Ian McDiarmid Defends Palpatine's Return in 'The Rise of Skywalker'

"Somehow, Palpatine returned." This iconic line from The Rise of Skywalker has become a meme that encapsulates the divisive reaction to Emperor Palpatine's return. Many fans were unhappy with his revival through cloning after his apparent demise in Return of the Jedi. But what did Ian McDiarmid, who has portrayed Palpatine for over four decades, think about the backlash?

In a recent interview with Variety, celebrating the re-release of Revenge of the Sith which has seen significant box office success, McDiarmid addressed the criticism. He dismissed the backlash, stating, "mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable." He elaborated, "It seemed entirely probable that Palpatine had a plan B. Even though he was very, very badly damaged, he would be able to put it together in some form. When I realized I had a sort of astral wheelchair, that was even better. I just had these four guys who whisked me around the studio; I can’t tell you how much fun that was. Daisy was more worried about that than anything else. And then, of course, we had to devise another makeup look, which was even more grotesque than the previous one."

Regarding the specific backlash to the Emperor's return, McDiarmid remarked, "Well, there’s always something, isn’t there? I don’t read that stuff and I’m not online. So it’ll only reach me if someone mentions it. I thought there might be a bit of a fuss about bringing him back. But as I said, mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable. This man who was horribly maimed thought maybe one day it might happen to him, and we’ve got to have a plan B. I loved the whole idea that he should come back and be even more powerful than he was before. Though this time, he had to be utterly destroyed. So I think he’s dead."

*The Rise of Skywalker* offers a somewhat vague explanation of Palpatine's grand comeback. When Kylo Ren encounters him early in the film, Palpatine appears as a reanimated version of his former self, suggesting he did not survive his fall at the end of *Return of the Jedi*. However, his death did not stop him; as McDiarmid noted, Palpatine had a contingency plan. In *Rise of Skywalker*, Palpatine explains his return to Kylo Ren, quoting his memorable line from *Revenge of the Sith*: "The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities that some would consider to be... unnatural." Thus, ancient Sith magic is implied as the means of his return.

Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie and TV Show

View 23 ImagesIt seems unlikely that the core Star Wars fanbase will ever fully embrace Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker, with many preferring to ignore it altogether. It will be interesting to see how future Star Wars films address this. In November, it was reported that Daisy Ridley's character, Rey Skywalker, will appear in "several" upcoming Star Wars films, as she has been deemed the franchise's "most valuable cinematic asset."

Ridley is confirmed to return in the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to The Rise of Skywalker, which will follow Rey as she works to rebuild the Jedi Order approximately 15 years after the events of the film.