster.

Pre-orders for the Star Wars The Black Series Rebel Trooper and Stormtrooper are available here at Entertainment Earth (free U.S. shipping on orders $79+) and here on Amazon priced at $44.99, which isn't too bad for a multipack. It will arrive on your doorstep on September 1st. This is a unique versus set for Hasbro's Black Series, so grab one - or ten - while you can.

Speaking of unique Star Wars products, LEGO is bringing some of the Star Wars mashup designs featured in the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy four-part animated series into the real world. How about a Dark Side version of the Millennium Falcon or a mashup between a Tie Fighter and an X-Wing? Darth Jar Jar perhaps? With these two new LEGO sets, you can make these crazy concepts a reality. Details about each of the sets can be found below, and keep in mind that the the LEGO Firework Celebrations set (40689) will come free with orders $85 or more.

The Dark Falcon (75389 / 1579 pieces / $179.99): Pre-order at LEGO (Arrives August 1st): "This LEGO Star Wars brick-built starship toy has flip-up panels for easy access to the detailed interior, including Darth Jar Jar's throne, the command center, hyperdrive, entertainment area and jail cell. Spring-loaded shooters, rotating cannons and a removable gunner post add to the action-play possibilities. Minfigures include Darth Jar Jar, Bounty Hunter C-3PO, Darth Dev, Darth Rey, Beach Luke and Jedi Vader, plus accessories including lightsabers and a blue milk carton."

TIE Fighter & X-Wing Mash-up (75393 / 1063 pieces / $109.99): Pre-order at LEGO (Arrives August 1st): "The set features a 'TIE-wing' and 'X-fighter', each with an opening cockpit for a LEGO minifigure and 2 spring-loaded shooters. Simply remove the locking pins to detach the wings from the hull of each buildable vehicle toy and rebuild to create the familiar, iconic TIE fighter and X-wing. The wings of the 'TIE-wing'/X-fighter are adjustable for flight and attack modes and, once rebuilt as the X-wing, the retractable landing gear can be used. Minifigures include a Rebel Pilot and a TIE Pilot, each with blaster pistols, Yesi Scala with a gaffi stick, and Sig Greebling, plus an L3-G0 droid LEGO figure."

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy below premieres on Disney+ on September 13th.

Star Wars: The Acolyte' explained how the mysterious Sith Lord from the latest episode managed to deactivate so many of the heroes' lightsabers in the most recent episode. Manny Jacinto's Qimir is revealed to be The Stranger, a sinister helmet-wearing force user who can render lightsabers irrelevant in a fight. His cortosis gauntlet and helmet are the key to this ability. Star Wars: The Acolyte's official social media profiled the new villain and made mention of his toy. Basically, when our Jedi heroes went on the offensive against The Stranger, any blow that hit those cortosis gauntlet immediately shorted out their weapons, making them even more defenseless against his murderous skills. Here's what Star Wars says about the new bad guy.

"With a specialized cortosis gauntlet and a mask permanently twisted into a frightful grin, The Stranger with a red-bladed lightsaber appears as if out of thin air. While some may call him a Sith, little is known of this dark sider who has been training Mae Aniseya in secret, hiding his face from his pupil," the post reads. "When needed, he has adopted the alias Qimir, acting as a shiftless drifter and supplier with seemingly no cares at all other than his own amusements."

So, The Stranger headbutting that lightsaber to disable it becomes more than just stylistic flourish, it shows off just how much this Dark Side menace has trained to take Jedi out. Also of note for Star Wars fans, in the older Star Wars adaptations, cortosis was brittle, which helps explain why Jecki was able to damage his helmet and reveal the attacker's identity. (In the comics and novels, this is likely to help make sure it didn't become an overused plot device.) The gauntlet specifically hangs out on his off-hand showing even more combat skill and training. Quimir has been sitting in the tall grass this entire time, waiting for this moment to just lay waste to Sol and his allies.

Manny Jacinto On Becoming The Stranger In Episode 5

Needless to say, a lot of Star Wars: The Acolyte fans weren't expecting to see all the Jedi they've been following over the course of the series be brutally murdered by a rogue Sith. (All the Yord Horde has to be reeling because of how abrupt it all was.) But, showrunner Leslye Headland apologizes for nothing. She and Manny Jacinto sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about that massive reveal and all the carnage. For the actor, he says that the team prepped for this day for a long time. All the while, Jacinto was perfecting his lightsaber work so he could render one of the more impressive battles the Disney+ era of Star Wars has seen.

"We talked a lot about how you take a low-status character and convert him to a badass," Jacinto told the outlet. "He's a guy that is so under the radar, that nobody is paying attention to, and all of a sudden he's actually the guy pulling the strings."

"I had almost four months to train for that fight scene," he continued. "That was the first time I really got to dig into something with so much action and really make use of my dance background. We worked on everything. We did boxing, we worked on kicks, we worked on all the choreography. It was tough. They conditioned my body so that I could get through this five-person fight scene."

Were you shocked by that intense Episode 5? Let us know down in the comments!

We're more than halfway through the first season of Star Wars: The Acolyte, the latest Star Wars series to make its debut on Disney+. The Acolyte's fifth episode delivered no shortage of jaw-dropping moments, including the unmasking of the villainous The Stranger as Qimir (Manny Jacinto). This reveal, coupled with the surprising deaths and lightsaber fight choreography, caught a lot of attention from fans, and now Jacinto is sharing a new look at how it all came together. In a recent post on Instagram, Jacinto provided fans with a behind-the-scenes look at his stunt training for Episode 5's big fight scene.

"The Acolyte Stunt Team," Jacinto's post reads in part. "Thank you for all the lessons, your trust, your patience, the hard work, the inspiring dedication, and for so many laughs. Proud to have gone through this with you all."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Manny Jacinto (@mannyjacinto)

Who Does Manny Jacinto Play in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

Initially cast as the former smuggler Qimir, Jacinto's character was eventually revealed to be The Stranger, the malicious Sith master of Mae (Amandla Stenberg). According to showrunner Leslye Headland, the journey of Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg) will take priority over fleshing out The Stranger's larger backstory.

"Because it's Osha's story, you don't know much about the Stranger's background and you're not really going to learn much about it," Headland told Entertainment Weekly. "But there are a bunch of things in Episode 6 and Episode 8 that are really big clues as to why he is the way he is and why his philosophy is the way that it is."

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you purchase one of the awesome products featured above, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

The fifth episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte, "Night," was released on Disney+ this week and it featured some huge shockers. Warning: Spoilers for The Acolyte Episode 5 ahead... Qimir (Manny Jacinto) was confirmed to be the masked Sith stranger, and he fought and killed both Yord and Jecki, the Jedis played by Charlie Barnett and Dafne Keen. Both Barnett and Keen have spoken about their characters' brutal endings, and Barnett recently shared a special message to his fans, who have named themselves the "Yord Horde."

"My dear Yord fans," Barnett began. "I love y'all and I love all of the kindness, appreciation, humor, pride, and joy that you have been investing into this Yord Horde, and into Yord. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to notice me and notice this performance. And notice the Yords of the world, the people who are trying to do what's best. I hope we all have space and patience for people like that, but I'm also sorry I'm dead." You can watch the video in the tweet below:

? sorry, #YordHorde#TheAcolyte is all-new Tuesdays on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/qNLKlrq4vF

-- Star Wars (@starwars) June 27, 2024

Charlie Barnett Reacts To Yord's Death:

While chatting with Entertainment Weekly, Barnett opened up about being killed in The Acolyte.

"No one ever wants to be cut out of a show," Barnett explained. "But when you're playing a character that you know is going to die, it's a little more fun. If it's a surprise to you and your job is gone next week, it sucks. But when you know what you're walking into, you get to have a little more control over it. And I tried to find the lemonade through the lemons."

"Me and Charlie were joking about that all the time," Keen added. "Whenever we were on set and anyone would be complaining, me and Charlie would be like, 'Peace out, we're dying in two weeks!' ... I had so much fun doing the death. It was a huge honor to get to be the person that took the helmet off him ... That was something really exciting to me."

How Many Episodes of The Acolyte Are Left?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined. The show has a total of eight episodes, which means there are three to go with the finale airing on July 16th.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is available to stream on Disney+.

In its fifth episode, Star Wars: The Acolyte finally pulled back the curtain on its big villain. The unmasking twist wasn't a massive surprise, with plenty of fans guessing the Stranger's identity ahead of time, but the devastating way in which the reveal was executed helped make it such a memorable sequence. We know exactly who the mysterious Sith lord is now. If you want more about the character's history, though, you'd better hold out hope for Acolyte Season 2. WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from The Acolyte...

This week's episode revealed that Manny Jacinto's Qimir was actually the masked Stranger the whole time, hiding in plain sight and pretending to be a timid messenger for the villain. His big unmasking came as he shockingly killed Jecki and Yord, two of the most prominent and popular Jedi on the show. This debut gave fans a ton of questions about the Stranger's backstory, but creator Leslye Headland wants everyone to know that this season is very much about Osha.

"Because it's Osha's story, you don't know much about the Stranger's background and you're not really going to learn much about it," Headland told EW. "But there are a bunch of things in Episode 6 and Episode 8 that are really big clues as to why he is the way he is and why his philosophy is the way that it is."

The Acolyte hasn't yet been renewed for a second season. If there is one, it seems like Headland is ready to explore the mind of the Stranger a little further.

"He wants freedom to be able to be who he is and wield his power the way he wants to. But he also wants freedom on a second level that I think we'll get more of if we get a Season 2. But once we knew he was going to kill Jecki and Yord, then it became about: How are you going to executive this in a way that feels satisfying and believable once it does happen?"

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

Thus far, Star Wars: The Acolyte has been a unique, no-holds-barred take on the Star Wars universe, weaving together a High Republic era story that has kept fans guessing. Amid the show's successful streaming numbers and critical response, the question has remained of whether or not The Acolyte could continue into a second season -- and apparently, it's not out of the realm of possibility. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland revealed that she prioritized telling a complete story across Season 1, while leaving room for characters to grow in potential future seasons.

"I remember reading that Vince Gilligan in writing and doing the first season of Breaking Bad really didn't plan on, 'We're getting seven more seasons, and this is what's going to happen to Walter White.' It was much more, 'Here's everything we got. We're throwing everything at the wall.' And then with the pickup, he mapped out, 'Okay, here's what's going to happen over the course of however many seasons,'" Headlan explained. "So I took that approach with this. I threw everything into season 1, because who knows what's going to happen? And then I'd say there are four to five major mysteries and plot points that have to get hit in season 2, but until we get a proper pickup, I worry that spending a lot of time in that world -- especially being in a period where I've worked so long on this project that honestly I'm exhausted by it coming out -- to kind of jump right into like, "All right, season 2...." It will probably be more that I know what needs to happen, and I know what the character development needs to be in order to hit the plot points and the character points for a second, third, or fourth season. So I look forward to working on that, but right now, I haven't."

"I'll tell you my philosophy on first seasons," Headland said elsewhere in the interview. "Something that I've noticed is first seasons will end on what should have been the break into act two. It feels like everyone's really expecting to get a second season, and I don't feel that's a good idea. I think you should put everything you can into the first season and give the audience a nice resolution that feels satisfying, but enough nods to mysteries that you would want to see a second season. So it's a little bit of both. You don't want to leave it so wrapped up that, like Obi-Wan or a standalone mini-series, that there's no reason to watch a second season, but I think there's enough stuff in the last few episodes that you would want to have answered."

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Acolyte debut exclusively on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6pm PST. If you haven't checked out Disney+ yet and you want to give it a go, you can do that here.

Note: This is not a sponsored post, but if you purchase one of the awesome products featured above, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.

Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 5 "Night" finally revealed "The Master" in all his dark side power. By the end of the episode, The Master's identity was revealed, and Star Wars fans had whole new theories about how this new villain connects to another iconic villain group from the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy!

(WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

The Acolyte reveals that The Master is actually Qimir (Manny Jacinto), the supposed former smuggler who assisted Mae (Amandla Stenberg) in assassinating her Jedi targets. When Qimir reveals himself as The Master, he wears a set of armored gauntlets and a helmet made with Cortosis-weave, an ancient material that shorts out lightsabers by causing energy feedback. The design of Qimir's helmet, his armor, lightsaber weapon, and brawler fighting style made a lot fans wonder: is this really a Sith lord we're seeing, or perhaps the precursor to what will one day become a fearsome band of dark side warriors...

Star Wars: Did Qimir Inspire the Knights of Ren?

The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy introduced the Knights of Ren, an "enclave" of dark side warriors who followed the lightsaber battle philosophy of their leader, Ren, a human Force-sensitive warrior who embraced the dark side, which he referred to as "The Shadow." The Knights of Ren were active during the latter days of the Galactic Civil War, through the New Republic Era, and into the era of the First Order-Resistance War. Before Ben Solo killed Ren in a duel and took the mantle of leadership, it was hinted that Ren wasn't so much the man's name, but a title that had been taken, after "Ren" killed his predecessor and usurped his identity.

Like so many aspects of the Star Wars Sequels, the Knights of Ren were ultimately viewed as disappointments, as their backstory and importance were never made clear - including how long they've actually been around. Star Wars has been finding ways to add relevance to the Knights of Ren mythos ever since: they were retconned into stories like battling Luke Skywalker and a young Ben Solo - or pulling a heist at Castle Vader for Lady Qi'ra and her Crimson Dawn syndicate. Taking "Ren's" origins all the way back to the High Republic would be an interesting extension of that lore.

Why Qimir Could Be The Original Knight of Ren

The Knights of Ren have been characterized as wearing dark-colored armor and helmets, with every member concealing his/her/their true identity. The Knights have also been shown to be raiders of lost or forgotten artifacts - especially armor and weapons specifically designed to counter or kill Jedi. They came from the Unknown Regions of the galaxy - a place free of Jedi control, where the Knights could operate with impunity.

All those details fit in line with The Acolyte's depiction of Qimir as The Master. His Cortosis armor is an ancient relic designed for fighting Jedi; he has the red lightsaber with a second dagger hidden in the hilt; and concealing his identity and wearing an intricately-designed helmet is what he's all about. More importantly, Qimir's monologue about wanting to use his dark side power as he saw fit - free of Jedi mandate - sounds like the philosophy the Knights of Ren adopt. Even though Qimir tells Sol that the Jedi would call him "Sith," Star Wars fans have pointed out that Qimir and the Jedi probably no longer recognize what a true Sith Lord is. Could the Acolyte be saving that distinction for its final twist?

The Acolyte could pull off a powerful thematic arc if, even after his death, Qimir's teachings and example catch on, and he inspires one acolyte who inspires another, who inspires another, until the Knights of Ren carries on Qimir's legacy, over a century and a half later.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+.

Well, it looks as though we have another Baby Yoda situation on our hands with the presumed Sith Lord that debuted in the latest episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte. The internet has dubbed him 'Darth Teeth', while Disney appears to be officially calling him 'The Stranger' for the purposes of spoiler-free merchandising. We find out who is hiding under the mask in the episode, thereby completing the Baby Yoda / The Child / Grogu connection.

Whatever you want to call him, we can probably all agree that the helmet is cool looking. That's a good thing for Hasbro, who are set to drop an electronic helmet based on the character this Thursday, June 27th at 10am PT / 1pm ET. After that time, it will be available to pre-order here at Entertainment Earth (free US shipping on orders $79+) and here on Amazon priced at $99.99. UPDATE The helmet is live! Direct links added, though we're still waiting on Amazon. As always, the helmet is fully wearable. You can also flip the helmet upside down to view illuminating interior lights and press and hold the side button for 3 seconds to start an hour-long collector display mode. Below you'll find additional details on the helmet along with previously released Black Series figures in The Acolyte lineup.

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES THE STRANGER ELECTRONIC HELMET ($99.99): "Reimagine iconic scenes from the Star Wars saga -- and create your own -- with Star Wars helmet and Lightsaber adult roleplay items! This officially licensed roleplay item is based on The Stranger's helmet from the Star Wars: The Acolyte live-action series on Disney+. Featuring highly detailed sculpt and padding for an adjustable fit for most head sizes, fans and collectors can wear the helmet inspired by the mysterious character from the series."

Hasbro Star Wars: The Acolyte Releases

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION MAE (ASSASSIN) ($16.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "Set at the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans can celebrate the legacy of STAR WARS, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this premium 3.75-inch scale STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION MAE (ASSASSIN) figure (VC #328) inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. This figure features premium detail and design across product and packaging inspired by the original Kenner line, as well as the entertainment-inspired collector grade deco. Includes figure and 3 entertainment-inspired accessories including 2 daggers and a removable mask."

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION JEDI MASTER SOL ($16.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "Set at the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans can celebrate the legacy of STAR WARS, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this premium 3.75-inch scale STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION JEDI MASTER SOL figure (VC #329) inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. This figure features premium detail and design across product and packaging inspired by the original Kenner line, as well as the entertainment-inspired collector grade deco. Includes figure and 2 entertainment-inspired accessories including a Lightsaber and its unlit hilt."

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES PADAWAN JECKI LON ($24.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "STAR WARS fans and collectors can imagine scenes from the STAR WARS galaxy with this premium 6-inch STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES PADAWAN JECKI LON figure, inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. At the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes - but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans and collectors can display this fully articulated figure featuring premium detail and multiple points of articulation in their collection. Includes figure and Lightsaber accessory with a removable blade."

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES JEDI KNIGHT YORD FANDAR ($24.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "STAR WARS fans and collectors can imagine scenes from the STAR WARS galaxy with this premium 6-inch STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES JEDI KNIGHT YORD FANDAR figure, inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. At the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes - but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans and collectors can display this fully articulated figure featuring premium detail and multiple points of articulation in their collection. Includes figure and Lightsaber accessory with a removable blade."

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES JEDI MASTER INDARA ($24.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "STAR WARS fans and collectors can imagine scenes from the STAR WARS galaxy with this premium 6-inch STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES JEDI MASTER INDARA figure, inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. At the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes - but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans and collectors can display this fully articulated figure featuring premium detail and multiple points of articulation in their collection. Includes figure and Lightsaber accessory with a removable blade."

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES JEDI MASTER SOL ($24.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "STAR WARS fans and collectors can imagine scenes from the STAR WARS galaxy with this premium 6-inch STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES JEDI MASTER SOL figure, inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. At the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes - but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans and collectors can display this fully articulated figure featuring premium detail and multiple points of articulation in their collection. Includes figure and Lightsaber accessory with a removable blade."

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES MAE (ASSASSIN) ($24.99) - See at Entertainment Earth / Amazon: "STAR WARS fans and collectors can imagine scenes from the STAR WARS galaxy with this premium 6-inch STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES MAE (ASSASSIN) figure, inspired by the character's appearance in STAR WARS: THE ACOLYTE. At the end of the High Republic era, a former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes - but the forces they confront turn out to be far more sinister and personal than anticipated. Fans and collectors can display this fully articulated figure featuring premium detail and multiple points of articulation in their collection. Includes figure and 5 entertainment-inspired accessories including 4 knife accessories and a removable face wrap."'

Additional Star Wars: The Acolyte releases from Hasbro can be found right here.

What Is Star Wars: The Acolyte About?

In Star Wars: The Acolyte an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems.

Star Wars: The Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner- Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGrate? and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is streaming on Disney+ now.

The fifth episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte was released on Disney+ this week and it's the fourth of the series that saw Chris Teague working as the cinematographer. In honor of the episode's release, ComicBook had the chance to chat with Teague, and he spoke about how he collaborated with the VFX team and explained the challenges of filming outer space scenes as well as Coruscant scenes. During the chat, he also revealed one of his favorite moments from making the show, which revolved around a set from the first episode.

"Well, one of the really fun sets was in Episode One, we have the prison ship escape, and we've built that whole set on a steel platform that shook in multiple directions so that we could create a believable effect of the ship falling apart," Teague explained. "I mean, believe me, when we were testing it, I started to wonder if our set was going to fall apart because of the power of these pistons. Moving the set around was pretty intense, but it really did convey that effect of, because you put an actor in that set and they start to move in relationship to the ship shaking, and it starts to feel real."

"I mean, that's always the thing you're worried about. There's always that old trick of you shake the camera and then everybody kind of does this," he added while mimicking shaking. "And you'll see that all over A New Hope and Empire too, and it kind of works. But I love that set. It was really fun to work in. It was one of the more chaotic sets because by the end, the ship's crashing and you've got just crazy flashing light everywhere and you've got fire and smoke and everything's shaking. So yeah, we had a good time with that one."

You can watch our interview with Chris Teague at the top of the page.

How Many Episodes of The Acolyte Are Left?

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined. The show has a total of eight episodes, which means there are three to go with the finale airing on July 16th.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is available to stream on Disney+.

In 2002, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter put players in the role of Jango Fett in a game set prior to the events of Attack of the Clones. Filling in the rest of Jango's story, the PS2/GameCube game even featured the voice talents of Temuera Morrison, reprising his role from the prequel. More than two decades later, new audiences will get a chance to experience that adventure as the game has been announced for modern platforms. Releasing on August 1st, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter has been confirmed for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

A trailer for Star Wars: Bounty Hunter can be found below.

Aspyr has revealed several new features that will be added to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, including new lighting effects, improvements to the environment textures, and the addition of a flashlight for some of the game's darkest areas. Fans of the original will also be happy to know that Aspyr has added a bonus feature that was left on the cutting room floor: a chance to play as Boba Fett. An Easter egg indicated that players could unlock a Boba Fett skin by completing all of the game's bounties, but that didn't make it into the original version. In this new version of Bounty Hunter, players will unlock a Boba Fett skin when they complete the main campaign.

The PlayStation 5 version of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter will also take advantage of the system's DualSense controller. The controller's lightbar will reflect the status of Jango's health, and voice comms in the game will play through the controller's speaker. In a post on the official PlayStation Blog, Aspyr's Chris Bashaar also notes that the DualSense's adaptive triggers will give each of Jango's weapons "a unique rhythmic feel,"

Over the last few years, Aspyr has brought a lot of classic Star Wars games to modern platforms, including titles like Episode I: Racer, Knights of the Old Republic, and Battlefront: Classic Collection. Some of those releases have been better than others, and it remains to be seen whether Star Wars: Bounty Hunter can rank with the best. However, the game's improvements over the original already sound promising!

Are you planning to check out Star Wars: Bounty Hunter when it releases later this summer? Did you play the original version? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The fifth episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte was released on Disney+ Tuesday night and it immediately became the most talked-about edition of the series to-date. An episode that was essentially a 30-minute lightsaber fight brought the deaths of multiple popular Acolyte characters, in addition to finally pulling back the mask on the mysterious Sith lord that has been looming large over the season. Following the big reveal, series creator Leslye Headland and the actor behind the eerie Sith mask opened up about the twist. WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte...

The identity of the Sith turned out to be Qimir, the timid trader played by Manny Jacinto. He was in hiding in plain sight the whole time, and there were plenty of clues leading to his big secret. According to Headland, leaving breadcrumbs behind only made the reveal more exciting.

"I think a good twist is not about hiding everything from the audience and then throwing it on them like, 'Hey, this is what you didn't see! We hid it so well that you didn't see this,'" Headland told EW. "I think a good twist is telegraphing what's going to happen, and then once it does, executing it without an ounce of pity or sentimentality."

Jacinto had to hide one character within another for much of the season, which created a unique challenge for the actor. But the reveal allowed a switch to flip, getting him into fight mode almost immediately.

"We talked a lot about how you take a low-status character and convert him to a badass," Jacinto said. "He's a guy that is so under the radar, that nobody is paying attention to, and all of a sudden he's actually the guy pulling the strings."

"I had almost four months to train for that fight scene," he added. "That was the first time I really got to dig into something with so much action and really make use of my dance background. We worked on everything. We did boxing, we worked on kicks, we worked on all the choreography. It was tough. They conditioned my body so that I could get through this five-person fight scene."

Set during The High Republic, Star Wars: The Acolyte delivers an investigation into a mysterious string of crimes, which pits a Jedi master against his former apprentice in a race to uncover the truth. The more that the pair learn about the situation, the darker their journey becomes, as they confront things that darker than either of them could have imagined.

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Star Wars: The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ on June 4th.