Star Wars quietly rewrote the plot of the canceled series

The Acolyte (The Acolyte) was canceled in August 2024, becoming the firstStar Warsseries to suffer such a fate. The project took place at the end of the Rise of the Republic, the golden age of the Jedi and the Republic as a whole.

The project was interesting in exploring the dark corners of the galaxy where the Sith threat secretly flourished. Manny Jacinto played the Stranger, who claimed that the Jedi would name him a Sith. Star Wars has since carefully confirmed whether he was a Sith or not.

All indications are that showrunner Leslye Headland planned for the Stranger to become the founder of the Knights of Ren. This was confirmed by the official art book, but the cancellation of the series means that all the ideas will never be realized. Star Warsmay have simply rewritten Kimir's fate to suggest he wasn't one of the Knights of Ren at all.

The stranger might not have been a Sith

Titan has released a new edition of the book “Secrets of the Sith” by Mark Sumerak, which is written on behalf of Emperor Palpatine. The updated edition includes the events ofThe Acolytefrom Darth Sidious's point of view.

The Sith made a brief appearance near the end of the era that the Jedi arrogantly called the Rise of the Republic. But another century will pass before I finally bring our Order out of the shadows.

This implies that Palpatine believes the Stranger to be a Sith Lord, and he later confirms this in the summary of the events of The Acolyte:

Before I became Darth Plagueis's final apprentice, there was another attempt to establish the Sith bloodline. The former Padawan of Jedi Master Vernestra Roo embraced the dark side during the final days of the Rise of the Republic. Under several false identities - including that of a masked warrior simply called the Stranger - he sowed discord among the Jedi, seeking to take on an apprentice.

The stranger found himself a novice in the person of a young girl named Mei-ho Anisea, the daughter of powerful witches on Brandok.It was said that May and her twin sister Verosha were born from the Force itself. May sought revenge on the Jedi for the death of her coven, but unfortunately changed her mind after learning what her sister had experienced. However, Osha - who had foolishly dedicated herself to the light - wisely succumbed to the dark side and took her sister's place as the Stranger's apprentice.

What does Palpatine mean?

Palpatine was the student of Darth Plagueis, who appeared at the end ofThe Acolyte. He watched the Stranger from the cave.

The problem arises when interpreting this in light of the Rule of Two. The most likely explanation is that Kimir hoped to train an apprentice to prove his worthiness to ascend and then fight Plagueis himself. Osha and May's backstory relates to the powers that Plagueis was known to strive for. Therefore, it can be assumed that any confrontation ended not in the Stranger's favor, and Plagueis then began to study the twins. In any case, Plagueis must have abandoned the original idea by making Palpatine his apprentice.