The galaxy far, far away, created by George Lucas, Star Wars, remains popular in Hollywood, and the series may expand further in the coming year. Speculation about which Star Wars characters may be featured in future films and TV shows is nothing new. With the recently released Disney+ series Andor, fans are already reeling with the second season’s predictions. It’s little wonder Star Wars fans continue to guess. For instance, we hope that Kelly Marie Tran’s character Rose Tico (from the second trilogy), will be given further development in the future.
Sheev Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, is another intriguing character despite his villainous nature. Known as the Emperor in the prequel trilogy, Ian McDiarmid’s portrayal of the villain throughout the Skywalker story is brilliant. The original trilogy portrays Palpatine as the Galactic Empire’s Emperor and Darth Vader’s superior. However, he is shown as a charismatic politician in the prequel trilogy. He secretly concocts the Clone Wars and more on behalf of the Sith. Find out more about Palpatine’s past here.
Lucas’s space opera film series is now widely considered one of the most influential and successful film franchises of all time. As everyone knows, the story follows Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a man caught up in a galactic conflict between an oppressive empire and a resistance movement. The heroic Luke Skywalker and the scoundrel Han Solo (Harrison Ford) must rescue Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from the evil Darth Vader, who is in control of a gigantic space station. The rest, as they say, is history.
Lucas drew on his understanding of old cinema as well as elements of theology, mythology, and mysticism when developing the tale and creating the characters who would become famous. In addition, the historical reference in Star Wars is not subtle. The villainous Palpatine steps in at this point, exerting what appears to be absolute control over the stormtroopers, Darth Vader, and others.
The Path that Led Palpatine to the Dark Side
The shadowy Sith Lord, who rose to prominence in the Galactic Senate as Naboo’s senator, adopted two personas—Sidious and Palpatine—in order to advance his political career and lie his way to glorification. Sidious, though born in the Republic Era, received covert training in the ways of the Sith and developed a strong bond with the Force. As shown in Episode I: The Phantom Menace, he finally trained his own Sith disciple, Darth Maul. In addition, the Senate chose Palpatine as Supreme Chancellor after the Invasion of Naboo, a situation that Sidious had engineered. After Macu Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) tragically perished during an attempt to apprehend the chancellor in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Sidious issued Order 66 to exterminate almost all Jedi in the galaxy far, far away.
Due to the near extinction of the Jedi, Sidious declared himself Galactic Emperor, abolished democracy, and instituted the New Order in lieu of the Republic. Almost immediately after turning on and killing Tyranus Dooku (Christopher Lee) in the famous “kill him” scene at the beginning of Episode III, he picked Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) as his new apprentice. He eventually converted him to the dark side and turned him into Darth Vader. Once Luke Skywalker came along in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the Emperor attempted to betray Vader and replace him with his son, but Luke put an end to that plan. Vader ultimately sided with Luke, making Sidious’s scheme a failure.
And as Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker shows, that’s not even the end of it. In preparation for the likelihood of defeat, Sidious transplanted his essence to a clone vessel that was modelled on his original body. The birth of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) was the culmination of his schemes, and Snoke is ultimately to blame for Ben Solo’s (Adam Driver) fall to the dark side.
In Episode IX, we learn that Rey (Daisy Ridley) harnessed the power of the Jedi who came before her to defeat the Emperor, who was revealed to be Rey’s biological grandfather. Thus, the trilogy’s conclusion was satisfying, but the Emperor’s capacity to resurrect himself demonstrates that he will always have a chance to reappear in future Star Wars endeavors.
Palpatine’s Role in the Franchise’s Future
Earlier this year, at the annual Star Wars Celebration, Sidious actor Ian McDiarmid shared exclusive information, facts, and anecdotes about reprising his iconic role 0for The Rise of Skywalker. Reaction to J.J. Abrams’s polarising Episode IX was negative, but seeing the renowned Scottish actor back on the big screen was still great. And speaking of Palpatine, if any of the upcoming Star Wars films involve flashbacks or alternate timelines, he could make a comeback in one of those. These include the forthcoming Star Wars films directed by Taika Waititi, Damon Lindelof, and others, and upcoming television series like Ahsoka and the third Season of The Mandalorian.
