From the moment the Emperor’s Royal Guard were spotted in the teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, there’s been a tonne of speculation about whether we’ll see an appearance from Palpatine – and now thanks to actor Ian McDiarmid, it seems we have our answer.
“Rogue One’s on its way, [and it’s set] when I was in charge of things – I mean the Emperor, not me,” McDiarmid told XGN at the Amsterdam Comic Con (via Star Wars News Net). “I am not featured in [the movie] myself, but I understand that Darth Vader may be making an appearance.”
So, there you have it… The Emperor won’t be in Rogue One – and we now officially have no idea why those Royal Guards are there. Unless of course this is misdirection on McDiarmid’s part, or – god forbid – Lucasfilm has decided to recast the role.
Will you be disappointed if Palpatine is absent from Rogue One? Why are we seeing Royal Guards?! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
SEE ALSO: New images from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set for release on December 16th 2016, with a cast that includes Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Diego Luna (Milk), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Alan Tudyk (Con Man), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler), Genevieve O’Reilly (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith), Jimmy Smits (Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones), and Jonathan Aris (Sherlock).
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Originally published August 30, 2016. Updated December 16, 2019.
