Art of The Acolyte reveals Stranger (Qimir)'s design, music tie to Kylo Ren

The new book The Art of the Acolyte expands on a mysterious connection between the Stranger, also called Qimir, and Kylo Ren, the creatives behind the show say — even though The Acolyte might have been canceled almost two years ago, the report notes.

Creature artist Nick Tyrell told the book the Stranger's helmet was deliberately designed to echo Kylo Ren's, saying: "The slight frill at the back of the helmet – a design element that dates back to the franchise's samurai influence and notably first seen in Vader's design – hints at a link between the Stranger and the Star Wars sequel trilogy's masked antagonist Kylo Ren, an idea storytellers took from the design."

Showrunner Leslye Headland said the design choice "felt like it foreshadowed a possible connection to the Knights of Ren with the Kylo Ren shape we landed on," and explained the team were also planning to introduce Darth Plagueis as part of broader story ideas tied to the Rule of Two.

The book also confirms a deliberate musical connection: fans had noticed The Acolyte used cues similar to Kylo Ren's theme, and Headland reveals in the book that matching those music cues was an intentional decision.

Given the series' reported cancellation, it remains unclear how—or if—these design and narrative threads, including a potential Knights of Ren link and the planned Darth Plagueis storyline, would have been explored on screen.

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