A new piece of Star Wars fan art sees Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious visit the Sith Catacombs with his Royal Guard. McDiarmid has played Sheev Palpatine since 1983’s Return of the Jedi (he was included in The Empire Strikes Back’s 2004 DVD release), in which he first appeared as the Skywalker saga’s overarching villain. While in the original trilogy he is known as Darth Vader’s master and Emperor of the Galactic Empire, George Lucas’ prequel trilogy reintroduces him as a charismatic politician, Palpatine, who is secretly the Sith Lord, Sidious.

In The Phantom Menace, Palpatine is a seemingly altruistic and rational Galactic Senator from the planet Naboo. However, he is actually behind the Trade Federation’s blockade and invasion of Naboo. This duplicity continues throughout the prequels as he orchestrates the Clone Wars, manipulates the clones via inhibitor chips and Order 66, ends the Galactic Republic, and, of course, lures Anakin Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. It isn’t until nearly four decades after the events of Revenge of the Sith that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his father put an end to the Emperor and his evil Empire. Unfortunately, Palpatine returns in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, which revealed the Emperor has reemerged from the dead and was behind Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Artist tilian_creative on Instagram recently shared some art of Palpatine. The piece sees the Emperor and his personal bodyguards, the Royal/Imperial Guard, visit the Sith Catacombs (presumably) on Korriban. Check it out below:

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In the prequels, Palpatine talks about learning how to cheat death from his master, Darth Plagueis. In the sequels, it’s revealed that he spent decades transferring his consciousness into fragile clones, one of which escaped and started a family. The Rise of Skywalker supposedly brought a conclusion to the Skywalker Saga, ending with Palpatine and his Sith cultists/Final Order being defeated for good by his granddaughter, Rey (Daisy Ridley), on Exegol. The Rise of Skywalker has proven to be a divisive film among the fandom, receiving criticism for its rushed plot and haphazard resurrection of Palpatine.

Now, several Star Wars shows set before the sequels are in various stages of development. While Palpatine won’t be seen again in any future movies, he could appear on Disney+. For example, The Mandalorian deals with Imperial forces looking to utilize Grogu’s high midichlorian count, which likely has something to do with Palpatine’s clones. On top of that, the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series takes place ten years after Revenge of the Sith and is confirmed to feature Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. So, why not his master as well? Regardless, resurrecting Palapatine beyond The Rise of Skywalker in the timeline shouldn’t be an option.

Source: tilian_creative/Instagram

Key Release Dates
  • Rogue Squadron (2023)Release date: Dec 22, 2023
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Josh Plainse
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Josh Plainse is a writer, movie, and television fanatic based out of Wisconsin. Josh works for Screen Rant covering the latest in entertainment while simultaneously pursuing the never-ending dream of becoming an established novelist, screenwriter, and/or decent human being. Josh would accredit characters such as Goku, Han Solo, Simba, and Maximus Decimus Meridius for instilling within him an affinity for storytelling. It is this incessant obsession which has propelled him to seek opportunities that inform, entertain, and inspire others.

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