"Somehow, Palpatine returned." This line has become a legendary Star Wars meme, encapsulating the controversy surrounding Emperor Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker. Many fans expressed their discontent with the decision to bring back Palpatine through cloning after his apparent demise in the beloved Return of the Jedi. But what did Ian McDiarmid, who has portrayed Palpatine / the Emperor for over four decades, think about the backlash?
In a recent interview with Variety, celebrating the theatrical re-release of Revenge of the Sith which has seen tremendous box office success, McDiarmid addressed the criticism nonchalantly, stating, “mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable.”
He elaborated, "It seemed entirely probable that Palpatine had a plan B. Even though he was very, very badly damaged, he would be able to 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."
Regarding the specific backlash to the Emperor's return, McDiarmid remarked, "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.”
*The Rise of Skywalker* offers a somewhat vague explanation for Palpatine's comeback. When Kylo Ren encounters him early in the film, Palpatine appears as a reanimated version of his former self, suggesting he did not actually survive his fall in *Return of the Jedi*. Yet, his death did not hinder him; as McDiarmid pointed out, Palpatine had a contingency plan. In explaining his return to Kylo Ren, Palpatine recites his iconic line from *Revenge of the Sith*: "The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities that some would consider to be... unnatural."Thus, ancient Sith magic is credited with his resurrection.
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It's doubtful that the core Star Wars fanbase will ever fully accept Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker, with many preferring to ignore it altogether. It remains to be seen whether future Star Wars movies will follow suit. In November, it was reported that Daisy Ridley's character, Rey Skywalker, would appear in "several" upcoming Star Wars films, highlighting her status as the franchise's "most valuable cinematic asset."
Ridley is set to reprise her role in the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to The Rise of Skywalker, which will explore Rey's efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order approximately 15 years after the events of the film.
