“I Am So Proud Of The Acolyte, & What We Were Able To Do:” Manny Jacinto Addresses The Star Wars TV Show’s Backlash, Six Months After Its Cancelation

Six months after Star Wars canceled The Acolyte, Qimir/the Stranger actor Manny Jacinto has shared his opinion on the show. The Acolyte quickly proved to be one of the most controversial additions to Star Wars movies and TV shows in recent years, perhaps rivaled only by the Star Wars sequel trilogy movies. At times, the backlash to The Acolyte was downright vitriolic, all of which concluded in The Acolyte’s cancelation just a few weeks after the show’s finale.

Now, at MegaCon 2025, Qimir/the Stranger actor Manny Jacinto has shared his experience working on The Acolyte and his perception of the show in retrospect. During a panel, Jacinto shared:

“I’m so proud of The Acolyte and what we were able to do, and it felt like we were taking a big risk, and there’s nothing like that feeling of trying to just create something special from the ground up.”

Even in light of the backlash that The Acolyte, Jacinto, and many of the actors and creators of the show faced, Jacinto’s view on and memory of The Acolyte remains positive.

Manny Jacinto’s Performance In The Acolyte Was Tremendous

Qimir/The Stranger Was Largely A Hit, Even For Those Who Disliked The Show

While many were highly critical of The Acolyte, Manny Jacinto’s performance as Qimir/the Stranger was largely seen as a bright spot in The Acolyte, even among some of the show’s most ardent critics. Jacinto brought incredible depth to the character, brilliantly capturing both the brutality of the dark side and the complexity of this character, who clearly had a complicated past with the Jedi and his former Jedi Master, Vernestra Rwoh. Jacinto especially impressed with his lightsaber skills.

In fact, Qimir’s takedown of multiple Jedi in The Acolyte episode 5 is arguably some of the best lightsaber dueling in the whole of Star Wars. Sadly, Qimir’s Star Wars story was cut quite short in light of The Acolyte not being renewed for a second season. It’s clear that the creative minds behind The Acolyte were hoping to expand these stories in a future season—especially given The Acolyte ending included multiple cliffhangers—but that is evidently never to be.

Our Take On The Acolyte’s Cancelation

The Acolyte Didn’t Deserve The Hatred It Got

While The Acolyte may not be at the very top of the list of Star Wars’ best TV shows, it certainly didn’t deserve the vitriol it received. There was plenty to enjoy about The Acolyte, as Jacinto himself made clear. However successfully it may have been done in terms of reception, The Acolyte took a number of risks and introduced various innovative ideas that should at the very least be respected.

Jacinto’s performance, the performances of myriad other actors, the characters, and the unique story arcs are also deserving of much more than the dismal 19% audience score The Acolyte has on Rotten Tomatoes (notably, the critic score is 78%). While The Acolyte may have had its faults, as any show does, it was also subjected to backlash, review bombing, and controversy that was frequently unfair. It’s nice to know that, in spite of that, Manny Jacinto remains proud of all that was accomplished in The Acolyte.

TV Show

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The Acolyte

7/10

Release Date

2024 – 2023

Showrunner

Leslye Headland

Directors

Leslye Headland, Alex Garcia Lopez

Writers

Leslye Headland, Charmaine De Grate, Kor Adana