George Lucas May Have Retconned Palpatine's Death In Return Of The Jedi

It has already been confirmed that Emperor Sheev Palpatine will be back in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But how exactly will that happen considering that Darth Sidious was killed in Return of the Jedi? As it turns out, George Lucas may have found a way to retcon the Emperor's death.

In Return of the Jedi, the Emperor tortures Luke Skywalker with Force lightning. However, Darth Vader intervened because he didn't want his son to be killed. Vader ultimately threw Palpatine down a pit although it leads to his own death.

That should confirm the Emperor's death, right? However, the iconic scene in Revenge of the Sith where Palpatine talks about Darth Plagueis may have teased on the possibility that he managed to survive. It hinted at Palpatine possibly learning the secret to immortality and using it when Vader finally turned against him.

According to ScreenRant, it's possible that Lucas wrote in the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis to tease at Palpatine's return. After all, the Star Wars creator was unhappy about having to kill off the Emperor in Return of the Jedi since he originally meant for the villain to face Luke in Episode IX. By introducing Plagueis' story in ROTS, Lucas somehow found a way to explain how the Emperor could possibly return in The Rise of Skywalker.

It's certainly an interesting theory that would effectively retcon the Emperor's death and explain his sudden return in Episode IX. However, it's still possible that Ian McDiarmid's role in The Rise of Skywalker would be limited to a flashback or as a Force ghost. Either way, we still recommend taking this with a grain of salt.

Find out if Lucas had intended to retcon the Emperor's death in Return of the Jedi when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker finally hits theaters on December 20.

Related: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Actor Ian McDiarmid Shares Details About The Emperor's Laugh In Trailer

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