Credit: LucasfilmKylo Ren is part of The Acolyte, Lucasfilm’s incredibly controversial Star Wars series on Disney+, and the executive in charge of the show has confirmed it.
The Acolyte is the most recent Star Wars film to debut on Disney’s streaming service and has faced a huge backlash from a vocal segment of fandom. The reasons why could be listed for days, but suffice it to say that when Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy mentioned the “male-dominated” fanbase’s typical negative reactions to female and POC protagonists, she was proven right by the Internet.
Despite that (and the massive disparity between the critics and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes), The Acolyte has been pretty successful for a Star Wars series that has been completely detached from the Skywalker Saga so far. The series, created by Leslye Headland, takes place in the High Republic Era of Star Wars when Jedi had enforced peace for centuries, and the Sith had almost entirely passed out of memory.
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Despite being a golden age, Lucasfilm describes the show thusly:
In 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….
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.
Up till the most recent two episodes (“Night” and “Teach / Corrupt”), The Acolyte seemed to have no direct connection to the feature films and their obsession with the Skywalker clan. That changed when detailed-oriented Star Wars fans (are there any other kind?) detected a familiar musical motif at the end of “Night.”
The Acolyte watchers were convinced that the episode featured a snippet of the musical motif for Kylo Ren, the character played by Adam Driver in Disney’s sequel trilogy. The theme, written by legend John Williams (who described it as “this evil power, strength, threat“), was heard again in the credits of the following episode.
So what does that mean? Is the Stranger (series breakout Manny Jacinto) connected to Kylo Ren in some way? Is he connected to the Knights of Ren, the enigmatic Dark Side users that he will join? Given that The Acolyte takes place approximately 100 years before The Phantom Menace (1999) and 137 years before the birth of Ben Solo (trust us, we did the math), what is going on?
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Adam Driver, arguably the most critically acclaimed actor in the Disney Star Wars trilogy, has made it clear that he’s done with the franchise. On an episode of the Smartless podcast, he said “[Lucasfilm is] doing stuff, but not with me. I’m not doing anymore.” Pretty definitive.
But Disney still owns the character (and music motif) of Kylo Ren and is prepared to do something without him. In an Inverse interview, Leslye Headland was asked about the theme being heard and confirmed that something is afoot regarding the future Supreme Leader:
(Interviewer) “In that same vein, there are bits of the Kylo Ren theme that play throughout the episode. Can you speak to that connection, or is that something we have to wait and see?”
(Leslye Headland) “Ah, wish I could. It is there on purpose, but I can’t tell you why, and I can’t go into what it is. But you shall see.”
There are two remaining episodes of The Acolyte Season 1 and no guarantee yet that we will ever see a Season 2. Not all that long to wait to see how Kylo is involved.
How do you think Kylo Ren could be connected to the Stranger?