Actor Ian McDiarmid, who has played Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars since the beginning of the saga, defends the return of the character in the latest film, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”.
Palpatine returned to throw his fearsome lightning bolts into the Star Wars universe in The Rise of Skywalker! A controversial return since the character had been dead for almost 36 years.
If the return of the Emperor in Episode IX caused a lot of debate among fans, for his interpreter Ian McDiarmid, there was also reason to ask questions, as he initially admitted to the magazine Empire :
“A lot of people have said that [le retour de Palpatine] was ridiculous… Of course he was dead at the end of Return of the Jedi! And frankly, I think George thought he killed me too. But JJ thought it was a good idea – I wasn’t going to argue with him.”
It’s not his choice, but he agrees
Lucasfilm Ltd. The Death of Palpatine (1983)
Once the decision was made, despite everything, McDiarmid found a very good reason for the Sith Lord to ultimately still be alive, despite his terrible ending in Episode VI:
I felt like Palpatine always had a plan B – and probably also a plan C, D, E and F. And he was an expert in cloning, so…
“What I like the most”he adds, “and I only realized this when they asked me to come back for The Rise of Skywalker, is that every act of evil in the Star Wars franchise is directly or indirectly linked to this character. He is evil incarnate , and it’s an arc [narratif] strangely satisfying. I feel lucky to have been able to do it – and now other movie villains are going to have to compete with that.”
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Palpatine vs Rey
The Rise of Skywalker not only brought Palpatine back, but it also made him Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) grandfather, giving the heroine a kinship with this famous and formidable character. Here again, a choice that does not appeal to everyone, as evidenced by the spectator reviews on AlloCiné, which are very divided on the question…