Star Wars’ J.J. Abrams Says Emperor Will Have 'Extraordinary Power' in The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is bringing back Emperor Palpatine and it looks like the Sith Lord is returning with a vengeance in the third and final entry in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Together with most of the cast for Episode IX, J.J. Abrams went up on stage at the Brazilian convention Comic-Con Experience in Sao Paulo last Saturday to help promote Lucasfilm's new Star Wars movie (via The Hollywood Reporter). The director discussed many things about the upcoming film, but one of the most interesting things that Abrams decided to touch upon was Palpatine's return.

"That character, as you'll see, he's got such extraordinary power. I can't wait for you to see how and why that character's back and what it means for these characters," the director said, gesturing towards the cast of the film who were present at the convention: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac.

There's been a whole lot of excitement over Palpatine's appearance in The Rise of Skywalker. No one ever expected Darth Sidious to be in the film. It's been years since the Emperor's fall from the Death Star in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. What is Palpatine going to do now in Episode IX? Is he going to return in a physical form?

Based on Abrams' comments, we ought to expect a version of the Emperor much more powerful than we've seen him before in older Star Wars films.

That's definitely going to tickle the fancy of the fanbase – though we can't really tell right now what kind of powers and abilities the Emperor is going to showcase in The Rise of Skywalker.

Let's wait and see.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres December 20, 2019.

Read: Star Wars: The Mandalorian is Most In-Demand Series in the World

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