Ian McDiarmid, one of the stars of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, has provided more details about Palpatine being a clone.
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding The Rise of Skywalker pertained to the return of Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine confirms that he did in fact die during Return of the Jedi but how did he return to haunt the galaxy once more?
Well, a leak from the upcoming novelisation of The Rise of Skywalker has confirmed that just like in the old canon, Palpatine is a clone in his returned form. The body we see in Episode IX is artificial and struggling to contain Darth Sidious’ immense dark side spirit. Now, Ian McDiarmid himself has provided a little extra detail about his return, telling Comic Con Brussels (via Insert Coin):
“The cloning thing? Yes. Well, of course, there were all sorts of explanations for why I might return but it’s interesting because, I think I can reveal something, at one point the script had the line in that first scene with [Kylo Ren actor] Adam [Driver], when he says, ‘You’re a clone,’ and I said, in that original script, which is no longer with us, ‘More than a clone. Less than a man.’ Which seemed, to me, to sum him up, really. Because we know the camera has already snaked past the clone tank in which there are various versions of Snoke, that you probably noticed.”
“So Snoke was a clone, Palpatine was responsible for everything,” McDiarmid added. “He made everything, in one way or another. Talk about power. If you think back, and I’m sure you will, to watch them in the correct sequence, that’s threaded throughout all of the movies, is that sense of evil. In a sense, when everyone commits a bad act, it’s because of this character, this influence. Either in public or pervasively in private.”
Perhaps Palpatine got the idea for his clone when overseeing the original clone project for the Republic during the prequel era. Whatever the case, from the character’s appearance, it clearly wasn’t a pleasant experience for the evil Sith Lord.
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What are your thoughts on the Palpatine / Clone reveal? Let us know in the comments or on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
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), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) 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).
