Ian McDiarmid has played Emperor Palpatine all throughout Return of the Jedi to the prequel trilogy, and as far as the canon goes, his character is dead. With the anthology films, however, McDiarmid thinks there is a lot of room for him to pop up and he teases a possible appearance by the Emperor.
Talking to BBC News, McDiarmid admits:
"I suppose there must be a chance but I think you'd find out about it more quickly than I would. As far as the new films are concerned, I'm dead. There is no question about that. But there is what they call the anthology series and actually the most recent one, Rogue One, was about the time when I was in charge. I was referred to a few times, Darth Vader popped up, but you did not see me. Maybe they are keeping me as a surprise for later but I have no idea. Of course, I don't want anyone else to play him."
The Emperor's first appearance in Empire StrikesBack actually had him played by Clive Revill before the special editions replaced him with McDiarmid. The Emperor has also been voiced by two different actors, Tim Curry and Sam Witwer on Clone Wars and Rebels respectively.
We have no idea when Palpatine will pop up in Star Wars again, but we can be assured that McDiarmid is game to reprise his role. If a Darth Maul origin film ever happens, I'm guessing it would be a good place for Palpatine to appear.
See Also: Andy Serkis Says Supreme Leader Snoke Won't Meet (Spoiler) In The Last Jedi
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