Having made his grand return to the galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid has revealed to Digital Spy that he was “totally surprised” by the Sith Lord’s return in the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, as George Lucas had always told him that he was definitively dead after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.
“I thought I was dead,” said McDiarmid, who first portrayed the character in 1983’s Return of the Jedi before reprising the role for the Prequel Trilogy and now Rise of Skywalker. “I thought he was dead. Because when we did Return of the Jedi, and I was thrown down that chute to Galactic Hell, he was dead. And I said, ‘Oh, does he come back?’ And [George] said, ‘No, he’s dead.’ So I just accepted that. But then, of course, I didn’t know I was going to be doing the prequels, so in a sense he wasn’t dead, because we went back to revisit him when he was a young man. But I was totally surprised by this.”
Although Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy has stated that bringing back Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker had been “the blueprint for a long time”, original Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow recently confirmed that The Emperor did not feature in his plans for the movie, and that it was an idea J.J. Abrams brought to the table after signing on as his replacement in the director’s chair.
What did you make of Palpatine’s return? Did you enjoy it, or should he have remained dead following the events of Return of the Jedi?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
