Highlights

  • Star Wars: The Acolyte's Sith villain Qimir was inspired by Elden Ring players who choose to rush into battle wearing barely any armor.
  • The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland used these "crazy" players for inspiration, citing a scene in which Qimir challenges a squad of Jedi wearing only a gauntlet and helmet for protection.

According to Star Wars: The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland, the mysterious masked Sith villain Qimir was inspired by Elden Ring players. Elden Ring took the gaming world by storm upon its release in 2022, with Dark Soul's developer FromSoftware and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin joining forces to create a title that brings the former’s notoriously challenging gameplay into a fantastical open-world setting.

Some of Elden Ring’s most persistent players have gone on to become legends in the gaming community, with a primary example being Let Me Solo Her. The player first rose to prominence by defeating the powerful Elden Ring boss Malenia, Blade of Miquella no less than 2,000 times, armed with only a pair of Katanas and a ceramic pot on their head for protection. The fact that Let Me Solo Her was able to take down one of Elden Ring’s most notorious enemies with minimal armor has been seen as an achievement worthy of renown among the game’s massive fanbase, inspiring countless memes and imitators.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Rellana Fight
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It seems that even the Star Wars franchise has taken note of Let Me Solo Her and similar Elden Ring players, as Star Wars: The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland recently revealed how they inspired the show’s primary antagonist. In an interview with Inverse, Headland explained that Sith warrior Qimir’s design was directly influenced by the “crazy” Elden Ring players who tackle the game without armor, just like Qimir himself challenges a squad of Jedi with only a gauntlet and sinister-looking helmet for protection.

Star Wars: The Acolyte’s Qimir Was Inspired By “Naked” Elden Ring Players

Leslye Headland noted that others were initially shocked that Qimir wasn’t going to wear armor. The showrunner countered, explaining that he wouldn’t need armor if he never got hit, drawing comparisons to the nearly nude players in Elden Ring. Sure enough, Qimir’s Sith battle attire quickly caught the eye of Star Wars fans even before The Acolyte started airing on Disney+, thanks in no small part to his haunting mask that is made of Cortosis - a metal with its own gaming roots thanks to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Headland went on to describe the feeling of Elden Ring’s punishing combat, offering advice for anyone struggling with the recently released Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. The showrunner explained that players should “go in with an offensive attitude” and roll into a boss’s attacks with unrelenting force. Star Wars: The Acolyte’s Qimir did just that during his now-infamous massacre of the Jedi squad in the show’s fifth episode, becoming an instant fan favorite in the process - just like Let Me Solo Her and the Elden Ring players that have followed in their path.