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Palpatine

December 20, 2023

For other uses, see Palpatine (disambiguation).

Sheev Palpatine,[c] also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appears on screen in the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), in which he is credited as The Emperor. The character serves as the main antagonist of the nine-film Skywalker saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In creating Palpatine, Lucas was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.

Palpatine
Star Wars character
Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine in
Return of the Jedi (1983)
First appearanceThe Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Created byGeorge Lucas
Portrayed byIan McDiarmid
Marjorie Eaton (original release of Episode V)[a][1][2]
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full nameSheev Palpatine
AliasDarth Sidious
SpeciesHuman
Occupation
Affiliation
Family
  • Dathan (strand-cast clone/"son")[b]
  • Snoke (strand-cast clone)[b]
  • Gallius Rax (adoptive son)
  • Miramir (daughter-in-law)
  • Rey (granddaughter)

Legends material:

MasterDarth Plagueis
Apprentices

Legends material:

In the original trilogy, Palpatine is depicted as the evil Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the master of Darth Vader. The character has a larger role in the prequel trilogy, which chronicles his rise from senator to Emperor. He is portrayed as a charismatic politician—and, secretly, a Sith lord powerful with the dark side of the Force—who orchestrates the invasion of Naboo and the Clone Wars, ends the Jedi Order and the Republic, and seduces Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into becoming his apprentice, Vader. In The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the final film in the sequel trilogy, Palpatine is revealed to be the paternal grandfather of protagonist Rey and the mastermind behind Snoke, whom he created to lead the First Order against the New Republic and seduce Skywalker's grandson, Ben Solo, into becoming the villainous Kylo Ren.

Since the release of Return of the Jedi, Palpatine has become a widely recognized symbol of evil in popular culture, and since the prequel trilogy, a symbol of sinister deception and the subversion of democracy. The Star Wars Databank describes him as "the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical regime the galaxy had ever witnessed".[8] Aside from the films, Palpatine appears in various canon and non-canon Star Wars media, including Clone Wars (2003–5), The Clone Wars (2008–14, 2020), Rebels (2014–18), The Bad Batch (2021–), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Tales of the Jedi (2022–), all set before the original trilogy.

Creation and development

 
The Emperor in the original 1980 version of The Empire Strikes Back, portrayed by Marjorie Eaton wearing a mask[2] with chimpanzee eyes superimposed and voiced by Clive Revill[9]

Concept and writing

 
 
 
 
Palpatine was influenced by historical leaders such as (clockwise from top left) Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, and Richard Nixon.

Star Wars creator George Lucas's conceptualization of Palpatine and the role he plays in the franchise changed over time. Lucas's initial notes discuss a line of corrupt emperors, not just one.[10] In the 1974 draft of Star Wars, the "New Galactic Empire" was led by a relatively young human named Cos Dashit.[11] The name Palpatine first appears in the prologue of Alan Dean Foster's 1976 novelization of the original Star Wars film,[d] which detailed the Emperor's rise to power. From Return of the Jedi (1983) onwards, the Emperor became the ultimate personification of evil in the series, replacing his apprentice Darth Vader as the central villain. Though the films of the original Star Wars trilogy do not actually state the Emperor's name, the novelization of Return of the Jedi confirms his name as Palpatine.[12][10]

During the story development of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lucas decided that, with the original having only passingly mentioned the Emperor, he needed to "begin to deal with him on a more concrete level".[13][14] Lucas realized, however, that the primary conflict with the Emperor would be best saved for the trilogy's third film, because "[w]hen you get rid of the Emperor, the whole thing is over." This influenced the decision to depict the character in a hood, so his face would largely be obscured. Additionally, this look would recall Obi-Wan Kenobi. Lucas stated that "In the end, the Emperor does exactly what [Obi-Wan] did; he can also transform himself."[14] Although Palpatine dies at the end of Return of the Jedi,[15] the plot point of his metamorphosis was utilized for the sequel trilogy, which Lucas had no direct involvement with.[16][17]

Lucas ultimately decided instead to focus on the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. In that film, the initial conception of Palpatine was superseded by his depiction as a dictatorial ruler adept in the dark side of the Force. The Emperor was inspired by the villain Ming the Merciless from the Flash Gordon comic books.[18] The characterization of Palpatine as an ambitious and ruthless politician dismantling a democratic republic to achieve supreme power is in part inspired by the real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Alberto Fujimori, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and Adolf Hitler.[19][20] Other elements of the character come from Richard Nixon.[21][e] Lucas said that Nixon's presidency "got me to thinking historically about how do democracies get turned into dictatorships. Because the democracies aren't overthrown; they're given away."[24] Lucas also said, "The whole point of the movies, the underlying element that makes the movies work, is that you, whether you go backwards or forwards, you start out in a democracy, and democracy turns into a dictatorship, and then the rebels make it back into a democracy."[25]

Lucas wanted to establish the Emperor as the true source of evil in Star Wars. Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan noted, "My sense of the relationship between Darth Vader and the Emperor is that the Emperor is much more powerful ... and that Vader is very much intimidated by him. Vader has dignity, but the Emperor in Jedi really has all the power."[26] He explained that the climax of the film is a confrontation between Vader and his master. In the first scene that shows the Emperor, he arrives at the Death Star and is greeted by a host of stormtroopers, technicians, and other personnel. Lucas states he wanted it to look like the military parades on "May Day in Russia."[27]

Lucas fleshed out the Emperor in the prequel trilogy. According to Lucas, Palpatine's role in The Phantom Menace is to explain "how Anakin Skywalker [later Vader] came to be Palpatine's apprentice" and the events that sparked Palpatine's rise to totalitarian power after being a senate representative.[28] The film's novelization is the first time he is called Darth Sidious.[29] His home world, Naboo, is also home to Anakin's romantic interest, Padmé Amidala, who later becomes a senator of that planet.

In the Lucasfilm-authorized Star Wars and History, Palpatine's consolidation of power is described as being similar to the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Both legitimized authoritarian rule by saying that corruption in the Senate was hampering the powers of the head of state; both pressured the Senate to grant extraordinary powers to deal with a crisis, falsely claiming that they would rescind those powers once the crisis was over; and both relied on their strong control over military force.[30]

Portrayal

When the Emperor first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, he was portrayed by Marjorie Eaton under heavy makeup.[31] Chimpanzee eyes were superimposed into darkened eye sockets during post-production.[9] The character was voiced by Clive Revill.[32] The makeup was sculpted by Phil Tippett and applied by Rick Baker,[2] who initially used his own wife, Elaine, for the makeup tests.[1][33]

"With [director Irvin] Kershner," Revill said, "you had to keep the reins tight — you couldn't go overboard. It was the perfect example of the old adage 'less is more' — the Emperor doesn't say very much. But when he finally appears, it's at a point in the saga when everyone's waiting to see him. It's the Emperor, the arch-villain of all time, and when he says there's a great disturbance in the Force, I mean, that's enough oomph!"[34] Years later, during production of Revenge of the Sith, Lucas decided to shoot new footage for The Empire Strikes Back to create continuity between the prequels and original trilogy. Thus, in the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition, the original version of the Emperor was replaced by Scottish Shakespearean actor Ian McDiarmid, and the dialogue between the Emperor and Darth Vader was revised.[35]

Lucas and director Richard Marquand cast McDiarmid to play Emperor Palpatine for Return of the Jedi. He was in his late 30s and had never played a leading role in a feature film, though he had made minor appearances in films like Dragonslayer (1981). After Return of the Jedi, he resumed stage acting in London.[36] In an interview with BackStage, McDiarmid revealed that he "never had his sights set on a film career and never even auditioned for the role of Palpatine." He elaborated, "I got called in for the interview after a Return of the Jedi casting director saw me perform in the Sam Shepard play Seduced at a studio theatre at the Royal Court. I was playing a dying Howard Hughes."[37]

McDiarmid was surprised when Lucas approached him 16 years after Return of the Jedi to reprise the role of Palpatine. In an interview, he stated, "When we were doing Return of the Jedi there was a rumor that George Lucas had nine films in his head, and he'd clearly just completed three of them." McDiarmid added, "Someone said that, 'Oh, I think what he might do next is go back in time, and show how Vader came to be.' It never occurred to me in a million years that I would be involved in that, because I thought, 'oh well, then he'll get a much younger actor to play Palpatine. That would be obvious." However, "I was the right age, ironically, for the first prequel when it was made. ... So I was in the very strange and rather wonderful paradox of playing myself when young at my own age, having played myself previously when 100-and-I-don't-know-what."[38]

Palpatine's role in the prequel films required McDiarmid to play two dimensions of the same character. Recalling the initial days of shooting The Phantom Menace, McDiarmid stated, "Stepping onto the set of Episode I for the first time was like going back in time, due to my experience in Jedi. Palpatine's an interesting character; he's conventional on the outside, but demonic on the inside — he's on the edge, trying to go beyond what's possible."[39] McDiarmid added another layer to the character in Attack of the Clones. He noted, "[Palpatine] is a supreme actor. He has to be even more convincing than somebody who isn't behaving in a schizophrenic fashion, so he's extra charming, or extra professional — and for those who are looking for clues, that's almost where you can see them." McDiarmid illuminated on the scene where Padmé Amidala is almost assassinated:

There's a moment in one scene of the new film where tears almost appear in his eye. These are crocodile tears, but for all those in the movie, and perhaps watching the movie itself, they'll see he is apparently moved — and of course, he is. He can just do it. He can, as it were, turn it on. And I suppose for him, it's also a bit of a turn-on — the pure exercise of power is what he's all about. That's the only thing he's interested in and the only thing that can satisfy him — which makes him completely fascinating to play because it is an evil soul. He is more evil than the devil. At least Satan fell — he has a history, and it's one of revenge.[40]

In Revenge of the Sith, McDiarmid played a darker interpretation of the character. He explained that "when you're playing a character of solid blackness, that in itself is very interesting, in the sense that you have no other motivation other than the accumulation of power. It's not so much about not having a moral center, it's just that the only thing that mattered is increasing power." He admitted, "I've been trying to find a redeeming feature to Palpatine, and the only one I've got so far is that he's clearly a patron of the arts because he goes to the opera."[41] McDiarmid compared the character to Iago from William Shakespeare's Othello:

Everything he does is an act of pure hypocrisy, and that's interesting to play. I suppose it's rather like playing Iago. All the characters in the play — including Othello until the end — think that "Honest Iago" is a decent guy doing his job, and he's quite liked. But at the same time, there's a tremendous evil subconscious in operation.[36]

McDiarmid noticed that the script for Revenge of the Sith demanded more action from his character than in previous films. Lightsaber combat was a challenge to the 60-year-old actor, who, like his costars, took fencing lessons. The close-up shots and non-acrobatic sequences of the duel between Palpatine and Mace Windu were performed by McDiarmid.[42] Advanced fencing and acrobatic stunts were executed by McDiarmid's doubles, Michael Byrne, Sebastian Dickins, and Bob Bowles.[43]

McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine was generally well received by critics. Todd McCarthy of Variety commented, "Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, 'Sith' has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid's dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire."[44] Ed Halter of The Village Voice wrote that "Ian McDiarmid's unctuous Emperor turns appropriately vampiric as he attempts to draw Anakin into the Sith fold with promises of eternal life."[45] Still, his performance was not without detractors; David Edelstein of Slate critiqued, "McDiarmid isn't the subtlest of satanic tempters. With his lisp and his clammy little leer, he looks like an old queen keen on trading an aging butt-boy (Count Dooku) for fresh meat — which leaves Anakin looking more and more like a 15-watt bulb."[46] McDiarmid had expressed interest in reprising the role of Palpatine in the planned Star Wars: Underworld TV series,[47] which remains un-produced, but according to Cory Barlog, would have depicted the character as "a sympathetic figure who was wronged by this fucking heartless woman. She's this hardcore gangster, and she just totally destroyed him as a person."[48]

In the 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker, McDiarmid returned to the role of Palpatine on screen for the first time since Revenge of the Sith. McDiarmid spoke of the process behind Palpatine's first scene in the film:

...the first thing I had to do — not everybody has a script — was when my voice was off-screen, as Kylo Ren was coming into my lair. So I had this microphone that we called the "God mic." Yes, it means it sounds like God and everyone can hear it in the recording studio in this vast soundstage. So everyone there heard my voice come back, after all, that time and it was a great moment.[49]

McDiarmid was surprised to learn of the filmmakers' decision to bring back Palpatine, given the character died in Return of the Jedi.[49] The film's director, J. J. Abrams, spoke of Palpatine's inclusion in the sequel trilogy: "...when you look at this as nine chapters of a story, perhaps the weirder thing would be if Palpatine didn't return. You just look at what he talks about, who he is, how important he is, what the story is — strangely, his absence entirely from the third trilogy would be conspicuous".[50] On Palpatine's portrayal in the film, McDiarmid said, "he's fairly physically impaired, but his mind is as sharp as ever."[49]

Make-up and costumes

 
Chancellor Palpatine's robes from Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Transforming McDiarmid into Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi required extensive makeup. McDiarmid remarked in an interview with Star Wars Insider, "Yes—that was a four-hour job, initially, although we got it down to about two-and-a-half in the end. But this was just a little bit of latex here and there, a little bit of skin-scrunching."[51] Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the Emperor "looks uncannily like Death in The Seventh Seal,"[52] and film historian Robin Wood compares him to the hag from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).[53] McDiarmid remarked, "When my face changes in [Revenge of the Sith], my mind went back to the early silent movie of The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney."[41] Conversely, he required little makeup in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. He recalled, "I'm ... slightly aged [in AotC]. In the last film, I had a fairly standard make-up on, but now, they're starting to crinkle my face."[51]

Palpatine's wardrobe in the prequels, tailored by costume designer Trisha Biggar, played an important part in the development of the character. In Attack of the Clones, explained McDiarmid, "The costumes ... have got much more edge to them, I think than the mere senator had in The Phantom Menace. So we see the trappings of power."[51] On Revenge of the Sith, McDiarmid said that "To wear the costumes as the character I play is wonderfully empowering."[54] McDiarmid's favorite costume in the film was a high-collared jacket that resembles snake or lizard skin. He stated that "it just feels reptilian, which is exactly right for [Palpatine]." According to Biggar, the character's costumes proved the most daunting challenge. She said, "His six costumes get progressively darker and more ornately decorated throughout the movie. He wears greys and browns, almost going to black, taking him toward the dark side."[54]

In The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine is unable to move without the aid of a large machine, to which he is attached.[55] He is depicted as having eyes without pupils and rotting hands.[55] Costume designer Michael Kaplan opted to dress Palpatine in a utilitarian black robe, which he wears for the majority of the film.[56] At the end of the film, Palpatine rejuvenates himself using the Force and becomes physically mobile.[55] He dons a new costume — a formal robe with red velvet — which Kaplan refers to as "his true Emperor's garb".[56]

Appearances

Canon

Films

Main article: Skywalker saga

Palpatine is the main antagonist in the Skywalker saga (1977–2019), appearing in all three film trilogies.[57]

Original trilogy

The character is referred to as "the Emperor" in the original trilogy. He is briefly mentioned in Star Wars (1977), the first film in the original trilogy, which was later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope. On the Death Star, Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) explains to his fellow Imperials that the Emperor has dissolved the Imperial Senate, the last remnant of the Old Republic.[58] The Emperor does not appear on-screen, leaving Tarkin and Darth Vader (portrayed by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) as the film's main villains.[58]

The Emperor first appears in The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 sequel to the original film. He appears as a hologram to inform Vader that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has become a threat to the Empire. Vader persuades him that the young Jedi would be a great asset if he could be turned to the dark side of the Force.[8]

In 1983's Return of the Jedi, the Emperor appears in person to oversee the last stages of the second Death Star's construction. He assures Vader that they will together turn Luke, Vader's son, to the dark side of the Force. Unbeknownst to Vader, the Emperor plans to replace him with Luke; Vader, meanwhile, intends to overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy with Luke at his side. When Vader brings Luke before his master, the Emperor tempts Luke to join the dark side by appealing to the young Jedi's fear for his friends, whom he has lured into a trap.[8] This leads to a lightsaber duel in which Luke defeats and nearly kills Vader. The Emperor urges Luke to kill Vader and take his place, but Luke refuses and declares himself a Jedi. Enraged, the Emperor attacks Luke with Force lightning. Unable to bear the sight of his son in pain, Vader throws the Emperor down a chasm shortly before the Death Star is destroyed.[8]

Prequel trilogy
 
Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

In the 1999 prequel Episode I: The Phantom Menace, set 32 years before A New Hope, Palpatine (named onscreen for the first time) is depicted as a middle-aged Galactic Senator from the planet Naboo.[8] As his alter ego, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, he advises the corrupt Trade Federation to blockade and invade Naboo.[8] Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo (Natalie Portman) flees to the planet Coruscant to receive counsel from Palpatine, unaware that he actually engineered the invasion. After a plea for help from the Senate results in bureaucratic delays, Palpatine persuades Padmé to call for a motion of no confidence against Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum (Terence Stamp).[59]

When Padmé attempts to liberate Naboo, Sidious sends his apprentice Darth Maul (portrayed by Ray Park, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz) to capture her. The invasion is eventually thwarted, and Maul is defeated in a lightsaber duel with Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor).[8] Palpatine uses the crisis to get elected as the new Chancellor of the Republic. He then returns to Naboo, where he befriends the nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), telling the boy, "We will watch your career with great interest."[59]

In the 2002 sequel Episode II: Attack of the Clones, set 10 years later, Palpatine exploits constitutional loopholes to remain in office after his term expires. Meanwhile, as Sidious, he continues to manipulate events from behind the scenes by having his new Sith apprentice Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) lead a movement of planets in seceding to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems.[8] He has the Separatists try to assassinate Padmé, now a senator, but the attempt on her life fails. He then arranges for Anakin (now played by Hayden Christensen) to guard Padmé on Naboo, which leads to them falling in love and marrying in secret.[60]

With the Separatists secretly building a battle droid army, Palpatine uses the situation to have himself granted emergency powers.[8] Palpatine feigns reluctance to accept this authority, promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis has ended. His first act is to allow a clone army's creation to counter the Separatist threat; this results in the first battle of the Clone Wars. With the galaxy now at war as Sidious planned, Dooku brings him the secret plans for the Death Star.[60]

In the 2005 sequel Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, set three years later, Palpatine is captured by cyborg Separatist leader General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood). Palpatine is rescued by Anakin and Obi-Wan, but not before the Jedi confront Dooku again. A duel ensues in which Anakin kills Dooku at Palpatine's urging. Palpatine then escapes with his rescuers and returns to Coruscant. By this point, Palpatine has become a virtual dictator, able to take any action in the Senate. He makes Anakin his personal representative on the Jedi Council, whose members deny Anakin the rank of Jedi Master and order him to spy on the Chancellor. Palpatine tells Anakin the story of Darth Plagueis, a powerful Sith Lord who was able to create life and prevent death, but was killed by his own apprentice.[f] Eventually, Palpatine reveals his secret Sith identity to Anakin; he knows that Anakin has been having prophetic visions of Padmé dying in childbirth, and offers to teach him Plagueis' secrets to save Padmé's life.[63]

Anakin informs Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) of Palpatine's treachery. With three other Jedi masters at his side, Windu attempts to arrest Palpatine, but Palpatine produces a lightsaber and quickly dispatches all but Windu. Palpatine engages Windu in a duel and attacks him with Force lightning; Windu deflects the lightning back into Palpatine's face, deforming it into the gray, wizened visage first seen in the original trilogy. Before Windu can kill Palpatine, Anakin appears and intervenes on the Sith Lord's behalf, allowing Palpatine to kill Windu with another blast of lightning. Anakin then pledges himself to the dark side as Palpatine's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.[63]

Palpatine issues Order 66, commanding the clone troopers to turn on their Jedi generals,[8] while dispatching Vader to kill everyone inside the Jedi Temple and then murder the Separatist leaders on the planet Mustafar. Palpatine then reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor.[8] Jedi Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) confronts Palpatine and engages him in a lightsaber duel that ends in a stalemate.[8] Sensing that Vader is in danger, Palpatine travels to Mustafar and finds his new apprentice near death following a duel with Obi-Wan. After returning to Coruscant, he rebuilds Vader's burned, mutilated body with the black armored suit from the original trilogy. Palpatine then tells Vader that Padmé was killed in the heat of Vader's anger, breaking what remains of Vader's spirit. Palpatine is last seen watching the original Death Star's construction, with Vader and Wilhuff Tarkin (Wayne Pygram) at his side.[63]

Sequel trilogy

In the sequel trilogy, set three decades following the events of Return of the Jedi, the First Order has risen from the fallen Empire and seeks to destroy the New Republic, the Resistance, and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. In the trilogy's first installment, The Force Awakens (2015), Palpatine's voice is heard during a vision that the protagonist Rey (Daisy Ridley) experiences upon touching Luke and Anakin's lightsaber.[64] In the sequel, The Last Jedi (2017), Luke briefly mentions Palpatine as Darth Sidious while explaining the fall of the Jedi Order to Rey.[65]

Palpatine, again played by McDiarmid, appears in the trilogy's final film, The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Prior to the film's opening, Palpatine threatens revenge against the galaxy, having used the dark side to cheat death.[15][g] This prompts First Order leader and fallen Jedi Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)—the grandson of Anakin and nephew of Luke—to seek him out on the Sith planet Exegol, where a physically impaired Palpatine is supported by machinery.[49][55] Palpatine reveals himself as the power behind Ren's former master, Snoke (Andy Serkis), whom he created to rule the First Order and lure Ren to the dark side.[67][70] He then unveils the Final Order, a massive fleet of Sith Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal. Palpatine offers the fleet to Ren on the condition that he find and kill the galaxy's last remaining Jedi, Rey, who is revealed to be Palpatine's granddaughter.[71] It is subsequently revealed that Palpatine had a son who renounced him; the son and his partner took their daughter Rey to the planet Jakku, assuming lives as "nobodies" to keep her safe. Palpatine's assassin Ochi eventually found Rey's parents and killed them on his orders, but never found Rey.[71]

Near the end of the film, Rey arrives on Exegol to confront Palpatine. Surrounded by his Sith loyalists, Palpatine embodies all the Sith's power.[15][72][66] He orders Rey to kill him in anger so his spirit can pass into her, which will allow him to possess her body.[73] Rey refuses, and she and Ren (now the redeemed Ben Solo) confront Palpatine together. Sensing their power as a dyad in the Force, Palpatine absorbs their life energy to rejuvenate his body. He incapacitates Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning. Rey uses the power of the past Jedi to face Palpatine once more; he attacks her with lightning, but Rey deflects it using the Skywalker lightsabers, destroying Palpatine.[71][66]

Television

The Clone Wars

In the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the subsequent animated series (set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), Palpatine continues to serve as Supreme Chancellor while his Sith identity orchestrates the Clone Wars behind the scenes. Palpatine was voiced by Ian Abercrombie (from 2008 to his death in 2012), and by Tim Curry (from 2012 to 2014).[74][75] In the film, Sidious engineers a Separatist plot in which Count Dooku (voiced by Corey Burton) turns Jabba the Hutt (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) against the Republic by kidnapping his son Rotta and framing the Jedi for it. Meanwhile, Palpatine suggests that the Republic ally itself with the Hutts. Although Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein) foil the plot, the outcome suits Palpatine's ends: Jabba places Hutt hyperspace routes at the Republic's disposal.[76]

In season two of the TV series, Sidious hires bounty hunter Cad Bane (voiced by Corey Burton) to infiltrate the Jedi Temple and steal a holocron. He then takes a valuable Kyber memory crystal that contains the names of thousands of Force-sensitive younglings – the future of the Jedi Order – from around the galaxy. The final stage of the plot: to bring four Force-sensitive children to Sidious' secret facility on Mustafar. Anakin and Ahsoka again foil the plot, but Bane escapes and all evidence of Sidious' involvement is lost.[77] In season three, Sidious senses Dooku's assassin Asajj Ventress (voiced by Nika Futterman) becoming powerful in the dark side and orders Dooku to eliminate her; he suspects that Dooku is planning to have Ventress assassinate him. Ventress survives and her revenge against Dooku sets off a chain of events including the return of Sidious' former apprentice and Dooku's predecessor, Darth Maul.[78]

In season five, Sidious personally travels to the planet Mandalore to confront Maul, who has become the leader of Death Watch. Sidious kills Maul's brother Savage Opress (voiced by Clancy Brown) before torturing Maul with the intent to make use of his former apprentice. In season six, Sidious goes to lengths to conceal his plan from the Jedi by silencing Clone Trooper Fives from learning of Order 66, and having Dooku wipe out anything tied to the former Jedi Master's connection to the conspiracy.[79][80]

Rebels
 
Sam Witwer originally provided the voice for Palpatine in Rebels

In Star Wars Rebels, set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Palpatine is portrayed as the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. He briefly appears off-screen at the end of season two's premiere "The Siege of Lothal" (originally voiced by Sam Witwer and later Ian McDiarmid from 2019). Darth Vader informs Palpatine that the Rebel Alliance cell on Lothal has been broken and that Ahsoka Tano is alive and is now helping the Rebels. Palpatine sees this as an opportunity to seek out other remaining Jedi, ordering Vader to dispatch an Inquisitor to hunt down Ahsoka.[81]

Palpatine returns physically in season four (voiced again by McDiarmid). In the episodes "Wolves and a Door" and "A World Between Worlds", he appears as a hologram overseeing the excavation of the Lothal Jedi Temple, which contains a portal to a separate dimension of the Force outside of space and time, which Palpatine considers a 'conduit between the living and the dead' that could give him unrivaled power of the Force itself if he can access it. Shortly after protagonist Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray) reaches through time and space to rescue Ahsoka from Vader, Palpatine sets up a portal that shows Jedi Master Kanan Jarrus' (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.) final moments. While Ezra wants to reach through the portal and rescue Kanan, Ahsoka convinces him not to. Palpatine then reveals himself through the portal and attacks Ezra with Force lightning. However, Ahsoka and Ezra manage to evade him and go their separate ways, thus denying Palpatine full power.[82]

Palpatine later returns in the series finale "Family Reunion - and Farewell". In the episode, Ezra, having surrendered himself to Grand Admiral Thrawn (voiced by Lars Mikkelsen) to protect Lothal, is taken by him to a room containing a reconstructed section of the ruined Jedi Temple and a hologram of Palpatine as he appears in the prequel films. Palpatine, having acknowledged the threat Ezra poses to the Empire, presents himself as a kindly old man and shows Ezra a vision of his dead parents through a doorway, promising that the youth will be with them if he enters it. Ezra is initially mesmerized by Palpatine's promise and goes to enter the door, but finally resists and destroys the reconstructed Jedi Temple and the illusion. Palpatine's hologram emerges from the rubble, flickering to show his true self, and commands his Royal Guards to kill Ezra, though Ezra manages to defeat them and escape. According to series creator Dave Filoni, the events of Rogue One and A New Hope happen shortly after this episode, thus refocusing Palpatine's attention from Ezra and Lothal's liberation to the Rebel Alliance and Luke Skywalker.[83]

The Bad Batch

Palpatine appears in the first season of the 2021 animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. The series is set during (and immediately following) the events of the 2005 film Revenge of the Sith. The series' first episode depicts Palpatine's senate speech from the film in animated form, using the archive sound of McDiarmid's dialogue. As in the film, Palpatine orders the extermination of the Jedi and declares himself emperor.[84]

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Palpatine appears in the sixth episode of the 2022 series Obi-Wan Kenobi. The series is set ten years after Revenge of the Sith. After Darth Vader is defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi following their second duel, Palpatine contacts Vader in his Mustafar castle via hologram, questioning Vader's motives and loyalty when Vader reports that he will not rest until Obi-Wan is found. Vader reassures Palpatine that Obi-Wan does not mean anything, reaffirms his commitment to Palpatine and abandons his search.[85]

Tales of the Jedi

Darth Sidous appears in the fourth episode of the Tales of the Jedi TV series talking with Darth Tyrranus.

Books and comics

The first appearance of Palpatine in Star Wars literature was in the prologue of Alan Dean Foster's ghostwritten novelization of the script of A New Hope, published as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976).[86][87] His background as a senator of the Republic was explored in James Kahn's novelization of Return of the Jedi.[12]

Palpatine also appears in Rae Carson's novelization of The Rise of Skywalker, which expands upon the film's story. In the book, Palpatine is revealed to have discovered the "secret to immortality" from his former master, Darth Plagueis, using this knowledge to survive after his death in Return of the Jedi.[68][88][g] The novelization also describes Palpatine's son as a failed clone of himself.[68][89] However, the 2021 book Skywalker: A Family at War describes Palpatine's son as an "offshoot of [his] genetic research, not precisely a clone but made of cloned tissue and donated cells."[90][91]

Star Wars: Lords of the Sith (2015) was one of the first canon spin-off novels to be released in the Disney canon begun in 2014.[92] In it, Vader and Palpatine find themselves hunted by revolutionaries on the Twi'lek home planet Ryloth.[93][94] In Thrawn (2017), the titular character warns Palpatine of "threats lurking in the Unknown Regions." Chuck Wendig's Aftermath book trilogy reveals that, prior to his death, Palpatine enacted a plan for the remnants of the Empire, intended to be led by his adoptive son Gallius Rax, to retreat to the Unknown Regions, where they formed into the First Order.[95] The dark side was thought to be concentrated in this region, where one Sith cultist believed that Palpatine would be found alive.[96] The upcoming illustrated book Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith is told from Palpatine's perspective.[97]

Palpatine appears frequently in the comic book series Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith (2017–2018), written by Kieron Gillen and Charles Soule. It is suggested at the end of the series that Palpatine manipulated the Force to impregnate Vader's mother Shmi Skywalker, making him, in essence, Vader's father—although this is left somewhat ambiguous.[61] This builds on the plot point of Anakin's virgin birth introduced in The Phantom Menace, and the claim that a Sith lord "could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life," as Palpatine tells Anakin in Revenge of the Sith.[f] This would seem to have incestuous implications for Rey and Ben Solo at the end of The Rise of Skywalker,[98][h] but Soule says that "The Dark Side is not a reliable narrator," and a Lucasfilm story group member who collaborated on the comic confirmed that a direct connection between Palpatine and Vader was not their intent.[100]

The character also appears in the final chapter of the comic book Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren (2020), which illustrates Palpatine's manipulation of the young Ben Solo into becoming Kylo Ren.[101]

Video games

Star Wars Battlefront II adds a canonical tale spanning the destruction of the second Death Star through the events of The Force Awakens. The story takes an Imperial perspective, following an elite squadron known as Inferno Squad, led by protagonist Iden Versio, as they help execute Operation: Cinder following the Emperor's death. Operation: Cinder was carried out by the Galactic Empire as a means of devastating several Imperial planets a few weeks after the Battle of Endor. The operation was part of the "Contingency", a plan devised by Emperor Palpatine to ensure that the Empire and its enemies would not outlive him should he perish. The plan was put into action following the Emperor's death during the Battle of Endor.[102]

Palpatine's threat of revenge referenced in the opening crawl of The Rise of Skywalker was included in the finale of the Fortnite: Battle Royale X Star Wars event.[103] The character has appeared in every Lego Star Wars video game to date, including Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.[104]

Legends

In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars as Star Wars Legends and declared them non-canon to the franchise.[105][106][92] Star Wars Legends literature elaborates on Palpatine's role in Star Wars fiction outside of the films.

Television

Palpatine/Darth Sidious is a central character in Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series, which is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The character's likeness in the series is voiced by Nick Jameson. In the first chapter, Palpatine is informed by Obi-Wan Kenobi (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) that the Jedi have discovered that the InterGalactic Banking Clan has established battle droid factories on the planet Muunilinst. Palpatine agrees to send a strike force that includes Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Mat Lucas) and suggests that Anakin be given "special command" of Obi-Wan's fighters. Yoda and Obi-Wan initially speak against the idea but reluctantly concede.[107] In the seventh chapter, a holographic image of Sidious appears shortly after Dooku trains Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress (voiced by Grey DeLisle). Sidious orders Ventress to track down and kill Anakin. He remarks to Dooku that Ventress is certain to be defeated, but that the point of her mission is to test Anakin.[108] In the final chapters, a hologram of Sidious again appears and orders General Grievous to begin an assault on the galactic capital.[109] Later, the Separatist invasion of Coruscant begins and Palpatine watches from his apartment in the 500 Republica. Grievous breaks through the Chancellor's window and attempts to kidnap him,[110] leading to a long chase while Palpatine is protected by Jedi Shaak Ti (voiced by Tasia Valenza), Roron Corobb and Foul Moudama. After Grievous defeats the Jedi, Palpatine is taken on board the Invisible Hand, setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith.[111]

Books and comics

Palpatine made his first major appearance in Star Wars-related comic books in 1991 and 1992, with the Dark Empire series written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Cam Kennedy. In the series (set six years after Return of the Jedi), Palpatine is resurrected as the Emperor Reborn, or "Palpatine the Undying". His spirit returns from the netherworld of the Force with the aid of Sith ghosts on Korriban and possesses the body of Jeng Droga, one of Palpatine's elite spies and assassins known as the Emperor's Hands. Droga flees to a secret Imperial base on the planet Byss, where the Emperor's advisor Sate Pestage exorcises Palpatine's spirit and channels it into one of many clones created by Palpatine before his death. Palpatine attempts to resume control of the galaxy, but Luke Skywalker, now a senior Jedi Knight, sabotages his plans. Luke destroys most of Palpatine's cloning tanks but is only able to defeat the Emperor with help from Leia Organa Solo, who has received rudimentary Jedi training from Luke. The two repel a Force storm Palpatine had created and turn it back onto him, once again destroying his physical form.[112]

Palpatine's ultimate fate is further chronicled in the Dark Empire II and Empire's End series of comics. The Dark Empire II series, published from 1994 to 1995, details how the Emperor is once again reborn on Byss into a clone body. Palpatine tries to rebuild the Empire as the Rebel Alliance grows weak.[113] In Empire's End (1995), a traitorous Imperial guard bribes Palpatine's cloning supervisor to tamper with the Emperor's stored DNA samples. This causes the clones to deteriorate at a rapid rate. Palpatine tries to possess the body of Anakin Solo, the infant son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, before the clone body dies, but is thwarted once again by Luke Skywalker. Palpatine is killed by a blaster shot fired by Han, but his spirit is captured by the mortally wounded Jedi Empatojayos Brand. When Brand dies, he takes Palpatine's spirit with him into the netherworld of the Force, destroying the Sith Lord once and for all.[114]

Novels and comics published before 1999 focus on Palpatine's role as Galactic Emperor. Shadows of the Empire (1996) by Steve Perry and The Mandalorian Armor (1998) by K. W. Jeter—both set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi—show how Palpatine uses crime lords such as Prince Xizor and bounty hunters like Boba Fett to fight his enemies.[115][116] In the Jedi Prince series of young-reader novels (1992–1993) by Paul and Hollace Davids, set about a year after Return of the Jedi, a three-eyed mutant named Triclops is revealed to be Palpatine's illegitimate son;[117] he had a son named Ken, the titular "Jedi Prince". Barbara Hambly's novel Children of the Jedi (1995), set eight years after Return of the Jedi, features a woman named Roganda Ismaren who claims that Palpatine fathered her son Irek.[118]

After the release of The Phantom Menace, writers were allowed to begin exploring Palpatine's backstory as a politician and Sith lord. The comic "Marked" by Rob Williams, printed in Star Wars Tales 24 (2005), and Michael Reaves' novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (2001) explain Darth Sidious' relationship with his apprentice Darth Maul.[119][120] Cloak of Deception (2001) by James Luceno follows Reaves' novel and details how Darth Sidious encourages the Trade Federation to build an army of battle droids in preparation for the invasion of Naboo. Cloak of Deception also focuses on Palpatine's early political career, revealing how he becomes a confidant of Chancellor Finis Valorum and acquainted with Padmé Amidala, newly elected queen of Naboo.[121] Palpatine's role during the Clone Wars as Chancellor of the Republic and Darth Sidious is portrayed in novels such as Matthew Stover's Shatterpoint (2003), Steven Barnes' The Cestus Deception (2004), Sean Stewart's Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004), and Luceno's Labyrinth of Evil (2005) and Darth Plagueis (2012).

Following the theatrical release of Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars literature focused on Palpatine's role after the creation of the Empire. John Ostrander's comic Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties (2005) chronicles how, shortly after seizing power, Emperor Palpatine sends Darth Vader to assassinate Sagoro Autem, an Imperial captain who plans to defect from the Empire.[122] In Luceno's novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (2005) (set shortly after Revenge of the Sith), the Emperor sends Darth Vader to the planet Murkhana to discover why clone troopers there refused to carry out Order 66 against their Jedi generals. Palpatine hopes these early missions will teach Vader what it means to be a Sith and crush any remnants of Anakin Skywalker.[123]

James Luceno's 2012 novel Darth Plagueis depicts Palpatine's early life, prior to the films. The scion of an aristocratic family on Naboo, Palpatine first turns toward the dark side upon meeting the titular Sith lord. Sensing great power in Palpatine, Plageuis takes him on as his Sith apprentice. In the final test of his devotion to the dark side, Palpatine kills his parents and his brother and sister.[124]

Video games

In The Force Unleashed, the Empire has captured the rebel leaders and holds them on the Death Star. Vader's former apprentice Galen Marek/Starkiller battles his way through the station, defeats Vader and faces the Emperor, who tries to goad him into killing Vader so Starkiller can take his place. Starkiller defeats the Emperor, but spares him. The Emperor then unleashes Force lightning at Starkiller's companion Rahm Kota, but Starkiller absorbs it, sacrificing himself to allow the rebels to escape.

In the noncanonical dark side ending Starkiller kills Vader and is congratulated by the Emperor, who commands him to kill Kota. Starkiller instead attacks the Emperor, who foils his attempt and then crushes him and the rebels with a ship. Starkiller later awakens to find his body being grafted with armor to continue serving the Emperor.

In the again noncanocial DLC to The Force Unleashed II the Rebel Alliance gets defeated in the Battle of Endor. The Emperor then subdues Vader with Force lightning while chastising him for resurrecting his failed apprentice as a clone.

Characterization

According to prologue of Alan Dean Foster's 1976 novelization of the original Star Wars film,

Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic. He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic. Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears.[86]

In Cloak of Deception, Luceno writes that Palpatine carefully guards his privacy and "others found his reclusiveness intriguing, as if he led a secret life".[125] Despite this, he has many allies in the government. Luceno writes, "What Palpatine lacked in charisma, he made up for in candor, and it was that directness that had led to his widespread appeal in the senate. ... For in his heart he judged the universe on his own terms, with a clear sense of right and wrong."[125] In Terry Brooks' novelization of The Phantom Menace, Palpatine claims to embrace democratic principles. He tells Queen Amidala, "I promise, Your Majesty, if I am elected [chancellor of the Republic], I will restore democracy to the Republic. I will put an end to the corruption that has plagued the Senate."[126] A Visual Dictionary states that he is a self-proclaimed savior.[127] According to the Star Wars Encyclopedia, "[Palpatine's] Empire ... is based on tyranny."[128]

Expanded Universe materials explicitly establish that Palpatine was the apprentice of Darth Plagueis.[129] Palpatine is characterized as "the most powerful practitioner of the Sith ways in modern times."[130] Palpatine is so powerful that he is able to mask his true identity from the Jedi for decades. In the novel Shatterpoint, Mace Windu remarks to Yoda, "A shame [Palpatine] can't touch the Force. He might have been a fine Jedi."[131]

The Star Wars Databank explains that the Force "granted him inhuman dexterity and speed, agility enough to quickly kill three Jedi Masters" (as depicted in Revenge of the Sith).[8] Stover describes the duel between Yoda and Palpatine in his novelization of Revenge of the Sith thus: "From the shadow of a black wing, a small weapon ... slid into a withered hand and spat a flame-colored blade ... When those blades met, it was more than Yoda against Palpatine, more the millennia of Sith against the legions of Jedi; this was the expression of the fundamental conflict of the universe itself. Light against dark. Winner takes all."[132] During the duel, Yoda realizes that Sidious is a superior warrior, and represents a small but powerful Sith Order that had changed and evolved over the years, while the Jedi had not: "He had lost before he started. He had lost before he was born."[133]

According to the Databank and New Essential Guide to Characters, Palpatine possesses great patience and his maneuverings are as a dejarik grandmaster moves pieces on a board.[134] He is depicted as a diabolical genius.[135][136]

Palpatine was not given a first name in any canonical or "Star Wars Legends" sources until 2014, when the character's first name—Sheev—was revealed in the novel Tarkin, written by James Luceno.[7] The Lucasfilm Story Group approached Del Rey Books and asked if they wanted to use the name, which was created by George Lucas, in the Tarkin novel, to which Del Rey agreed.[137]

In popular culture

With the premiere of Return of the Jedi and the prequel films and the accompanying merchandising campaign, Palpatine became an icon in American popular culture. Kenner/Hasbro produced and marketed a series of action figures of the character from 1983 to 2005.[138] According to John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett, "These action figures allow children ('4 & up') to handle the symbols of the Force."[139]

 
A Star Wars fan cosplaying as Emperor Palpatine (seated) at a Star Wars Celebration event in 2015

Academics have debated the relationship of Palpatine to modern culture. Religion scholars Ross Shepard Kraemer, William Cassidy, and Susan Schwartz compare Palpatine and Star Wars heroes to the theological concept of dualism. They insist, "One can certainly picture the evil emperor in Star Wars as Satan, complete with his infernal powers, leading his faceless minions such as his red-robed Imperial Guards."[140] Lawrence and Jewett argue that Vader killing Palpatine in Return of the Jedi represented "the permanent subduing of evil".[139] However, according to director J. J. Abrams, Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker represented the idea that evil can return as a result of complacency.[141] He said, "I think the idea that if we are not careful, the evil — the ultimate evil — will rise again."[141]

Since Return of the Jedi and the prequel films, Palpatine's name has been invoked as a caricature in politics. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial noted that anti-pork bloggers were caricaturing West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd as "the Emperor Palpatine of pork", with Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska having "clear aspirations to be his Darth Vader." The charge followed a report that linked a secret hold on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to the two senators.[142] Politicians have made comparisons as well. In 2005, Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey compared Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee to Palpatine in a speech on the Senate floor, complete with a visual aid.[143]

A Fox News editorial stated "no cultural icon can exist without someone trying to stuff it into a political ideology. The Star Wars saga, the greatest pop culture icon of the last three decades, is no exception... Palpatine's dissolution of the Senate in favor of imperial rule has been compared to Julius Caesar's marginalization of the Roman Senate, Hitler's power-grabs as chancellor on his way to becoming a dictator, Franklin D. Roosevelt's failed court-packing scheme and the creation of a perceived Imperial Presidency in the United States."[144]

On the Internet

In the mid-late 2010s, the character became the subject of various internet memes, emphasizing certain lines of dialogue the character spoke in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[145][146][147]

Relationships

Apprentices

Canon

Legends

Family tree

Palpatine family tree
Unnamed Woman[n 1]
Darth Sidious
Sheev Palpatine		One Generation
Gallius Rax[n 2]Snoke[n 3]Dathan[n 3]Miramir
Rey[n 4]
Notes:
  1. ^ Miramir's grandmother is revealed in the novel Shadow of the Sith (2022).
  2. ^ Gallius Rax is revealed to have been adopted by Darth Sidious in the Aftermath trilogy (2015–2017).
  3. ^ a b Snoke and Dathan are failed clones of Darth Sidious.
  4. ^ Rey uses the Skywalker surname to honor her mentors Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker in The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Legends Palpatine family tree
Great-grandfather3 Generations
1 GenerationVolpau
Cosinga PalpatineUnnamed Mother
Darth Sidious
Palpatine		Sly MooreSiblings2 Generations
Triclops Palpatine
(renounced)[n 1]		KendalinaEderlathh Pallopides
Ken Palpatine
Notes:
  1. ^ Palpatine mistreated Triclops by deeming him a failure and had him put in prison.

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Eaton portrays the Emperor in the original release of the film; McDiarmid replaces Eaton in the 2004 Special Edition of the film and onwards.
  2. ^ a b The expanded edition novelization of The Rise of Skywalker and the book called Shadow of the Sith reveal that both Snoke and Palpatine's 'son' Dathan were "strand-cast" clones of Palpatine himself.[3][4]
  3. ^ The character's first name was developed for the shelved Star Wars: Underworld television series, and was first announced in the 2014 novel Tarkin.[5][6][7]
  4. ^ Later titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
  5. ^ In his early drafts, Lucas used the plot point of a dictator staying in power with the support of the military. In his comment (made in the prequel trilogy era) Lucas attributed this to Nixon's supposed intention to defy the 22nd Amendment,[22] but the president resigned in his second term. In the novelization of Attack of the Clones, it is noted that Palpatine had manipulated the law to stay in office as Supreme Chancellor for several years past his original term limit.[23]
  6. ^ a b In the rough draft of Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine tells Anakin that he "used the power of the Force to will the midichlorians to start the cell divisions" that conceived him.[61] Prequel trilogy producer Rick McCallum has stated that the scene in which Palpatine relates the story of Darth Plagueis is about Anakin's origins.[62]
  7. ^ a b While The Rise of Skywalker (2019) is ambiguous about Palpatine's return, the film proposes the explanation: "dark science, cloning, secrets only the Sith knew".[66] Palpatine himself attributes his return to "unnatural" dark side abilities.[67] The film's novelization reveals that Palpatine had used Darth Plagueis' knowledge to cheat death by transferring his consciousness into a clone body.[68][69]
  8. ^ According to the film's novelization, their kiss was one of "gratitude, acknowledgement of their connection, celebration that they'd found each other".[99]

Citations

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  3. ^ Agar, Chris (March 4, 2020). "Star Wars Confirms Rey's Father Is A Failed Palpatine Clone". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Lussier, Germain (April 9, 2023). "Ian McDiarmid Has the Best Perspective On Palpatine's Star Wars Journey". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 9, 2023. On the topic of Snoke, [Andy] Serkis also admitted that who specifically Snoke was—a clone of Palpatine—was not something he knew right away. He was aware there was some connection to the character but described the discover of that as an "organic process" in the writing and production of the films.
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  10. ^ a b Kaminski 2008, pp. 170–172.
  11. ^ Keenan, Alex (September 20, 2022). "George Lucas' Original Emperor Plan Would've Made Star Wars Worse". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
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  20. ^ . Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. April 21, 2002. Archived from the original on June 5, 2002. Retrieved December 13, 2009. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea ... That's the issue I've been exploring: how did the Republic turn into the Empire?
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Works cited

  • Kaminski, Michael (2008) [2007]. The Secret History of Star Wars. Legacy Books Press. ISBN 978-0-9784652-3-0.

Further reading

  • Anderson, Kevin J., and Daniel Wallace. The Essential Chronology. New York: Del Rey, 2000. ISBN 0-345-43439-0.
  • Bortolin, Matthew. The Dharma of Star Wars. Somerville, Mass.: Wisdom Publications, 2005. ISBN 0-86171-497-0.
  • Feeney, Mark. Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. ISBN 0-226-23968-3.
  • Hanson, Michael J., and Max S. Kay. Star Wars: The New Myth. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2002. ISBN 1-4010-3989-8.
  • Horne, Michael Allen. Dark Empire Sourcebook. Honesdale, Penn.: West End Games, 1993. ISBN 0-87431-194-2.
  • Jensen, Hans, and Richard Chasemore. Star Wars: Complete Locations. New York: DK Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7566-1419-8.
  • Luceno, James. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary. New York: DK Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7566-1128-8.
  • Lyden, John. "The Apocalyptic Cosmology of Star Wars." Journal of Religion and Film 4 (No. 1, April 2000): .
  • Peña, Abel G. "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties." Star Wars Insider 88 (June 2006).
  • Reynolds, David West. Episode I: The Visual Dictionary New York: DK Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-7894-4701-0.
  • Reynolds, David West. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary. New York: DK Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-7894-8588-5.
  • Smith, Jeffrey A. "Hollywood Theology: The Commodification of Religion in Twentieth-Century Films." Religion and American Culture 11 (No. 2, Summer 2001): pp. 191–231.
  • Velasco, Raymond L. A Guide to the Star Wars Universe. New York: Del Rey, 1984. ISBN 0-345-31920-6.
  • Wallace, Daniel. The New Essential Guide to Characters. New York: Del Rey, 2002. ISBN 0-345-44900-2.
  • Wallace, Daniel, and Kevin J. Anderson. The New Essential Chronology. New York: Del Rey, 2005. ISBN 0-345-44901-0.

External links

  • Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in the StarWars.com Databank
  • Darth Sidious on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
  • on IMDb

December 20, 2023
palpatine, other, uses, disambiguation, sheev, also, known, sith, name, darth, sidious, fictional, character, star, wars, franchise, created, george, lucas, first, appears, screen, original, trilogy, films, empire, strikes, back, 1980, return, jedi, 1983, whic. For other uses see Palpatine disambiguation Sheev Palpatine c also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas He first appears on screen in the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back 1980 and Return of the Jedi 1983 in which he is credited as The Emperor The character serves as the main antagonist of the nine film Skywalker saga in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid In creating Palpatine Lucas was inspired by real world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler PalpatineStar Wars characterIan McDiarmid as Palpatine inReturn of the Jedi 1983 First appearanceThe Empire Strikes Back 1980 Created byGeorge LucasPortrayed byIan McDiarmidMarjorie Eaton original release of Episode V a 1 2 Voiced byClive Revill original release of Episode V Ian McDiarmid Rebels Season 2 since 2019 Season 4 Tales of the Jedi Nick Jameson Clone Wars Sam Witwer Rebels Season 2 until 2019 The Force Unleashed The Force Unleashed II Lego Star Wars games Battlefront II 2017 Ian Abercrombie The Clone Wars film and TV series Seasons 1 6 Tim Curry The Clone Wars Seasons 5 6 Trevor Devall Lego Star Wars films and television series In universe informationFull nameSheev PalpatineAliasDarth SidiousSpeciesHumanOccupationDark Lord of the Sith Senator of Naboo Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic Emperor of the Galactic Empire Mastermind behind the First Order and Final OrderAffiliationSith Order Galactic Republic Trade Federation Confederacy of Independent Systems Galactic Empire First OrderFamilyDathan strand cast clone son b Snoke strand cast clone b Gallius Rax adoptive son Miramir daughter in law Rey granddaughter Legends material Cosinga Palpatine father Sly Moore romantic partner Triclops Palpatine son Kendalina daughter in law Ken Palpatine grandson Mara Jade Skywalker surrogate granddaughter MasterDarth PlagueisApprenticesDarth Maul Count Dooku Darth Tyranus Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader Kylo Ren secretly Legends material A Nikto Vergere Garth Ezzar Ferus Olin Mara Jade Cronal Ennix Devian Assassin Lumiya Luke Skywalker briefly Sedriss QLIn the original trilogy Palpatine is depicted as the evil Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the master of Darth Vader The character has a larger role in the prequel trilogy which chronicles his rise from senator to Emperor He is portrayed as a charismatic politician and secretly a Sith lord powerful with the dark side of the Force who orchestrates the invasion of Naboo and the Clone Wars ends the Jedi Order and the Republic and seduces Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into becoming his apprentice Vader In The Rise of Skywalker 2019 the final film in the sequel trilogy Palpatine is revealed to be the paternal grandfather of protagonist Rey and the mastermind behind Snoke whom he created to lead the First Order against the New Republic and seduce Skywalker s grandson Ben Solo into becoming the villainous Kylo Ren Since the release of Return of the Jedi Palpatine has become a widely recognized symbol of evil in popular culture and since the prequel trilogy a symbol of sinister deception and the subversion of democracy The Star Wars Databank describes him as the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical regime the galaxy had ever witnessed 8 Aside from the films Palpatine appears in various canon and non canon Star Wars media including Clone Wars 2003 5 The Clone Wars 2008 14 2020 Rebels 2014 18 The Bad Batch 2021 Obi Wan Kenobi 2022 and Tales of the Jedi 2022 all set before the original trilogy Contents 1 Creation and development 1 1 Concept and writing 1 2 Portrayal 1 3 Make up and costumes 2 Appearances 2 1 Canon 2 1 1 Films 2 1 1 1 Original trilogy 2 1 1 2 Prequel trilogy 2 1 1 3 Sequel trilogy 2 1 2 Television 2 1 2 1 The Clone Wars 2 1 2 2 Rebels 2 1 2 3 The Bad Batch 2 1 2 4 Obi Wan Kenobi 2 1 2 5 Tales of the Jedi 2 1 3 Books and comics 2 1 4 Video games 2 2 Legends 2 2 1 Television 2 2 2 Books and comics 2 2 3 Video games 2 2 4 Characterization 3 In popular culture 3 1 On the Internet 4 Relationships 4 1 Apprentices 4 1 1 Canon 4 1 2 Legends 4 2 Family tree 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksCreation and development nbsp The Emperor in the original 1980 version of The Empire Strikes Back portrayed by Marjorie Eaton wearing a mask 2 with chimpanzee eyes superimposed and voiced by Clive Revill 9 Concept and writing nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Palpatine was influenced by historical leaders such as clockwise from top left Julius Caesar Napoleon Bonaparte Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon Star Wars creator George Lucas s conceptualization of Palpatine and the role he plays in the franchise changed over time Lucas s initial notes discuss a line of corrupt emperors not just one 10 In the 1974 draft of Star Wars the New Galactic Empire was led by a relatively young human named Cos Dashit 11 The name Palpatine first appears in the prologue of Alan Dean Foster s 1976 novelization of the original Star Wars film d which detailed the Emperor s rise to power From Return of the Jedi 1983 onwards the Emperor became the ultimate personification of evil in the series replacing his apprentice Darth Vader as the central villain Though the films of the original Star Wars trilogy do not actually state the Emperor s name the novelization of Return of the Jedi confirms his name as Palpatine 12 10 During the story development of The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Lucas decided that with the original having only passingly mentioned the Emperor he needed to begin to deal with him on a more concrete level 13 14 Lucas realized however that the primary conflict with the Emperor would be best saved for the trilogy s third film because w hen you get rid of the Emperor the whole thing is over This influenced the decision to depict the character in a hood so his face would largely be obscured Additionally this look would recall Obi Wan Kenobi Lucas stated that In the end the Emperor does exactly what Obi Wan did he can also transform himself 14 Although Palpatine dies at the end of Return of the Jedi 15 the plot point of his metamorphosis was utilized for the sequel trilogy which Lucas had no direct involvement with 16 17 Lucas ultimately decided instead to focus on the Emperor in Return of the Jedi In that film the initial conception of Palpatine was superseded by his depiction as a dictatorial ruler adept in the dark side of the Force The Emperor was inspired by the villain Ming the Merciless from the Flash Gordon comic books 18 The characterization of Palpatine as an ambitious and ruthless politician dismantling a democratic republic to achieve supreme power is in part inspired by the real world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of Julius Caesar Napoleon Bonaparte Alberto Fujimori Ferdinand Marcos Sr and Adolf Hitler 19 20 Other elements of the character come from Richard Nixon 21 e Lucas said that Nixon s presidency got me to thinking historically about how do democracies get turned into dictatorships Because the democracies aren t overthrown they re given away 24 Lucas also said The whole point of the movies the underlying element that makes the movies work is that you whether you go backwards or forwards you start out in a democracy and democracy turns into a dictatorship and then the rebels make it back into a democracy 25 Lucas wanted to establish the Emperor as the true source of evil in Star Wars Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan noted My sense of the relationship between Darth Vader and the Emperor is that the Emperor is much more powerful and that Vader is very much intimidated by him Vader has dignity but the Emperor in Jedi really has all the power 26 He explained that the climax of the film is a confrontation between Vader and his master In the first scene that shows the Emperor he arrives at the Death Star and is greeted by a host of stormtroopers technicians and other personnel Lucas states he wanted it to look like the military parades on May Day in Russia 27 Lucas fleshed out the Emperor in the prequel trilogy According to Lucas Palpatine s role in The Phantom Menace is to explain how Anakin Skywalker later Vader came to be Palpatine s apprentice and the events that sparked Palpatine s rise to totalitarian power after being a senate representative 28 The film s novelization is the first time he is called Darth Sidious 29 His home world Naboo is also home to Anakin s romantic interest Padme Amidala who later becomes a senator of that planet In the Lucasfilm authorized Star Wars and History Palpatine s consolidation of power is described as being similar to the first Roman emperor Augustus Both legitimized authoritarian rule by saying that corruption in the Senate was hampering the powers of the head of state both pressured the Senate to grant extraordinary powers to deal with a crisis falsely claiming that they would rescind those powers once the crisis was over and both relied on their strong control over military force 30 Portrayal When the Emperor first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back he was portrayed by Marjorie Eaton under heavy makeup 31 Chimpanzee eyes were superimposed into darkened eye sockets during post production 9 The character was voiced by Clive Revill 32 The makeup was sculpted by Phil Tippett and applied by Rick Baker 2 who initially used his own wife Elaine for the makeup tests 1 33 With director Irvin Kershner Revill said you had to keep the reins tight you couldn t go overboard It was the perfect example of the old adage less is more the Emperor doesn t say very much But when he finally appears it s at a point in the saga when everyone s waiting to see him It s the Emperor the arch villain of all time and when he says there s a great disturbance in the Force I mean that s enough oomph 34 Years later during production of Revenge of the Sith Lucas decided to shoot new footage for The Empire Strikes Back to create continuity between the prequels and original trilogy Thus in the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition the original version of the Emperor was replaced by Scottish Shakespearean actor Ian McDiarmid and the dialogue between the Emperor and Darth Vader was revised 35 Lucas and director Richard Marquand cast McDiarmid to play Emperor Palpatine for Return of the Jedi He was in his late 30s and had never played a leading role in a feature film though he had made minor appearances in films like Dragonslayer 1981 After Return of the Jedi he resumed stage acting in London 36 In an interview with BackStage McDiarmid revealed that he never had his sights set on a film career and never even auditioned for the role of Palpatine He elaborated I got called in for the interview after a Return of the Jedi casting director saw me perform in the Sam Shepard play Seduced at a studio theatre at the Royal Court I was playing a dying Howard Hughes 37 McDiarmid was surprised when Lucas approached him 16 years after Return of the Jedi to reprise the role of Palpatine In an interview he stated When we were doing Return of the Jedi there was a rumor that George Lucas had nine films in his head and he d clearly just completed three of them McDiarmid added Someone said that Oh I think what he might do next is go back in time and show how Vader came to be It never occurred to me in a million years that I would be involved in that because I thought oh well then he ll get a much younger actor to play Palpatine That would be obvious However I was the right age ironically for the first prequel when it was made So I was in the very strange and rather wonderful paradox of playing myself when young at my own age having played myself previously when 100 and I don t know what 38 Palpatine s role in the prequel films required McDiarmid to play two dimensions of the same character Recalling the initial days of shooting The Phantom Menace McDiarmid stated Stepping onto the set of Episode I for the first time was like going back in time due to my experience in Jedi Palpatine s an interesting character he s conventional on the outside but demonic on the inside he s on the edge trying to go beyond what s possible 39 McDiarmid added another layer to the character in Attack of the Clones He noted Palpatine is a supreme actor He has to be even more convincing than somebody who isn t behaving in a schizophrenic fashion so he s extra charming or extra professional and for those who are looking for clues that s almost where you can see them McDiarmid illuminated on the scene where Padme Amidala is almost assassinated There s a moment in one scene of the new film where tears almost appear in his eye These are crocodile tears but for all those in the movie and perhaps watching the movie itself they ll see he is apparently moved and of course he is He can just do it He can as it were turn it on And I suppose for him it s also a bit of a turn on the pure exercise of power is what he s all about That s the only thing he s interested in and the only thing that can satisfy him which makes him completely fascinating to play because it is an evil soul He is more evil than the devil At least Satan fell he has a history and it s one of revenge 40 In Revenge of the Sith McDiarmid played a darker interpretation of the character He explained that when you re playing a character of solid blackness that in itself is very interesting in the sense that you have no other motivation other than the accumulation of power It s not so much about not having a moral center it s just that the only thing that mattered is increasing power He admitted I ve been trying to find a redeeming feature to Palpatine and the only one I ve got so far is that he s clearly a patron of the arts because he goes to the opera 41 McDiarmid compared the character to Iago from William Shakespeare s Othello Everything he does is an act of pure hypocrisy and that s interesting to play I suppose it s rather like playing Iago All the characters in the play including Othello until the end think that Honest Iago is a decent guy doing his job and he s quite liked But at the same time there s a tremendous evil subconscious in operation 36 McDiarmid noticed that the script for Revenge of the Sith demanded more action from his character than in previous films Lightsaber combat was a challenge to the 60 year old actor who like his costars took fencing lessons The close up shots and non acrobatic sequences of the duel between Palpatine and Mace Windu were performed by McDiarmid 42 Advanced fencing and acrobatic stunts were executed by McDiarmid s doubles Michael Byrne Sebastian Dickins and Bob Bowles 43 McDiarmid s performance as Palpatine was generally well received by critics Todd McCarthy of Variety commented Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times Sith has some acting worth writing home about specifically McDiarmid s dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire 44 Ed Halter of The Village Voice wrote that Ian McDiarmid s unctuous Emperor turns appropriately vampiric as he attempts to draw Anakin into the Sith fold with promises of eternal life 45 Still his performance was not without detractors David Edelstein of Slate critiqued McDiarmid isn t the subtlest of satanic tempters With his lisp and his clammy little leer he looks like an old queen keen on trading an aging butt boy Count Dooku for fresh meat which leaves Anakin looking more and more like a 15 watt bulb 46 McDiarmid had expressed interest in reprising the role of Palpatine in the planned Star Wars Underworld TV series 47 which remains un produced but according to Cory Barlog would have depicted the character as a sympathetic figure who was wronged by this fucking heartless woman She s this hardcore gangster and she just totally destroyed him as a person 48 In the 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker McDiarmid returned to the role of Palpatine on screen for the first time since Revenge of the Sith McDiarmid spoke of the process behind Palpatine s first scene in the film the first thing I had to do not everybody has a script was when my voice was off screen as Kylo Ren was coming into my lair So I had this microphone that we called the God mic Yes it means it sounds like God and everyone can hear it in the recording studio in this vast soundstage So everyone there heard my voice come back after all that time and it was a great moment 49 McDiarmid was surprised to learn of the filmmakers decision to bring back Palpatine given the character died in Return of the Jedi 49 The film s director J J Abrams spoke of Palpatine s inclusion in the sequel trilogy when you look at this as nine chapters of a story perhaps the weirder thing would be if Palpatine didn t return You just look at what he talks about who he is how important he is what the story is strangely his absence entirely from the third trilogy would be conspicuous 50 On Palpatine s portrayal in the film McDiarmid said he s fairly physically impaired but his mind is as sharp as ever 49 Make up and costumes nbsp Chancellor Palpatine s robes from Episode III Revenge of the SithTransforming McDiarmid into Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi required extensive makeup McDiarmid remarked in an interview with Star Wars Insider Yes that was a four hour job initially although we got it down to about two and a half in the end But this was just a little bit of latex here and there a little bit of skin scrunching 51 Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the Emperor looks uncannily like Death in The Seventh Seal 52 and film historian Robin Wood compares him to the hag from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 53 McDiarmid remarked When my face changes in Revenge of the Sith my mind went back to the early silent movie of The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney 41 Conversely he required little makeup in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones He recalled I m slightly aged in AotC In the last film I had a fairly standard make up on but now they re starting to crinkle my face 51 Palpatine s wardrobe in the prequels tailored by costume designer Trisha Biggar played an important part in the development of the character In Attack of the Clones explained McDiarmid The costumes have got much more edge to them I think than the mere senator had in The Phantom Menace So we see the trappings of power 51 On Revenge of the Sith McDiarmid said that To wear the costumes as the character I play is wonderfully empowering 54 McDiarmid s favorite costume in the film was a high collared jacket that resembles snake or lizard skin He stated that it just feels reptilian which is exactly right for Palpatine According to Biggar the character s costumes proved the most daunting challenge She said His six costumes get progressively darker and more ornately decorated throughout the movie He wears greys and browns almost going to black taking him toward the dark side 54 In The Rise of Skywalker Palpatine is unable to move without the aid of a large machine to which he is attached 55 He is depicted as having eyes without pupils and rotting hands 55 Costume designer Michael Kaplan opted to dress Palpatine in a utilitarian black robe which he wears for the majority of the film 56 At the end of the film Palpatine rejuvenates himself using the Force and becomes physically mobile 55 He dons a new costume a formal robe with red velvet which Kaplan refers to as his true Emperor s garb 56 AppearancesCanon Films Main article Skywalker saga Palpatine is the main antagonist in the Skywalker saga 1977 2019 appearing in all three film trilogies 57 Original trilogy The character is referred to as the Emperor in the original trilogy He is briefly mentioned in Star Wars 1977 the first film in the original trilogy which was later subtitled Episode IV A New Hope On the Death Star Grand Moff Tarkin Peter Cushing explains to his fellow Imperials that the Emperor has dissolved the Imperial Senate the last remnant of the Old Republic 58 The Emperor does not appear on screen leaving Tarkin and Darth Vader portrayed by David Prowse voiced by James Earl Jones as the film s main villains 58 The Emperor first appears in The Empire Strikes Back the 1980 sequel to the original film He appears as a hologram to inform Vader that Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill has become a threat to the Empire Vader persuades him that the young Jedi would be a great asset if he could be turned to the dark side of the Force 8 In 1983 s Return of the Jedi the Emperor appears in person to oversee the last stages of the second Death Star s construction He assures Vader that they will together turn Luke Vader s son to the dark side of the Force Unbeknownst to Vader the Emperor plans to replace him with Luke Vader meanwhile intends to overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy with Luke at his side When Vader brings Luke before his master the Emperor tempts Luke to join the dark side by appealing to the young Jedi s fear for his friends whom he has lured into a trap 8 This leads to a lightsaber duel in which Luke defeats and nearly kills Vader The Emperor urges Luke to kill Vader and take his place but Luke refuses and declares himself a Jedi Enraged the Emperor attacks Luke with Force lightning Unable to bear the sight of his son in pain Vader throws the Emperor down a chasm shortly before the Death Star is destroyed 8 Prequel trilogy nbsp Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine in Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace 1999 In the 1999 prequel Episode I The Phantom Menace set 32 years before A New Hope Palpatine named onscreen for the first time is depicted as a middle aged Galactic Senator from the planet Naboo 8 As his alter ego the Sith Lord Darth Sidious he advises the corrupt Trade Federation to blockade and invade Naboo 8 Queen Padme Amidala of Naboo Natalie Portman flees to the planet Coruscant to receive counsel from Palpatine unaware that he actually engineered the invasion After a plea for help from the Senate results in bureaucratic delays Palpatine persuades Padme to call for a motion of no confidence against Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum Terence Stamp 59 When Padme attempts to liberate Naboo Sidious sends his apprentice Darth Maul portrayed by Ray Park voiced by Peter Serafinowicz to capture her The invasion is eventually thwarted and Maul is defeated in a lightsaber duel with Jedi Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi Ewan McGregor 8 Palpatine uses the crisis to get elected as the new Chancellor of the Republic He then returns to Naboo where he befriends the nine year old Anakin Skywalker Jake Lloyd telling the boy We will watch your career with great interest 59 In the 2002 sequel Episode II Attack of the Clones set 10 years later Palpatine exploits constitutional loopholes to remain in office after his term expires Meanwhile as Sidious he continues to manipulate events from behind the scenes by having his new Sith apprentice Count Dooku Christopher Lee lead a movement of planets in seceding to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems 8 He has the Separatists try to assassinate Padme now a senator but the attempt on her life fails He then arranges for Anakin now played by Hayden Christensen to guard Padme on Naboo which leads to them falling in love and marrying in secret 60 With the Separatists secretly building a battle droid army Palpatine uses the situation to have himself granted emergency powers 8 Palpatine feigns reluctance to accept this authority promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis has ended His first act is to allow a clone army s creation to counter the Separatist threat this results in the first battle of the Clone Wars With the galaxy now at war as Sidious planned Dooku brings him the secret plans for the Death Star 60 In the 2005 sequel Episode III Revenge of the Sith set three years later Palpatine is captured by cyborg Separatist leader General Grievous voiced by Matthew Wood Palpatine is rescued by Anakin and Obi Wan but not before the Jedi confront Dooku again A duel ensues in which Anakin kills Dooku at Palpatine s urging Palpatine then escapes with his rescuers and returns to Coruscant By this point Palpatine has become a virtual dictator able to take any action in the Senate He makes Anakin his personal representative on the Jedi Council whose members deny Anakin the rank of Jedi Master and order him to spy on the Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin the story of Darth Plagueis a powerful Sith Lord who was able to create life and prevent death but was killed by his own apprentice f Eventually Palpatine reveals his secret Sith identity to Anakin he knows that Anakin has been having prophetic visions of Padme dying in childbirth and offers to teach him Plagueis secrets to save Padme s life 63 Anakin informs Jedi Master Mace Windu Samuel L Jackson of Palpatine s treachery With three other Jedi masters at his side Windu attempts to arrest Palpatine but Palpatine produces a lightsaber and quickly dispatches all but Windu Palpatine engages Windu in a duel and attacks him with Force lightning Windu deflects the lightning back into Palpatine s face deforming it into the gray wizened visage first seen in the original trilogy Before Windu can kill Palpatine Anakin appears and intervenes on the Sith Lord s behalf allowing Palpatine to kill Windu with another blast of lightning Anakin then pledges himself to the dark side as Palpatine s Sith apprentice Darth Vader 63 Palpatine issues Order 66 commanding the clone troopers to turn on their Jedi generals 8 while dispatching Vader to kill everyone inside the Jedi Temple and then murder the Separatist leaders on the planet Mustafar Palpatine then reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire with himself as Emperor 8 Jedi Master Yoda voiced by Frank Oz confronts Palpatine and engages him in a lightsaber duel that ends in a stalemate 8 Sensing that Vader is in danger Palpatine travels to Mustafar and finds his new apprentice near death following a duel with Obi Wan After returning to Coruscant he rebuilds Vader s burned mutilated body with the black armored suit from the original trilogy Palpatine then tells Vader that Padme was killed in the heat of Vader s anger breaking what remains of Vader s spirit Palpatine is last seen watching the original Death Star s construction with Vader and Wilhuff Tarkin Wayne Pygram at his side 63 Sequel trilogy In the sequel trilogy set three decades following the events of Return of the Jedi the First Order has risen from the fallen Empire and seeks to destroy the New Republic the Resistance and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker In the trilogy s first installment The Force Awakens 2015 Palpatine s voice is heard during a vision that the protagonist Rey Daisy Ridley experiences upon touching Luke and Anakin s lightsaber 64 In the sequel The Last Jedi 2017 Luke briefly mentions Palpatine as Darth Sidious while explaining the fall of the Jedi Order to Rey 65 Palpatine again played by McDiarmid appears in the trilogy s final film The Rise of Skywalker 2019 Prior to the film s opening Palpatine threatens revenge against the galaxy having used the dark side to cheat death 15 g This prompts First Order leader and fallen Jedi Kylo Ren Adam Driver the grandson of Anakin and nephew of Luke to seek him out on the Sith planet Exegol where a physically impaired Palpatine is supported by machinery 49 55 Palpatine reveals himself as the power behind Ren s former master Snoke Andy Serkis whom he created to rule the First Order and lure Ren to the dark side 67 70 He then unveils the Final Order a massive fleet of Sith Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal Palpatine offers the fleet to Ren on the condition that he find and kill the galaxy s last remaining Jedi Rey who is revealed to be Palpatine s granddaughter 71 It is subsequently revealed that Palpatine had a son who renounced him the son and his partner took their daughter Rey to the planet Jakku assuming lives as nobodies to keep her safe Palpatine s assassin Ochi eventually found Rey s parents and killed them on his orders but never found Rey 71 Near the end of the film Rey arrives on Exegol to confront Palpatine Surrounded by his Sith loyalists Palpatine embodies all the Sith s power 15 72 66 He orders Rey to kill him in anger so his spirit can pass into her which will allow him to possess her body 73 Rey refuses and she and Ren now the redeemed Ben Solo confront Palpatine together Sensing their power as a dyad in the Force Palpatine absorbs their life energy to rejuvenate his body He incapacitates Ben and attacks the Resistance fleet with Force lightning Rey uses the power of the past Jedi to face Palpatine once more he attacks her with lightning but Rey deflects it using the Skywalker lightsabers destroying Palpatine 71 66 Television The Clone Wars In the 2008 animated film Star Wars The Clone Wars and the subsequent animated series set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith Palpatine continues to serve as Supreme Chancellor while his Sith identity orchestrates the Clone Wars behind the scenes Palpatine was voiced by Ian Abercrombie from 2008 to his death in 2012 and by Tim Curry from 2012 to 2014 74 75 In the film Sidious engineers a Separatist plot in which Count Dooku voiced by Corey Burton turns Jabba the Hutt voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson against the Republic by kidnapping his son Rotta and framing the Jedi for it Meanwhile Palpatine suggests that the Republic ally itself with the Hutts Although Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano voiced by Ashley Eckstein foil the plot the outcome suits Palpatine s ends Jabba places Hutt hyperspace routes at the Republic s disposal 76 In season two of the TV series Sidious hires bounty hunter Cad Bane voiced by Corey Burton to infiltrate the Jedi Temple and steal a holocron He then takes a valuable Kyber memory crystal that contains the names of thousands of Force sensitive younglings the future of the Jedi Order from around the galaxy The final stage of the plot to bring four Force sensitive children to Sidious secret facility on Mustafar Anakin and Ahsoka again foil the plot but Bane escapes and all evidence of Sidious involvement is lost 77 In season three Sidious senses Dooku s assassin Asajj Ventress voiced by Nika Futterman becoming powerful in the dark side and orders Dooku to eliminate her he suspects that Dooku is planning to have Ventress assassinate him Ventress survives and her revenge against Dooku sets off a chain of events including the return of Sidious former apprentice and Dooku s predecessor Darth Maul 78 In season five Sidious personally travels to the planet Mandalore to confront Maul who has become the leader of Death Watch Sidious kills Maul s brother Savage Opress voiced by Clancy Brown before torturing Maul with the intent to make use of his former apprentice In season six Sidious goes to lengths to conceal his plan from the Jedi by silencing Clone Trooper Fives from learning of Order 66 and having Dooku wipe out anything tied to the former Jedi Master s connection to the conspiracy 79 80 Rebels nbsp Sam Witwer originally provided the voice for Palpatine in RebelsIn Star Wars Rebels set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope Palpatine is portrayed as the Emperor of the Galactic Empire He briefly appears off screen at the end of season two s premiere The Siege of Lothal originally voiced by Sam Witwer and later Ian McDiarmid from 2019 Darth Vader informs Palpatine that the Rebel Alliance cell on Lothal has been broken and that Ahsoka Tano is alive and is now helping the Rebels Palpatine sees this as an opportunity to seek out other remaining Jedi ordering Vader to dispatch an Inquisitor to hunt down Ahsoka 81 Palpatine returns physically in season four voiced again by McDiarmid In the episodes Wolves and a Door and A World Between Worlds he appears as a hologram overseeing the excavation of the Lothal Jedi Temple which contains a portal to a separate dimension of the Force outside of space and time which Palpatine considers a conduit between the living and the dead that could give him unrivaled power of the Force itself if he can access it Shortly after protagonist Ezra Bridger voiced by Taylor Gray reaches through time and space to rescue Ahsoka from Vader Palpatine sets up a portal that shows Jedi Master Kanan Jarrus voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr final moments While Ezra wants to reach through the portal and rescue Kanan Ahsoka convinces him not to Palpatine then reveals himself through the portal and attacks Ezra with Force lightning However Ahsoka and Ezra manage to evade him and go their separate ways thus denying Palpatine full power 82 Palpatine later returns in the series finale Family Reunion and Farewell In the episode Ezra having surrendered himself to Grand Admiral Thrawn voiced by Lars Mikkelsen to protect Lothal is taken by him to a room containing a reconstructed section of the ruined Jedi Temple and a hologram of Palpatine as he appears in the prequel films Palpatine having acknowledged the threat Ezra poses to the Empire presents himself as a kindly old man and shows Ezra a vision of his dead parents through a doorway promising that the youth will be with them if he enters it Ezra is initially mesmerized by Palpatine s promise and goes to enter the door but finally resists and destroys the reconstructed Jedi Temple and the illusion Palpatine s hologram emerges from the rubble flickering to show his true self and commands his Royal Guards to kill Ezra though Ezra manages to defeat them and escape According to series creator Dave Filoni the events of Rogue One and A New Hope happen shortly after this episode thus refocusing Palpatine s attention from Ezra and Lothal s liberation to the Rebel Alliance and Luke Skywalker 83 The Bad Batch Palpatine appears in the first season of the 2021 animated series Star Wars The Bad Batch The series is set during and immediately following the events of the 2005 film Revenge of the Sith The series first episode depicts Palpatine s senate speech from the film in animated form using the archive sound of McDiarmid s dialogue As in the film Palpatine orders the extermination of the Jedi and declares himself emperor 84 Obi Wan Kenobi Palpatine appears in the sixth episode of the 2022 series Obi Wan Kenobi The series is set ten years after Revenge of the Sith After Darth Vader is defeated by Obi Wan Kenobi following their second duel Palpatine contacts Vader in his Mustafar castle via hologram questioning Vader s motives and loyalty when Vader reports that he will not rest until Obi Wan is found Vader reassures Palpatine that Obi Wan does not mean anything reaffirms his commitment to Palpatine and abandons his search 85 Tales of the Jedi Darth Sidous appears in the fourth episode of the Tales of the Jedi TV series talking with Darth Tyrranus Books and comics The first appearance of Palpatine in Star Wars literature was in the prologue of Alan Dean Foster s ghostwritten novelization of the script of A New Hope published as Star Wars From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker 1976 86 87 His background as a senator of the Republic was explored in James Kahn s novelization of Return of the Jedi 12 Palpatine also appears in Rae Carson s novelization of The Rise of Skywalker which expands upon the film s story In the book Palpatine is revealed to have discovered the secret to immortality from his former master Darth Plagueis using this knowledge to survive after his death in Return of the Jedi 68 88 g The novelization also describes Palpatine s son as a failed clone of himself 68 89 However the 2021 book Skywalker A Family at War describes Palpatine s son as an offshoot of his genetic research not precisely a clone but made of cloned tissue and donated cells 90 91 Star Wars Lords of the Sith 2015 was one of the first canon spin off novels to be released in the Disney canon begun in 2014 92 In it Vader and Palpatine find themselves hunted by revolutionaries on the Twi lek home planet Ryloth 93 94 In Thrawn 2017 the titular character warns Palpatine of threats lurking in the Unknown Regions Chuck Wendig s Aftermath book trilogy reveals that prior to his death Palpatine enacted a plan for the remnants of the Empire intended to be led by his adoptive son Gallius Rax to retreat to the Unknown Regions where they formed into the First Order 95 The dark side was thought to be concentrated in this region where one Sith cultist believed that Palpatine would be found alive 96 The upcoming illustrated book Star Wars The Secrets of the Sith is told from Palpatine s perspective 97 Palpatine appears frequently in the comic book series Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith 2017 2018 written by Kieron Gillen and Charles Soule It is suggested at the end of the series that Palpatine manipulated the Force to impregnate Vader s mother Shmi Skywalker making him in essence Vader s father although this is left somewhat ambiguous 61 This builds on the plot point of Anakin s virgin birth introduced in The Phantom Menace and the claim that a Sith lord could use the Force to influence the midi chlorians to create life as Palpatine tells Anakin in Revenge of the Sith f This would seem to have incestuous implications for Rey and Ben Solo at the end of The Rise of Skywalker 98 h but Soule says that The Dark Side is not a reliable narrator and a Lucasfilm story group member who collaborated on the comic confirmed that a direct connection between Palpatine and Vader was not their intent 100 The character also appears in the final chapter of the comic book Star Wars The Rise of Kylo Ren 2020 which illustrates Palpatine s manipulation of the young Ben Solo into becoming Kylo Ren 101 Video games Star Wars Battlefront II adds a canonical tale spanning the destruction of the second Death Star through the events of The Force Awakens The story takes an Imperial perspective following an elite squadron known as Inferno Squad led by protagonist Iden Versio as they help execute Operation Cinder following the Emperor s death Operation Cinder was carried out by the Galactic Empire as a means of devastating several Imperial planets a few weeks after the Battle of Endor The operation was part of the Contingency a plan devised by Emperor Palpatine to ensure that the Empire and its enemies would not outlive him should he perish The plan was put into action following the Emperor s death during the Battle of Endor 102 Palpatine s threat of revenge referenced in the opening crawl of The Rise of Skywalker was included in the finale of the Fortnite Battle Royale X Star Wars event 103 The character has appeared in every Lego Star Wars video game to date including Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga 104 Legends In April 2014 Lucasfilm rebranded most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars as Star Wars Legends and declared them non canon to the franchise 105 106 92 Star Wars Legends literature elaborates on Palpatine s role in Star Wars fiction outside of the films Television Palpatine Darth Sidious is a central character in Genndy Tartakovsky s Star Wars Clone Wars micro series which is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith The character s likeness in the series is voiced by Nick Jameson In the first chapter Palpatine is informed by Obi Wan Kenobi voiced by James Arnold Taylor that the Jedi have discovered that the InterGalactic Banking Clan has established battle droid factories on the planet Muunilinst Palpatine agrees to send a strike force that includes Anakin Skywalker voiced by Mat Lucas and suggests that Anakin be given special command of Obi Wan s fighters Yoda and Obi Wan initially speak against the idea but reluctantly concede 107 In the seventh chapter a holographic image of Sidious appears shortly after Dooku trains Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress voiced by Grey DeLisle Sidious orders Ventress to track down and kill Anakin He remarks to Dooku that Ventress is certain to be defeated but that the point of her mission is to test Anakin 108 In the final chapters a hologram of Sidious again appears and orders General Grievous to begin an assault on the galactic capital 109 Later the Separatist invasion of Coruscant begins and Palpatine watches from his apartment in the 500 Republica Grievous breaks through the Chancellor s window and attempts to kidnap him 110 leading to a long chase while Palpatine is protected by Jedi Shaak Ti voiced by Tasia Valenza Roron Corobb and Foul Moudama After Grievous defeats the Jedi Palpatine is taken on board the Invisible Hand setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith 111 Books and comics Palpatine made his first major appearance in Star Wars related comic books in 1991 and 1992 with the Dark Empire series written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Cam Kennedy In the series set six years after Return of the Jedi Palpatine is resurrected as the Emperor Reborn or Palpatine the Undying His spirit returns from the netherworld of the Force with the aid of Sith ghosts on Korriban and possesses the body of Jeng Droga one of Palpatine s elite spies and assassins known as the Emperor s Hands Droga flees to a secret Imperial base on the planet Byss where the Emperor s advisor Sate Pestage exorcises Palpatine s spirit and channels it into one of many clones created by Palpatine before his death Palpatine attempts to resume control of the galaxy but Luke Skywalker now a senior Jedi Knight sabotages his plans Luke destroys most of Palpatine s cloning tanks but is only able to defeat the Emperor with help from Leia Organa Solo who has received rudimentary Jedi training from Luke The two repel a Force storm Palpatine had created and turn it back onto him once again destroying his physical form 112 Palpatine s ultimate fate is further chronicled in the Dark Empire II and Empire s End series of comics The Dark Empire II series published from 1994 to 1995 details how the Emperor is once again reborn on Byss into a clone body Palpatine tries to rebuild the Empire as the Rebel Alliance grows weak 113 In Empire s End 1995 a traitorous Imperial guard bribes Palpatine s cloning supervisor to tamper with the Emperor s stored DNA samples This causes the clones to deteriorate at a rapid rate Palpatine tries to possess the body of Anakin Solo the infant son of Leia Organa and Han Solo before the clone body dies but is thwarted once again by Luke Skywalker Palpatine is killed by a blaster shot fired by Han but his spirit is captured by the mortally wounded Jedi Empatojayos Brand When Brand dies he takes Palpatine s spirit with him into the netherworld of the Force destroying the Sith Lord once and for all 114 Novels and comics published before 1999 focus on Palpatine s role as Galactic Emperor Shadows of the Empire 1996 by Steve Perry and The Mandalorian Armor 1998 by K W Jeter both set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi show how Palpatine uses crime lords such as Prince Xizor and bounty hunters like Boba Fett to fight his enemies 115 116 In the Jedi Prince series of young reader novels 1992 1993 by Paul and Hollace Davids set about a year after Return of the Jedi a three eyed mutant named Triclops is revealed to be Palpatine s illegitimate son 117 he had a son named Ken the titular Jedi Prince Barbara Hambly s novel Children of the Jedi 1995 set eight years after Return of the Jedi features a woman named Roganda Ismaren who claims that Palpatine fathered her son Irek 118 After the release of The Phantom Menace writers were allowed to begin exploring Palpatine s backstory as a politician and Sith lord The comic Marked by Rob Williams printed in Star Wars Tales 24 2005 and Michael Reaves novel Darth Maul Shadow Hunter 2001 explain Darth Sidious relationship with his apprentice Darth Maul 119 120 Cloak of Deception 2001 by James Luceno follows Reaves novel and details how Darth Sidious encourages the Trade Federation to build an army of battle droids in preparation for the invasion of Naboo Cloak of Deception also focuses on Palpatine s early political career revealing how he becomes a confidant of Chancellor Finis Valorum and acquainted with Padme Amidala newly elected queen of Naboo 121 Palpatine s role during the Clone Wars as Chancellor of the Republic and Darth Sidious is portrayed in novels such as Matthew Stover s Shatterpoint 2003 Steven Barnes The Cestus Deception 2004 Sean Stewart s Yoda Dark Rendezvous 2004 and Luceno s Labyrinth of Evil 2005 and Darth Plagueis 2012 Following the theatrical release of Revenge of the Sith Star Wars literature focused on Palpatine s role after the creation of the Empire John Ostrander s comic Star Wars Republic 78 Loyalties 2005 chronicles how shortly after seizing power Emperor Palpatine sends Darth Vader to assassinate Sagoro Autem an Imperial captain who plans to defect from the Empire 122 In Luceno s novel Dark Lord The Rise of Darth Vader 2005 set shortly after Revenge of the Sith the Emperor sends Darth Vader to the planet Murkhana to discover why clone troopers there refused to carry out Order 66 against their Jedi generals Palpatine hopes these early missions will teach Vader what it means to be a Sith and crush any remnants of Anakin Skywalker 123 James Luceno s 2012 novel Darth Plagueis depicts Palpatine s early life prior to the films The scion of an aristocratic family on Naboo Palpatine first turns toward the dark side upon meeting the titular Sith lord Sensing great power in Palpatine Plageuis takes him on as his Sith apprentice In the final test of his devotion to the dark side Palpatine kills his parents and his brother and sister 124 Video games In The Force Unleashed the Empire has captured the rebel leaders and holds them on the Death Star Vader s former apprentice Galen Marek Starkiller battles his way through the station defeats Vader and faces the Emperor who tries to goad him into killing Vader so Starkiller can take his place Starkiller defeats the Emperor but spares him The Emperor then unleashes Force lightning at Starkiller s companion Rahm Kota but Starkiller absorbs it sacrificing himself to allow the rebels to escape In the noncanonical dark side ending Starkiller kills Vader and is congratulated by the Emperor who commands him to kill Kota Starkiller instead attacks the Emperor who foils his attempt and then crushes him and the rebels with a ship Starkiller later awakens to find his body being grafted with armor to continue serving the Emperor In the again noncanocial DLC to The Force Unleashed II the Rebel Alliance gets defeated in the Battle of Endor The Emperor then subdues Vader with Force lightning while chastising him for resurrecting his failed apprentice as a clone Characterization According to prologue of Alan Dean Foster s 1976 novelization of the original Star Wars film Aided and abetted by restless power hungry individuals within the government and the massive organs of commerce the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor shutting himself away from the populace Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot lickers he had appointed to high office and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears 86 In Cloak of Deception Luceno writes that Palpatine carefully guards his privacy and others found his reclusiveness intriguing as if he led a secret life 125 Despite this he has many allies in the government Luceno writes What Palpatine lacked in charisma he made up for in candor and it was that directness that had led to his widespread appeal in the senate For in his heart he judged the universe on his own terms with a clear sense of right and wrong 125 In Terry Brooks novelization of The Phantom Menace Palpatine claims to embrace democratic principles He tells Queen Amidala I promise Your Majesty if I am elected chancellor of the Republic I will restore democracy to the Republic I will put an end to the corruption that has plagued the Senate 126 A Visual Dictionary states that he is a self proclaimed savior 127 According to the Star Wars Encyclopedia Palpatine s Empire is based on tyranny 128 Expanded Universe materials explicitly establish that Palpatine was the apprentice of Darth Plagueis 129 Palpatine is characterized as the most powerful practitioner of the Sith ways in modern times 130 Palpatine is so powerful that he is able to mask his true identity from the Jedi for decades In the novel Shatterpoint Mace Windu remarks to Yoda A shame Palpatine can t touch the Force He might have been a fine Jedi 131 The Star Wars Databank explains that the Force granted him inhuman dexterity and speed agility enough to quickly kill three Jedi Masters as depicted in Revenge of the Sith 8 Stover describes the duel between Yoda and Palpatine in his novelization of Revenge of the Sith thus From the shadow of a black wing a small weapon slid into a withered hand and spat a flame colored blade When those blades met it was more than Yoda against Palpatine more the millennia of Sith against the legions of Jedi this was the expression of the fundamental conflict of the universe itself Light against dark Winner takes all 132 During the duel Yoda realizes that Sidious is a superior warrior and represents a small but powerful Sith Order that had changed and evolved over the years while the Jedi had not He had lost before he started He had lost before he was born 133 According to the Databank and New Essential Guide to Characters Palpatine possesses great patience and his maneuverings are as a dejarik grandmaster moves pieces on a board 134 He is depicted as a diabolical genius 135 136 Palpatine was not given a first name in any canonical or Star Wars Legends sources until 2014 when the character s first name Sheev was revealed in the novel Tarkin written by James Luceno 7 The Lucasfilm Story Group approached Del Rey Books and asked if they wanted to use the name which was created by George Lucas in the Tarkin novel to which Del Rey agreed 137 In popular cultureWith the premiere of Return of the Jedi and the prequel films and the accompanying merchandising campaign Palpatine became an icon in American popular culture Kenner Hasbro produced and marketed a series of action figures of the character from 1983 to 2005 138 According to John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett These action figures allow children 4 amp up to handle the symbols of the Force 139 nbsp A Star Wars fan cosplaying as Emperor Palpatine seated at a Star Wars Celebration event in 2015Academics have debated the relationship of Palpatine to modern culture Religion scholars Ross Shepard Kraemer William Cassidy and Susan Schwartz compare Palpatine and Star Wars heroes to the theological concept of dualism They insist One can certainly picture the evil emperor in Star Wars as Satan complete with his infernal powers leading his faceless minions such as his red robed Imperial Guards 140 Lawrence and Jewett argue that Vader killing Palpatine in Return of the Jedi represented the permanent subduing of evil 139 However according to director J J Abrams Palpatine s return in The Rise of Skywalker represented the idea that evil can return as a result of complacency 141 He said I think the idea that if we are not careful the evil the ultimate evil will rise again 141 Since Return of the Jedi and the prequel films Palpatine s name has been invoked as a caricature in politics A Seattle Post Intelligencer editorial noted that anti pork bloggers were caricaturing West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd as the Emperor Palpatine of pork with Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska having clear aspirations to be his Darth Vader The charge followed a report that linked a secret hold on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to the two senators 142 Politicians have made comparisons as well In 2005 Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey compared Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee to Palpatine in a speech on the Senate floor complete with a visual aid 143 A Fox News editorial stated no cultural icon can exist without someone trying to stuff it into a political ideology The Star Wars saga the greatest pop culture icon of the last three decades is no exception Palpatine s dissolution of the Senate in favor of imperial rule has been compared to Julius Caesar s marginalization of the Roman Senate Hitler s power grabs as chancellor on his way to becoming a dictator Franklin D Roosevelt s failed court packing scheme and the creation of a perceived Imperial Presidency in the United States 144 On the Internet In the mid late 2010s the character became the subject of various internet memes emphasizing certain lines of dialogue the character spoke in Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith 145 146 147 RelationshipsApprentices Canon Darth Maul Count Dooku Darth Tyranus Wilhuff Tarkin Protege Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader Gallius Rax Protege Inquisitorius Jedi hunters Snoke puppet Kylo Ren secretly Legends Darth Maul A Nikto Vergere Count Dooku Darth Tyranus Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader Garth Ezzar Ferus Olin Mara Jade Cronal Ennix Devia Assassin Lumiya Luke Skywalker briefly Sedriss QLFamily tree Palpatine family treeUnnamed Woman n 1 Darth SidiousSheev PalpatineOne GenerationGallius Rax n 2 Snoke n 3 Dathan n 3 MiramirRey n 4 Notes Miramir s grandmother is revealed in the novel Shadow of the Sith 2022 Gallius Rax is revealed to have been adopted by Darth Sidious in the Aftermath trilogy 2015 2017 a b Snoke and Dathan are failed clones of Darth Sidious Rey uses the Skywalker surname to honor her mentors Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker in The Rise of Skywalker 2019 Legends Palpatine family treeGreat grandfather3 Generations1 GenerationVolpauCosinga PalpatineUnnamed MotherDarth SidiousPalpatineSly MooreSiblings2 GenerationsTriclops Palpatine renounced n 1 KendalinaEderlathh PallopidesKen PalpatineNotes Palpatine mistreated Triclops by deeming him a failure and had him put in prison ReferencesFootnotes Eaton portrays the Emperor in the original release of the film McDiarmid replaces Eaton in the 2004 Special Edition of the film and onwards a b The expanded edition novelization of The Rise of Skywalker and the book called Shadow of the Sith reveal that both Snoke and Palpatine s son Dathan were strand cast clones of Palpatine himself 3 4 The character s first name was developed for the shelved Star Wars Underworld television series and was first announced in the 2014 novel Tarkin 5 6 7 Later titled Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope In his early drafts Lucas used the plot point of a dictator staying in power with the support of the military In his comment made in the prequel trilogy era Lucas attributed this to Nixon s supposed intention to defy the 22nd Amendment 22 but the president resigned in his second term In the novelization of Attack of the Clones it is noted that Palpatine had manipulated the law to stay in office as Supreme Chancellor for several years past his original term limit 23 a b In the rough draft of Revenge of the Sith Palpatine tells Anakin that he used the power of the Force to will the midichlorians to start the cell divisions that conceived him 61 Prequel trilogy producer Rick McCallum has stated that the scene in which Palpatine relates the story of Darth Plagueis is about Anakin s origins 62 a b While The Rise of Skywalker 2019 is ambiguous about Palpatine s return the film proposes the explanation dark science cloning secrets only the Sith knew 66 Palpatine himself attributes his return to unnatural dark side abilities 67 The film s novelization reveals that Palpatine had used Darth Plagueis knowledge to cheat death by transferring his consciousness into a clone 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April 14 2019 Works cited Kaminski Michael 2008 2007 The Secret History of Star Wars Legacy Books Press ISBN 978 0 9784652 3 0 Further readingAnderson Kevin J and Daniel Wallace The Essential Chronology New York Del Rey 2000 ISBN 0 345 43439 0 Bortolin Matthew The Dharma of Star Wars Somerville Mass Wisdom Publications 2005 ISBN 0 86171 497 0 Feeney Mark Nixon at the Movies A Book about Belief Chicago University of Chicago Press 2004 ISBN 0 226 23968 3 Hanson Michael J and Max S Kay Star Wars The New Myth Philadelphia Xlibris 2002 ISBN 1 4010 3989 8 Horne Michael Allen Dark Empire Sourcebook Honesdale Penn West End Games 1993 ISBN 0 87431 194 2 Jensen Hans and Richard Chasemore Star Wars Complete Locations New York DK Publishing 2005 ISBN 0 7566 1419 8 Luceno James Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith The Visual Dictionary New York DK Publishing 2005 ISBN 0 7566 1128 8 Lyden John The Apocalyptic Cosmology of Star Wars Journal of Religion and Film 4 No 1 April 2000 online Pena Abel G Evil Never Dies The Sith Dynasties Star Wars Insider 88 June 2006 Reynolds David West Episode I The Visual Dictionary New York DK Publishing 1999 ISBN 0 7894 4701 0 Reynolds David West Star Wars Attack of the Clones The Visual Dictionary New York DK Publishing 2002 ISBN 0 7894 8588 5 Smith Jeffrey A Hollywood Theology The Commodification of Religion in Twentieth Century Films Religion and American Culture 11 No 2 Summer 2001 pp 191 231 Velasco Raymond L A Guide to the Star Wars Universe New York Del Rey 1984 ISBN 0 345 31920 6 Wallace Daniel The New Essential Guide to Characters New York Del Rey 2002 ISBN 0 345 44900 2 Wallace Daniel and Kevin J Anderson The New Essential Chronology New York Del Rey 2005 ISBN 0 345 44901 0 External linksEmperor Palpatine Darth Sidious in the StarWars com Databank Darth Sidious on Wookieepedia a Star Wars wiki Emperor Palpatine on IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Palpatine amp oldid 1189928996, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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