There was a whole lot of surprise when Emperor Palpatine appeared in large in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While there had been rumors before the film's release saying that Palpatine would make an appearance in Episode IX, many believed that Darth Sidious would simply appear as a hologram playback.
Surprise, surprise, Palpatine appeared in flesh and blood in The Rise of Skywalker, taking on an integral role in the movie. While some fans loved director J.J. Abrams decision to resurrect Darth Sidous, many others found the Emperor's appearance poorly constructed and ill-fitting for the sequel trilogy.
While most fans blame this poor storytelling decision on Abrams, Games Radar suggests that Palpatine's resurrection may have very well been part of George Lucas original plans for Disney's follow-up to the original trilogy.
When Disney bought Lucasfilm from Lucas, the Star Wars creator already had his plans for the sequel trilogy mapped out. Though the studio ended up discarding most of Lucas blueprint for the new set of Star Wars films, they did end up following a few of the Star Wars creators pointers for the sequels – including his plans to have Luke end up living like a hermit on a secluded planet training a young, female Jedi who went by the name of Kira (which ended up being Rey).
Though there isn't that much information about Lucas other plans, Games Radar says that it would make sense for Lucas to turn Palpatine into the final villain in Star Wars' sequel trilogy.
Not only has there been multiple stories of Palpatine returning in the Expanded Universe, but we're certain that Lucas would want Palpatine around in the final film of the Skywalker saga.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available for streaming on Disney+.
Read: Star Wars: The Old Republic Comes to Steam After Nine Long Years
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Star Wars: Episode IX