Warning: this text incorporates spoilers for The Acolyte’s fifth episode! If you have not already, make sure to try IGN’s overview of The Acolyte: Episode 5.
The Acolyte’s fifth episode rejuvenated Star Wars followers’ affinity towards the collection due to its kick-ass lightsaber combat scene and palpable on-line fervor for its villain’s uncovered musculature. Whereas The Grasp’s ties to collection villains like Kylo Ren have but to be formally revealed, his flowy armor and yoked arms owe their inspiration to a shocking supply: scantily clad Elden Ring badasses like Let Me Solo Her.
In a current interview with Inverse, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland shed some gentle on the early character design means of The Master (AKA The Stranger AKA Qimir), performed by Manny Jacinto. Talking with Inverse, Headland revealed that Qimir’s look — which ditches heavy armor for minimalistic flowing clothes — took visible cues from Elden Ring participant summons.
“A lot of Qimir was understanding learn how to use your physique and never simply standing there in a go well with or being encumbered by a go well with,” Headland mentioned. “We had been like, ‘We have now to get him in one thing flowy.’ As quickly as I mentioned he didn’t have armor, everybody misplaced their thoughts. ‘How are you going to not have armor?’ I used to be like, ‘Why would you put on armor when you’re not going to get hit?’ It’s just like the Elden Ring costume. The Elden Bling. Once you summon individuals, you at all times summon the folks that aren’t sporting something, and it’s like, ‘These persons are fucking loopy.'”
At one level within the interview, Headland responded to Qimir’s arms being an enormous draw for newfound and longtime followers, saying she and Jacinto anticipated the divulge to be an enormous second for followers. What’s extra, the design virtually did not get to see the sunshine of day.
“His character design was a protracted course of. I imply, it was for everyone, however particularly for his character, to create a brand new Sith. Sith have been achieved so effectively, so it was very troublesome to say ‘All proper, this can be a man in hiding. That is the man that strikes in another way. This man’s helmet has a unique goal…’ and having to unpack that,” Headland mentioned. “I bear in mind we had been displaying [Jacinto] a Qimir costume sketch, and it simply confirmed his arms slightly bit, and he was like, ‘No.’ He’s not a man that claims no fairly often. He’s very collaborative. He’ll do something for you. I used to be shocked. However then I noticed his first display take a look at with the entire outfit, and I used to be like, “Ha, ha, ha!”
Though Headland did not explicitly state that Qmir’s design was impressed by Elden Ring group legends like Let Me Solo Her, his visible motifs and combating model do evoke the gamer’s model. Let Me Solo Her made a reputation for themselves within the Elden Ring group as a sword for rent of kinds who’d tackle among the sport’s hardest boss fights for gamers, like Malenia. A key part of Let Me Solo Her’s lore is that they might accomplish all these feats with twin blades. Qimir does not go as far as to combat just about within the nude, however his lightsaber-disabling helmet, dual-blade saber, and aggressive combating model elicit an analogous fight model to seasoned Elden Ring gamers.
“Yeah, you need to go in with that offensive angle, particularly with these bosses,” Headland mentioned in reference to Elden Rings’s boss fights. “You may’t be getting again and panic rolling. It’s important to be aggressive with them. It’s important to roll into issues.”
In our overview, we gave The Acolyte Episode 5 a 9/10, writing, “In a notably thrilling and brutal episode, The Grasp is unleashed and unmasked, resulting in thrilling and stunning outcomes that really upend the collection.”
Isaiah Colbert is a contract author for IGN. You may comply with them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.