Ian McDiarmid recalls a conversation he had about Emperor Palpatine with George Lucas. Before the sequel trilogy hit theaters, the Scottish actor wanted to know if Palpatine was officially dead. According to Lucas, the iconic villain was indeed dead after getting thrown down into the Death Star’s reactor by Darth Vader inReturn of the Jedi. This is whatStar Warsfans have believed to be true for over 30 years now. However,The Rise of Skywalkerhas somehow resurrected the character.
Back in 2013, Ian McDiarmid had a chat withGeorge Lucasabout Emperor Palpatine. This was before the sequel trilogy hit theaters, but after it had been announced. McDiarmid states, “I remember saying, ‘Is he dead, George?’ at the time, and he said, ‘Yes, he is. Absolutely dead.” That seems to be about as official as you’re able to get right there. But, in theStar Warsuniverse, nobody is ever really gone, which is howThe Rise of Skywalkerhas been marketed. Palpatine is back and there are some serious questions as to how.
In a recently released interview fromThe Rise of Skywalkerset, Ian McDiarmid reveals he was shocked and very excited over the fact that J.J. Abrams contacted him about bringingEmperor Palpatineback. McDiarmid did not expect it, nor didStar Warsfans. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Abrams was excited that McDiarmid wanted to return. In turn, the actor has nothing but nice things to say about his young co-stars, noting that he, at that point in the production, had only really worked with Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver.
The Rise of Skywalkeropens in theaters next week and while there have been some unconfirmed leaks, it appears that most of the story has yet to be revealed. We still have no idea how Emperor Palpatine is back after being blown to pieces with the rest of theDeath Star, thoughStar Warscanon has told us that he and Darth Plagueis were exploring eternal life and using the Force in unnatural ways. This is the main theory that fans have been using to justify the iconic villain’s return to the franchise after all this time.
Regardless of how Emperor Palpatine is back,Star Warsfans seem to be pretty excited to seeIan McDiarmidback with the franchise. We have yet to see what he looks like in his physical form, but we do know he was on the set interacting with Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley. From here on out, it would be wise to avoid certain website and social media platforms sinceThe Rise of Skywalkerpremieres next week. Monday is the World Premiere, while press screenings will occur throughout the week, which means actual leaks will be online real soon. You can check out the interview with Ian McDiarmid below, thanks to the officialStar Warssite.
