Star Wars Concept Art Proves Palpatine's Rise of Skywalker Return Was Planned Before The Last Jedi

Last seen in the Return of the Jedi, Star Wars fans were surprised by Emperor Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker. The sequel trilogy was often criticized for not being planned out, hence the Emperor's return (teased in trailers) seen as something that was used to urge more fans to watch the film in theaters. Now, new evidence shows that Palpatine's return was actually planned even before The Last Jedi hit the theaters.

Concept artist Kevin Jenkins previously shared his sketch of the resurrected Palpatine, saying that he was developing his designs at the very beginning of production. Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak, who wrote The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, then clarified the timeline. He says the Palpatine sketch was dated November 1st of 2017, with the earliest Palpatine pieces dated October 11th of the same year. You can check out the tweet below!

This essentially confirms that director J.J. Abrams already had the idea to bring back Palpatine when he was hired to replace Colin Trevorrow. While this is one of the early sketches, the harness that carries Palpatine made it into the theatrical cut too. His concept seems to be well-developed at this stage as well, which suggests that The Last Jedi didn't change its concept or narrative to set up the Emperor's return, focusing on characters such as Carrie Fishers, Holdo, etc.

What are your thoughts on Emperor Palpatine's return in Episode IX? Tell us in the comments below!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now available on Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD.

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