Although Ian McDiarmid played a younger version of Sheev Palpatine, a.k.a. Darth Sidious, in Star Wars’ Prequel Trilogy, chronologically speaking, the character was understandably thought to have perished in Return of the Jedi prior to 2019. Then The Rise of Skywalker came along and revealed that the Sith Lord has transferred his consciousness into a new body and was the real mastermind behind The First Order. The decision to bring back Emperor Palpatine was met with backlash from segments of the Star Wars fanbase, and while McDiarmid has now addressed those complaints, I’m more interested in how his role reprisal for Episode IX ended up being “even better” than what he envisioned.
How Ian McDiarmid Feels About The Backlash Towards Emperor Palpatine’s Return
McDiarmid discussed his time on The Rise of Skywalker while being interviewed by Variety on behalf of the 20th anniversary of Revenge of the Sith, which is currently playing in theaters again and also available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. When the actor was asked how he felt about Palatine’s inclusion in Episode IX not being warmly received, he answered:
Well, there’s always something, isn’t there? I don’t read that stuff and I’m not online. So it’ll only reach me if someone mentions it. I thought there might be a bit of a fuss about bringing him back. But as I said, mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable. This man who was horribly maimed thought maybe one day it might happen to him, and we’ve got to have a plan B. I loved the whole idea that he should come back and be even more powerful than he was before. Though this time, he had to be utterly destroyed. So I think he’s dead.
Palpatine was indeed a planner, and given how he’d become obsessed with cheating death after being apprenticed by Darth Plagueis. So honestly, it’s not that much of a stretch that he would have found a way to live on after being tossed into a chasm in the second Death Star. But throw in how Palpatine ended up being Rey’s grandfather, his puppeteering of Snoke and his plan to establish The Final Order with a fleet of planet-destroying Star Destroyers, and I could understand why some would find this all convoluted.
But by the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it seemed like Palpatine had finally died for good after Rey deflected his own Force lightning back at him. Hopefully Ian McDiarmid’s correct that this will stick. While I don’t mind revisiting Palpatine in stories set during the Prequel or Original Trilogy eras, there’s no reason he should still be around in the post-Episode IX upcoming Star Wars movies.
Why Ian McDiarmid’s Rise Of Skywalker Experience Was Better Than He Expected
Although Palpatine lived on after Return of the Jedi, the clone body his consciousness transferred to was so physically impaired that it required him to sit in a chair packed with machinery to sustain his life. But Palatine’s restrictive mobility provided extra fun for Ian McDiarmid, as he had a blast being maneuvered around in that chair while acting opposite Daisy Ridley. As he recalled:
It seemed entirely probable that Palpatine had plan B. Even though he was very, very badly damaged, he would be able to be put it together in some form. When I realized I had a sort of astral wheelchair, that was even better. I just had these four guys who whisked me around the studio; I can’t tell you how much fun that was. Daisy was more worried about that than anything else. And then, of course, we had to devise another makeup look, which was even more grotesque than the previous one.
Had Palpatine’s plan succeeded, he would have transferred his consciousness into Rey’s body once she killed him in anger. Then when Ben Solo arrived to help her, he started absorbing their life energy to rejuvenate his own body. But just like at the end of the Original Trilogy, good triumphed over evil, and ideally the galaxy far, far away will never have to think about Palpatine outside of a historical context ever again. As far as McDiarmid is concerned, I’m glad he had all that fun in the chair! I would have been down to try sitting in it, too.
Next up on the Star Wars film slate is The Mandalorian & Grogu, which opens in theaters on May 22, 2026. Then the Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars: Starfighter follows on May 28, 2027. If Palpatine resurfaces on the big or small screens again, we’ll let you know here at CinemaBlend.
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