Summary

• Star Wars: The Acolyte breaks new ground by including cameos from Darth Plagueis and Yoda in its finale, leaving audiences buzzing.
• Director Hanelle M. Culpepper's work on The Acolyte showcases her impressive skills in bringing characters and stories to life.
• The Acolyte's finale features groundbreaking moments like the bleeding of a kyber crystal and Master Sol's tragic death, executed beautifully on screen.

As the first Star Wars live-action project to be set outside the Skywalker saga's timeline, Star Wars: The Acolyte was already breaking new ground from the beginning, but its finale is what truly began to set some incredible things into motion. The brief cameos by Master Sol into the villain he never truly was.

These cameos, reveals, and more were all completed under Hanelle M. Culpepper's direction. As the director of The Acolyte episodes 6 and 8, Culpepper was able to further extend her already impressive film and television directing credits. Known for her work on TV shows such as Star Trek: Picard and Criminal Minds, Culpepper is an award-winning director who has achieved incredible feats throughout the duration of her career. As a Black woman in this industry, and now the first woman to direct for both the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises, Culpepper is certainly no stranger to breaking new ground.

Screen Rant had the opportunity to interview Culpepper about her work on The Acolyte, specifically in relation to the finale's jaw-dropping surprises and reveals, episode 6's character-driven narrative, and the magic of Star Wars that carries through every single project by the will of the Force.

Going Behind The Scenes On The Acolyte Finale's Biggest Cameos

What It Was Like Bringing Darth Plagueis & Yoda To Life

SCREEN RANT: You had the opportunity to bring the famed master of Palpatine himself, Darth Plagueis, to live-action in The Acolyte’s finale. The way he looked out from that cave was perfectly creepy. What was it like bringing this important Star Wars character and moment to life?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: It was kind of wild, because you’re so excited about what it can possibly be. But, you know, so much of it is crafted in post, and so it was also just interesting seeing how they took what we shot and then made it into what he is. For us, it was a man in a gray suit, and getting the movements right and getting the framing right so that we can see enough to see who it is and make it provoke questions and make the audience wonder why is he there and what does this all mean.

SCREEN RANT: Darth Plagueis wasn’t your only major cameo in this finale. You also got to bring Yoda back to live-action! What was it like to direct Yoda, however brief his appearance may be? Was there anything more you may have done with him that audiences didn’t get to see? And did you use the same puppet that was used for The Last Jedi?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: I’m not sure which puppet they used for The Last Jedi. I mean, I know what it looked like, but I don’t know what the logistics are, so I can’t answer to that.

I can tell you that I was like a kid when I learned that I had the opportunity to work with Yoda. The day that we shot that, it was quite magical, I’ll say, because you see Yoda—and when you first see Yoda, and he’s in his trunk, you’re still like, “Oh my God, it’s Yoda,” right? But then, a puppeteer literally brings Yoda to life, literally, and so it’s kind of a mind thing when you know you’re looking at a puppet, but you’re like, “No, he is real now!” And I Leslye [Headland] and I were just giddy and would talk to Yoda in between takes.

It was very cool. It was a fun day, and it was exciting, and I knew that if I was jumping out of my skin with excitement about the fact that we were doing this, then I was just like… this is just the perfect ending for this episode.

Portraying The Acolyte's Sith Lord's Vulnerability With Manny Jacinto

Showing A Brand-New Side Of The Sith

SCREEN RANT: Fans everywhere can’t get enough of The Stranger, or Qimir. You had the chance to direct Manny Jacinto in this role twice, for episodes 6 and 8. What was it like working with him in this role, and what did you learn about his character by spending so much time with him? How much of his origin story were you told?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: Manny [Jacinto] was so great. What was probably interesting about coming in at episode 6 is that we were seeing this version of The Stranger that had not been done. He was so different before when he was playing Qimir and then when you see him as the Big Bad in episode 5, and then you get to see this side of him, to see who he really is, to see his vulnerability. And Manny really brought so much to that. There were a lot of discussions, a lot of rehearsal time with Leslye there, so we could really drill down on who he is. Whatever you say, there’s also what Manny feels deep down, what the character is saying to him, he’s embodying him. You really wanna listen to that and honor that.

It was really with each scene, just figuring out what’s the right amount, because the one thing we all didn’t want is him to just be a mustache-twirly bad guy. We want him to be so much more complex than that, and his story is complex, what did happen to him. I will let Leslye fill in all the blanks on his backstory, and hopefully the audience will demand a season 2 so they can learn more if that’s what’s gonna be covered in season 2, I don’t know. I’m waiting with bated breath like the rest of us.

He’s something special with what he brings in. He and Amandla [Stenberg] both just really went to a deep, authentic place and felt what those characters felt for real, and you see that on the screen, you see how it comes from an honest place.

Master Sol's Tragic Death & The Bleeding Of His Kyber Crystal

How This Heartbreaking Moment Came To Life

SCREEN RANT: The Acolyte’s finale is the first time we’ve seen a kyber crystal bleed in live-action, and it’s absolutely epic. How did you make this moment come to life on set, and how did you feel after seeing it with its full effects?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: When I saw that in the script, I immediately started researching how to do this, what should it look like, trying to look at descriptions and stuff. Leslye brought a lot of that too, and we also consulted with Pablo [Hidalgo]. What we knew was important is that the crystal needed to be exposed and her skin needed to physically be touching it in order for it to work, so that all that emotion that she was feeling in that moment with Sol is what really started this process of the crystal going from blue to red. It was igniting it that finally allows us to see it.

So, there are a lot of conversations, a lot of pulling visual references to share with Leslye to find out, “Is this what it is gonna look like? Or is this gonna be what it looks like?” because you want to make sure you have all the elements they need to make the visual effect seamless. I thought they did a spectacular job, I loved it. I thought it came out even better than I imagined.

SCREEN RANT: Master Sol’s death at Osha’s hand is just utterly tragic for both of them in every way. The emotion Lee Jung-jae portrays is perfectly heartbreaking. How did you approach directing this moment for these actors, and did you draw any inspiration from Luke and Darth Vader’s most critical scenes in Return of the Jedi?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: I definitely went and rewatched all of that stuff, but when you’re then sitting down to figure out how you’re gonna shoot it, it’s there, it’s in the back of your head, right? There are certain things that I did not specifically say I want to do this because I want to parallel what happened in The Empire Strikes Back or anything like that, it was more like, I want to do this because I feel it’s the best way to tell that story, to tell that emotional moment.

Working with JJ [Lee Jung-jae] was incredible. He had to give that 100% emotion, and he has that conversation with both Mae and Osha, so he has to deliver that level in both directions in several angles. It was never a moment where the angle allowed him to go easy on himself, right? He had to give Amandla what she needed as Mae and what she needed as Osha in order to get us to that point where Osha would be so emotional that she would kill this father, her father figure.

I wanted to say that all the influences from Star Wars are there in a subconscious way, kind of guiding the instincts that you have for what is the best way to show this moment between them.

Culpepper has since shared the list of projects, both Star Wars and non-Star Wars, she (re)watched in preparation for The Acolyte, which includes:

• All the Star Wars movies, in story order
• Andor
• The Mandalorian
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Coppola's Dracula
• Kill Bill
• The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
• Fugitive
• Cowboy Bebop (animated)
• Frozen

Rhyming With Other Star Wars Stories & Hoping For Season 2

On The Last Jedi Echoes & What Could Be Next For The Acolyte

SCREEN RANT: There were several comparisons drawn between Qimir and Osha in episode 6 and Rey and Kylo Ren in the sequel Star Wars trilogy, particularly in The Last Jedi. Was the latter’s aesthetic something you were aiming for while directing, or is this simply a case of Star Wars naturally rhyming with itself?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: I think it’s certainly, again, something that I rewatched, but I feel like a lot of it is… you’d have to ask [Leslye], because so much of it came from what she had written on the page that I was just trying to execute in the best possible way physically and emotionally. There are parallels with stories between father and child, and between two people who are connected by the Force. [Laughs] I didn’t purposely set out to copy that in any way, it was just more… when you’re exploring that universe, again, the decisions come down to what best s what’s happening emotionally and for the character and the story at that time.

SCREEN RANT: Lastly, it’s no secret that Leslye Headland is hoping for a season 2 to continue telling this story, and a lot of fans want that, too. Has she told you anything about a potential season 2, perhaps a few subtle hints?

Hanelle M. Culpepper: I haven’t gotten any hints. In fact, I wanted to better say what I said earlier, because I think you were asking about wanting to see more about Qimir’s backstory, and I said well hopefully we’ll get a season 2, we’ll learn more—and that wasn’t coming from me knowing anything or implying that that’s gonna be the case. All it is is, like the rest of the fans, I want a season 2 and whatever we’re gonna learn in season 2 and add to the story, expand the story, is going to be, I’m sure, very cool and exciting and make us want a season 3!

All episodes of The Acolyte are now streaming on Disney+.