During an interview given for the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menaceactor Ian McDiarmid returned to a sensitive plot point in Star Wars Episode IX (The Rise of Skywalker): the return of Palpatine, although he died at the end of Episode VI.
“ The dead speak »: this sentence must still haunt the nights of many fans of Star Wars. It opens the ninth canonical film in the saga, entitled The Rise of Skywalkerand serves to make us swallow one of the biggest pills of the third trilogy: the return of Emperor Palpatine as the main antagonist, a role he already occupied in the prelogy and the original trilogy.
After the initial surprise of the return of the actor playing Palpatine in Star Warswhich had received a good reception during the convention preceding the release of the film in cinemas, this plot twist ended up disturbing the public, including the most fervent fans of the cinematographic saga.
This abrupt change in narrative direction, which brought Ian McDiarmid back without warning, was indeed perceived as an attempt to somehow mend the two previous episodes (VII and VIII). Indeed, the general opinion is that these two films lack a link and that the plot is devoid of real continuity.
From then on, with the third trilogy seeming to have no overall direction, it was given the impression that the studio summoned an ancient figure from the past to try and hold everything together. Even if it means delivering somewhat vague explanations – and that’s an understatement – to retroactively justify the return of the Emperor.
Obviously, people are ready to defend this choice of JJ Abrams, the filmmaker who directed Episode IX. This is precisely the case for Ian McDiarmid. For objectivity, we’ll come back. In any case, he wanted to share his point of view in the columns of the media Empire, during an interview published on February 13 for the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace.
In his eyes, the Emperor is simply a super powerful enemy, with more than one trick up his sleeve.
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“ Many people found it ridiculous. Of course, he died at the end of Return of the Jedi! And, frankly, I think George [Lucas] thought he killed me. But JJ [Abrams] thought it was a good idea — I wasn’t going to argue otherwise », says Ian McDiarmid.
For him, it was an opportunity to put on his costume again and, at the same time, to get a stamp in the process. Why would he have tried to dissuade JJ Abrams? For the business part, the return of Palpatine is understood. However, there remains another crucial aspect: that of the story.
And on this point, Ian McDiarmid’s arguments are much more debatable: “ I always thought Palpatine had a plan B, and probably a plan C, D, E, and F. And he was an expert at cloning, so… »Is the person in question giving a little wink to Disney to try to also have his series on the Disney+ platform? Samuel L. Jackson recently did this with much more transparency for Mace Windu (who dies fighting Palpatine, by the way).
Ian McDiarmid would like to point out how Palpatine has no equivalent as a villain, in all sagas combined: “ He represents absolute evil, and it’s a very satisfying arc. I’m glad I was able to do that — and now other movie villains have to compete with him. » We cannot blame him on this point: yes, Palpatine is a character with immense powers. That’s not the problem.
The problem lies in its total absence from opuses 7 and 8 before finding itself again at the center of the story in opus 9 (by linking it in the same movement to Rey, the heroine, supposed not to be person originally). Series The Mandalorian vainly tried to deflate the controversy, via an episode which returns to a sudden interest of the Empire in cloning.
This isn’t the first time a cast member Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker seeks to defend the scriptural errors of the film released in 2019. Daisy Ridley, the actress who plays Rey and who will soon be entitled to her own feature film, had tried to justify her improbable affiliation with Palpatine, recalls Écran Large in an article published in January 2023.
If not to reopen a wound that the fans are trying to heal, we wonder what the casting is trying to do by trying to put a piece back in the machine by trying to defend a plot that has failed to convince the public.
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