The Stranger

Claiming to have no name and going by the alias "Qimir" in his public life, the male individual was a human alive during the High Republic Era. At some point in his life, the individual became a Jedi and was trained by a master, Vernestra Rwoh. However, he later left the Jedi Order after becoming disillusioned with its ideology of the Force, claiming to have lost everything and been thrown away by someone he trusted, who also gave him a permanent scar. Ultimately, "The Stranger" fell to the dark side of the Force and became a Sith Lord.

In his double identity of "Qimir," the individual was employed as a former smuggler who claimed to have transported armaments for the Hutt Clan. In time, however, he would shift careers to take up the life of a trader and supplier of unusual items. In that new capacity, he enjoyed a leisurely life, having survived some of the galaxy's shadier starports.

At some point after 148 BBY, "Qimir" encountered Mae-ho Aniseya, a witch from Aniseya's coven, and began training her as his apprentice. He took great care not to reveal his face to her, despite getting acquainted with her as Qimir by pretending to be a fellow follower of the Stranger, and caused his apprentice great fear.

At some point by 132 BBY "Qimir" gave Mae a mission to kill the four Jedi stationed in her home planet of Brendok, whom Mae thought responsible for the apparent death of her sister Verosha Aniseya during an intervention in the coven's fortress. Qimir specified that one Jedi in particular, Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca, should be killed without using any weapon, a test which he called "the final lesson" and Mae considered impossible.

After Mae killed the Jedi Master Indara on Ueda, she met with Qimir in his Master persona who demonstrated his red-bladed lightsaber to her and explained that an acolyte does not kill with a laser or steel but by killing the Jedi's dream.

Following this lesson, Qimir followed Mae to a city on the planet Olega, staked out in a store owned by an apothecary to assist her in her plan against Master Torbin who was stationed in the nearby Jedi temple. After an initial failed attempt to kill Torbin, Mae entered the store and abruptly woke Qimir—who had attempted to wait up the entire previous night for the acolyte but fell asleep after consuming the store's merchandise—by throwing a mug next to him. Mae explained to Qimir that she had failed to kill Torbin, calling the Jedi "impenetrable." Qimir suggested finding the Master's weakness, claiming everyone had a weakness when Mae protested and instead handed Qimir a bag of bunta, asking him to make a poison. Qimir claimed Master Torbin needed absolution that only Mae could provide, referring to his toxic concoction. The acolyte then left the building, telling Qimir that it would not bode well for either of them were he to inform her master of their plan.

After Mae's successful second attempt at murdering Torbin, a Jedi Padawan of the nearby temple spotted Qimir entering the store, noting that he was not the apothecary who ran it. The Jedi sent Verosha Aniseya, Mae's twin sister, to masquerade as her sister and get a confession from Qimir. The man quickly became skeptical during their conversation but asked if the poison had worked, stating that Mae's master would be pleased if she managed to kill Torbin without the poison. The Jedi, who were eavesdropping on the conversation, considered Qimir's question a confession, and just as he revealed that he knew Osha was an imposter, Osha pulled a stun blaster on him, with the Jedi Yord Fandar, Sol, and Jecki Lon entering immediately after to interrogate him.

Sol offered to consider letting Qimir off with only a warning if he cooperated. When asked about his relationship to Mae, the man claimed he was simply her supplier, having started out gunrunning for the Hutts before simply supplying people with "what they need" for the right price. Sol asked about the individual Qimir had mentioned and whether Mae had a master. Qimir denied knowing what was going on aside from the fact that Mae wanted revenge on four Jedi but let the Jedi know that Mae would be returning later that night, as he was holding some items for her.

That night, the Jedi laid a trap for Mae, but the acolyte escaped capture. The following morning, she confronted Qimir and threatened to kill him for betraying her to the Jedi. The man offered to make it up to her by getting her out of the city and to the Outer Rim retreat Khofar, where the Wookiee Kelnacca, one of the four Jedi Mae was seeking out, lived. The pair traveled to Khofar on the Exile II, landed in mountains outside the forest where the Wookiee Jedi dwelled, and began their trek with three hours of sunlight remaining.

As the two journeyed through the mountains, Qimir inquired as to how Mae planned to kill Kelnacca without a weapon, as she had failed to do so with Torbin and Master Indara previously. In return, Mae asked Qimir about his relationship to her master, and the man denied having made any deals with the Master, simply stating that he owed him. Mae then asked how her companion felt about her sister after their interaction on Olega. Qimir claimed she seemed in over her head but displayed a fondness for Master Sol.

While in the forest shortly before sunset, and roughly ten minutes' travel north of Kelnacca's shelter, Mae opted to stop and rest in preparation for her fight with the Wookiee and began to express doubts that her mission was even possible, much to Qimir's disapproval. Regardless, the man decided to go fetch water as Mae regained her energy. While he was away, Mae decided she no longer needed to kill the Jedi, as her sister was alive, and instead decided to turn herself in. She set a trap for Qimir and screamed for help to get him to return. The Sith ran into her trap and was hoisted upside down from a tree branch, with Mae then leaving him behind to confess her murders to Kelnacca.

After Mae left him, Qimir freed himself, donned his armor, and went to kill Kelnacca himself with his lightsaber, leaving the Wookiee's body in his domicile. Then, just as a team of several Jedi, among them Jedi Master Sol, arrived at the scene hunting Mae, Qimir emerged from the forest and drew his lightsaber against them. The Jedi attempted to run to him, but Qimir pushed them away using the Force. Despite being outnumbered, Qimir would engage the Jedi in single combat. Through a combination of unpredictable blade work and his cortosis armor, Qimir managed to kill most of the Jedi search group, including Ithia Paan and another human Jedi, wounding Yord Fandar in the process.

After shrugging off a shot from Osha's stun blaster, Qimir would attempt to kill Osha before being intercepted by Sol. The two warriors then engaged each other in a fierce lightsaber duel before Qimir disengaged to find Mae. After finding Mae subdued by Jecki Lon, Qimir mocked his apprentice by suggesting she could learn from the Padawan's loyalty. Mae then ran off while Qimir was distracted by Jecki who attacked him again. Determined to make sure that Mae would not escape to expose him to the Jedi, Qimir attempted to silence Mae before again being confronted by Sol and Jecki.

During the fight Jecki managed to break Qimir's cortosis helmet by smashing the hilt of her lightsaber on it. As the helmet dropped on the ground, distracting Jecki, Qimir pulled out a hidden lightdagger and stabbed Jecki three times in the chest, killing her. With his true identity now revealed, Qimir used the Force to pull Mae to himself, holding his lightsaber against her head. Sol, still wishing to save Mae, threw down his own lightsaber, demanding to know Qimir's affiliation. Qimir revealed that the he was what the Jedi might call a Sith. When asked what he wanted, Qimir claimed he desired the freedom to wield his power openly without answering to the Jedi Order who claimed that the Sith Order should not exist, and that he wanted an apprentice of his own, which he no longer considered Mae to be after her betrayal.

In a surprise attack, Yord returned to the fight, breaking Qimir's cortosis gauntlet and using a piece of the broken cortosis helmet to disable Qimir's lightsaber. Despite being without a weapon, the Sith grabbed Yord and broke his neck with his bare hands. Enraged, Sol attacked Qimir, beating him into submission and moving to decapitate the unarmed Sith with his lightsaber, only to be stopped by Osha. Qimir gleefully asked Osha if she still trusted Sol after his display of aggression. Sol argued that Qimir's mind was twisted by the dark side, which Qimir responded that he has accepted his darkness but taunted Sol by asking him what had he had done with his own. At this point, Osha discreetly pointed to a group of umbramoths she and Yord had lured to the clearing, prompting Sol to deactivate his lightsaber, claiming that Jedi do not attack unarmed opponents. Qimir scoffed at Sol's use of the Jedi Code before retrieving his own lightsaber and turning it on, unaware that the light attracted the creatures. To further entice them, Osha attached her PIP droid to the Sith's back after turning his torch function on, causing the umbramoths to attack Qimir, picking him up and dragging him up into the trees. Qimir eventually freed himself from the creature's grasp, and stumbled upon an unconscious Osha, who had been knocked out by Mae. Draping his cloak over her, he attended to her wounds.

After healing Osha's wound with the Force, the Stranger brought her on board his starship and took her to his shelter in an island where he let her rest. He then packed his things and ventured out of the shelter to a nearby shallow cove to take a bath. As he left, Osha, who had awakened by that point, followed him to the cove intending to ambush him with one of Mae's daggers she had retrieved from the shelter. After the Stranger undressed, leaving his lightsaber behind to enter the water, Osha revealed herself and grabbed it ordering him to stay where he was. The Stranger, however, defied her and exited the water, politely asking to be allowed to put on some clothes as Osha held him at saber point. Osha questioned why he had not killed her, deducing that she was his prisoner, but the Stranger reminded her that she was the one with a weapon. After taunting her for her feelings for her former master Sol, the Stranger walked away, with Osha following him.

As the two walked back to the shelter, Osha suggested that the Stranger was keeping her as leverage to lure Sol back to him. She then asked the Sith why he spoke as if he was a Jedi, to which he answered that he indeed was, a long time ago. He then pointed to a nearby island where the starship was kept and suggested that Osha should either start swimming towards it then or wait for the tide to go out, inviting her for dinner in the meantime. Osha accepted the invitation and joined the Stranger in the shelter, however keeping her distance from him.

As the Stranger was cooking dinner, Osha asked him what he meant about her being strong in the Force, as it had been years from the last time she trained and according to the Jedi that would cause her skills to fade. The Stranger mused about the Jedi's narrow-minded views and explained that there was another way to access the Force, tapping into one's raw emotions including anger, fear, and desire. Osha pointed out that this was the path to the dark side, to which the Stranger agreed, pointing out that it was "semantics." Furious, Osha reminded him that he murdered her friends, but the Stranger clarified he merely killed Jedi who threatened his existence. He then reminded Osha that Yord had arrested her for a crime she did not commit and that both Jecki and Sol whom she had feelings for would never commit to her, asking her why she chose to be close with people who would only go so far.

Conflicted, Osha stormed out of the shelter, but the Stranger followed her and reminded her that she had stayed in the island to take revenge on him. He then grabbed her hand and placed the lightsaber she was holding against himself, inviting her to turn it on. Osha refused, stating that the Jedi would not attack the unarmed, but the Stranger reminded her that she was no Jedi. Osha said that it was her choice to leave the Order, but the Stranger pushed her, asking whether the Order left her behind, causing Osha to ignite the lightsaber and push him against the wall, shouting that she left the Order because she failed. The Stranger reassured her by placing his hand on hers and revealing that he had also lost everything once, but when one loses everything it is when they are finally free. Understanding, Osha turned off the lightsaber and followed the Stranger back into the shelter.

As Osha was eating the dinner the Stranger prepared, the Sith took the chance to repair his cortosis helmet, which had been broken during the battle at Khofar. Osha asked if the discussion they had was the same pitch he gave to Mae, but the Stranger admitted he had made a mistake with the witch, believing she wanted more than just revenge. He then pulled up his shirt to wipe his face, revealing a scar on his back. Osha asked what it was, and the Stranger explained that it was the result of being stabbed in the back by someone who had thrown him away. When Osha asked if that was his Jedi master, the Stranger stayed silent.

Instead of an answer, the Stranger pointed to his helmet and explained it was made of cortosis, which besides providing protection from lightsabers also worked as a sensory deprivation pod, isolating the wearer's thoughts. He then picked up his equipment and prepared to leave, inviting Osha to try the helmet on. Despite being skeptical, Osha ultimately accepted and put the helmet on.

Qimir had pale skin, brown eyes, and greasy black hair, which hung down both sides of his face. He was 1.82 meters tall.

As a Sith who answered only to the title of "the Master," the human male kept his identity secretive via his voice-modulating and face-obscuring mask, ensuring Mae did not know who he was despite her working relationship with his public persona of Qimir. His secrecy puzzled the Jedi because they could not imagine an apprentice not knowing their own Master. As he stated as Qimir, the Master was known to "collect" people, such as Qimir; in his public persona, he had been "collected" by the Master and did not know whom he was working for.

Qimir believed the Jedi justified their dominance over the galaxy in the name of peace, but that peace was a falsity. He also believed Torbin was not an impenetrable meditator, and that the Master erroneously thought he had found peace. A shiftless drifter, he seemed to have no concerns other than his own amusements.

In combat, Qimir was a brutal and ruthless combatant, stabbing a Padawan multiple times and violently snapping another Jedi's neck with just his arms. After seeing the loyalty that Jecki Lon showed towards her master, Qimir mockingly mused that her commitment was something that his own apprentice Mae could learn from. After killing Lon, he callously referred to her as "it."

Qimir did not find being without clothing in front of others to be a problem, and argued that the dark side was the key to freedom and overcoming the ideas of the Jedi. Due to his Sith status, he found nothing wrong with killing those who he felt might be a danger to him.

Qimir was able to use the Force, such as telekinetically shoving a group of Jedi away, floating down from on high, and healing people of their injuries. He also was skilled enough as a swordsman to get to the point of slashing Kelnacca to death with a red-bladed lightsaber. Moreover, Qimir was able to offer training in the Force without needing to reveal his face and Mae thought he could kill her without much issue. While in combat, he was able to disable lightsabers for a brief moment and was resistant to being stunned using his armor. The Sith also did not follow the traditional rules of lightsaber combat, making extensive use of Tràkata and got into the minds of his enemies, depleting his opponent's composure. His powers of moving people were such that he could also pull a Jedi onto a lightsaber and casually flick around his rogue student. The Sith was able to survive being swarmed by umbramoths.

As the Master, he wore a cloak and a black sleeveless tunic. He was armored with a fully enclosed and battle-scarred helmet, with a thin eye slit and decorations resembling teeth in a predatory grin, as well as a voice modulator to disguise the wearer. The helmet was composed of cortosis, which was capable of shorting out lightsabers. He wore a vambrace composed of the same metal on his left arm. Both implements were used to deflect aside incoming lightsaber strikes in combat.

He was armed with a single red-bladed lightsaber, which could be split into two separate lightsabers, a full-sized blade, and a shorter shoto, which was often used to surprise unaware adversaries. As his false identity, Qimir wore stolen garments in dark shades of green and brown while on Olega.

Qimir was created for the Disney+ live-action series The Acolyte and first appeared in the show's first and second episodes, "Lost / Found" and "Revenge / Justice," which were released on June 4, 2024. The character was first depicted, however, in the first official trailer for the series, which was uploaded on March 19 of the same year, and the name "Qimir" was first revealed in the StarWars.com article "The Acolyte Characters Revealed - First Look," which was posted on the same day.

Qimir was portrayed by Filipino-Canadian actor Manny Jacinto, whom creator and executive producer Leslye Headland had specifically in mind when writing the character, a thought that made Jacinto feel incredibly lucky. Headland stated that, had Jacinto not accepted the role, she would likely have rewritten the character. Jacinto was announced as part of the show's cast on March 18, 2024, in an article on StarWars.com titled "The Acolyte Trailer, Key Art, and Premiere Date Revealed."

Several years before the show's debut, Jacinto had a meeting with Headland to discuss the series and felt inspired enough by the conversation to write a two-page essay explaining how to approach a character they had discussed. He emailed it to Headland after some deliberation, but he did not hear back from the showrunner for weeks aside from her thanking him for his passion. Four months later, while in Todos Santos, Mexico, for another project, the actor received a voicemail from Headland stating that she would love to have him in the show. She sent Jacinto an outline of the character he would be playing, as he was still unfamiliar with the final idea for the character.

The actor was impressed when he first walked on set, with his first day being in the apothecary. The level of confidentiality required from Jacinto was very high instantly upon walking on set, and he was made to sign multiple non-disclosure agreements and was forbidden from printing scripts or taking on-set photos, though he grew to understand the reasons for secrecy after an immense number of people reacted to the show's trailer. Working on Star Wars was also an emotionally stressful time for Jacinto. He was away from his family for eight months during the project and struggled with seasonal depression while in London for the winter, taking salt baths at night to help himself relax. With the intense responsibility of handling the Star Wars franchise, the actor made attempts to separate himself from the pressure of appeasing people.

Qimir's second identity, the Stranger, was also first pictured in the trailer as a mysterious red lightsaber wielder. According to series costume designer Jennifer Bryan, the Master's mask went through at least ten versions before it was finalized. In an interview with Variety, Bryan kept quiet on the character's identity but did tease his mask's "teeth" could have a purpose. Variety claimed the figure was a "Sith Master" but did not provide any quotes from Bryan that referred to him as such.

The helmet's final design and creation was done by Neal Scanlan's creature department by designer modeller Nick Tyrrell. Tyrrell said on Instagram "a real challenge set down by Leslye was the mask had to have a sinister smile incorporated. The final design was a helmet which had exposed tubes that resembled teeth. My idea was that the tubes were some sort of breathing apparatus/ voice changer that was exposed and that the teeth look was just a happy accident."

Den of Geek also claimed, despite not providing any quotes that showed as such, the helmeted master was a Sith in its interview with showrunner Leslye Headland. All the same, Headland did discuss the Sith with Den of Geek, stating The Acolyte was "an expansion of Sith ideology." The fifth episode, "Night," which was released on June 25, 2024, confirmed that Qimir and the Master that was known to Mae were one and the same. Qimir's identity as a Sith Lord was also confirmed the next day in an Entertainment Weekly article quoting Jacinto.