Manny Jacinto Hoped ‘The Acolyte’ Could Revive Romance

The Acolyte only lasted a single season, but fans still carry a torch for the late Star Wars spinoff. One element the show seemed eager to continue, and something a specific sect of fans were looking forward to, was the relationship between ex-Jedi Osha (Amandla Stenberg) and future Knight of Ren founder Qimir (Manny Jacinto).

To put it bluntly, people wanted to see those two smooch, and Jacinto’s among those ranks. During a recent interview with TV Insider, he talked about Qimir and Osha’s relationship—Oshamir, for short—being a dynamic that interested him to begin with. In his eyes, the big thing missing from “a lot” of franchises today is “the romance, the love and relationships. It’s a weird thing: we have the big fight scenes and the origin stories of these heroes and whatnot, but they don’t really have a relationship with other people.”

“I’m incredibly proud of what we did in The Acolyte and I loved Qimir and Osha relationship, because we were taking it back to having a relationship in this big world,” he continued. “[Relationships] made the characters and the story more compelling as opposed to just having big fight sequences. We were taking it back to a relationship in this big world.”

The lack of romances in blockbuster movies has long been a talking point, and Star Wars has been part of those conversations. Relationships and romance has always been a core part of the franchise, which Disney hasn’t always been the best about accepting, much less portraying. Most romances in the franchise don’t end well, but maybe summer 2026’s YA romance book Eyes Like Stars from Ashley Poston will buck the trend. And maybe if it’s successful enough, it’ll lead readers to Oshamir or whatever other ship is waiting.

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