Ian McDiarmid Defends Palpatine's Return in 'Star Wars: 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 clone-fueled revival following his apparent demise in Return of the Jedi. But what does 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 success at the box office, McDiarmid addressed the controversy surrounding Palpatine's return. He dismissed the criticism, stating, "mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable."

"It seemed entirely probable that Palpatine had a plan B," McDiarmid explained. "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 said, "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 vague explanation of how Palpatine managed his grand comeback. When Kylo Ren encounters him early in the film, Palpatine appears as a reanimated version of himself, suggesting he did not survive his fall at the end of *Return of the Jedi*. However, his death did not stop him; as McDiarmid pointed out, Palpatine had a contingency plan. In *Rise of Skywalker*, Palpatine references his famous line from *Revenge of the Sith* during his monologue to Kylo Ren: "The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities that some would consider to be... unnatural." This hints at ancient Sith magic as the means of his return.

Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie and TV Show

View 23 ImagesDespite the controversy, it seems unlikely that the core Star Wars fanbase will ever fully embrace Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker, preferring to ignore it altogether. It remains to be seen how future Star Wars movies will handle this plot point. In November, it was reported that Daisy Ridley's character, Rey Skywalker, will appear in "several" upcoming Star Wars films, as she is considered the franchise's "most valuable cinematic asset."

Ridley is set to reprise her role in a sequel directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, which will explore Rey's efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order approximately 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.