It turns out the big hand-holding finale scene was a last-minute change.
Everything worked out forManny Jacintoat the end ofThe Acolyteseason 1 finale.
Oh, and is there a budding dark side romance brewing between master and apprentice?
Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) and the Stranger (Manny Jacinto) on ‘The Acolyte’.Disney+
MANNY JACINTO:Oh, man.
So the stunt guys were like, Manny, you don’t have to do this yourself.
I just wanted to do it myself, but that water was cold.
The Stranger (Manny Jacinto) on ‘The Acolyte’.Disney+
It was a cold plunge experience.
He’s going to die from hypothermia.
And I was like, No, I’m fine.
Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, and Amandla Stenberg on ‘The Acolyte’.Disney+
Let’s just go again.
But literally, I couldn’t control my body, and I was just constantly shivering.
But yeah, it was cold water, man.
The Stranger (Manny Jacinto) on ‘The Acolyte’.Disney+
That is the main motivation.
There’s nothing like the motivation of an impending scene where you have to show some skin.
And as I’ve said before, some baby oil definitely goes a long way.
Manny Jacinto of ‘The Acolyte’ at Star Wars Celebration 2023 EW Portraits.Rachell Smith
Tell me about how you approached the finale fight scene with Lee Jung-jae, because that was just breathtaking.
I love the pace of it and how fast youre always moving.
I mean, its definitely not easy.
The dance background is incredibly helpful.
Do you prefer fighting with single blade or double blade?
The double blade is so cool because I’m Filipino and there’s a Filipino martial arts called Arniz.
And so being able to do a two-handed fight scene was definitely a highlight.
Why does the Stranger take the helmet off after Sol beats him in combat?
Is he daring him to finish the job?
That’s pretty much it.
I think the Stranger is not afraid of death.
He’s not afraid of being taken out from the beginning, even in episode 5.
It doesn’t matter if he gets taken out, it doesn’t matter if he dies.
What he wants is he wants Sol to realize his failings.
He wants Sol to tap into his darkness and his anger.
And for him, that’s already the win.
So if he can win like that, then that’s all he’s ever really wanted.
And he wants to go out with a bang.
What can you say about that relationship?
It’s a father and daughter relationship.
Only one specific person can give them that feeling, and that person is Vernestra.
And it was broken somehow in a very traumatic way.
And hopefully, we can explore that in subsequent seasons.
But yeah, there’s a definite fear in his eyes when he realizes Vernestra is nearby.
The Stranger puts his hand on Oshas hand and the lightsaber at the very end.
Are there some romantic feelings there?
It was always something that we wanted to allude to.
Everything from the being seduced by the dark side to the power of two.
You want somebody to go through this world that doesn’t accept you.
You want to go through it with somebody.
It was always implied.
I remember that specific scene, I was only meant to stand beside her.
Amandla was just standing there looking out into the ocean, and I would just stand beside her.
And we were just supposed to look out into this vast ocean together.
And fortunately, Leslye is very collaborative and she was like, Yeah, let’s try it!
And then we filmed it a bunch of times and she was like, I really like this!
And then lo and behold, we kept it for the final cut.
So Leslye was like, Give the people what they want.
Let’s lean into this.
And hopefully we can explore more of that again in a possible season 2 and in subsequent seasons.
What can you say about what appears to beDarth Plagueispeeking outside of that cave there?
At this point I cannot confirm or deny if that’s Darth Plagueis.
But I will say this: I am experiencing that as purely as a viewer.
I did not know that that was going to happen.
I was like, Okay, it was just unfinished CGI or something.
I have so many questions just like you, if that’s the case.
I mean, it was always rumored with fans, but I am experiencing it just like a viewer.
Maybe five or 10 years and see how the relationship has evolved with Osha and Qimir?
Or do we go right away into their training dynamic and how the dynamic between these two characters evolves?
Yeah, there’s a lot for debate, and discussion.
It all comes down to Leslye and what she’s thinking, so I always defer to her.
But there’s just so much to explore, a lot of Easter eggs that dropped in that finale.
So fingers crossed we get to do it.
