Emperor Palpatine Rumored to Return in Next Star Wars Film

The Star Wars franchise might be bringing back another long dead Sith Lord in Episode IX. Recent reports suggest that Ian McDiarmid, who played Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in Return of the Jedi and the Star Wars prequel trilogy, might be making an appearance in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming film. As fans of the space opera know, Palpatine died at the hands of Darth Vader in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. News of Palpatine’s reappearance in the series comes months after another Sith Lord, Darth Maul, returned in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Maul seemingly died in 1999’s much maligned The Phantom Menace after being cut in half by a young Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Rumors of Palpatine’s upcoming reappearance in the series were first reported by the British newspaper Express. According to an unnamed source, Palpatine will make a cameo appearance in Episode IX. Appearing in only one scene, Palpatine will return to advise Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren. Ren, as the new leader of the First Order following the death of Supreme Leader Snoke in 2017’s The Last Jedi, will find Palpatine when looking for a super weapon. The leaker describes the scene in full, saying that Ren will visit a jungle planet and find a hologram of Palpatine, who gives Ren blueprints for a new weapon. Surprisingly, Palpatine will not return as a Force ghost as many dead Jedi have done in several Star Wars films.

Despite only appearing as a hologram, fans are still hopeful for a full return of the original Star Wars bad guy. As audiences know, Palpatine told a young Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith that the Dark Side of the Force allows practitioners the ability to cheat death. This ability was already seen in the Dark Empire comic series from the 90s, which involved Palpatine transferring his consciousness to a clone body after his death to rebuild the Galactic Empire. Rumors of McDiarmid’s return to the series comes as many veteran Star Wars actors say they will return for Episode IX. Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, will return despite his demise in The Last Jedi. Speculation centers around Hamill’s character returning as a Force ghost. Meanwhile, Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian will also return for Episode IX. Williams portrayed Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Episode IX premieres on December 20, 2019.