Warning: this text accommodates spoilers for The Acolyte’s fifth episode! If you have not already, remember to take a look at 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 latest interview with Inverse, The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland shed some mild on the early character design technique of The Grasp (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 methods to use your physique and never simply standing there in a go well with or being encumbered by a go well with,” Headland stated. “We have been like, ‘Now we have to get him in one thing flowy.’ As quickly as I stated he didn’t have armor, everybody misplaced their thoughts. ‘How will you not have armor?’ I used to be like, ‘Why would you put on armor should you’re not going to get hit?’ It’s just like the Elden Ring costume. The Elden Bling. Whenever you summon individuals, you all the time summon the people who aren’t carrying 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 disclose to be a giant 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 completed so effectively, so it was very tough to say ‘All proper, it is a man in hiding. That is the man that strikes in a different way. This man’s helmet has a special function…’ and having to unpack that,” Headland stated. “I bear in mind we have been displaying [Jacinto] a Qimir costume sketch, and it simply confirmed his arms a little bit 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 fashion do evoke the gamer’s fashion. Let Me Solo Her made a reputation for themselves within the Elden Ring group as a sword for rent of types who’d tackle among the sport’s hardest boss fights for gamers, like Malenia. A key element of Let Me Solo Her’s lore is that they’d accomplish all these feats with twin blades. Qimir does not go as far as to combat nearly within the nude, however his lightsaber-disabling helmet, dual-blade saber, and aggressive combating fashion elicit an identical fight fashion to seasoned Elden Ring gamers.
“Yeah, it’s a must to go in with that offensive angle, particularly with these bosses,” Headland stated in reference to Elden Rings’s boss fights. “You’ll be able to’t be getting again and panic rolling. You must be aggressive with them. You must 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 surprising outcomes that really upend the collection.”
Isaiah Colbert is a contract author for IGN. You’ll be able to comply with them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.