A surprising detail of Return of the Jedi proves that Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious was never intended to be the main villain throughout Star Wars movies and TV shows – and this just reinforces that this wasn’t a great move on the part Star Wars. Palpatine is one of the few characters who played a significant role in all three Star Wars trilogies of the Skywalker Saga, and he ended up dominating the Star Wars timeline entirely. However, this was clearly not the Emperor’s original plan.
This is partly why Star Wars sequences are still considered some of the Star Wars worst films. The revelation in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that Palpatine was the trilogy’s main villain was such a left turn that it angered many viewers – even those who liked it Star Wars: The Force Awakens and/or Star Wars: The Last Jedi-throughout the entire trilogy. This also cemented Palpatine as the true villain of the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, yet a subtle detail of Return of the Jedi reveals how significantly this deviated from George Lucas’ original plans.
Palpatine was never actually a character in the original trilogy
Darth Vader was more significant, based on this important detail
While Palpatine may have proven how evil and formidable he was in Return of the Jedi, his name is not used once in the film. In fact, at no point in the original trilogy films was the name ‘Palpatine’ spoken. Instead, he was known as Emperor – more of a role than a fully formed character. Although it may seem insignificant, the fact that Palpatine is not given a proper name in Return of the Jedi reveals how secondary he was supposed to be, even when he proved to be a major threat.
The fact that Palpatine is not given a proper name in Return of the Jedi reveals how secondary he was supposed to be, even when he proved to be a major threat.
Both Palpatine’s introduction and his secondary role reflect the intent and focus of the original Star Wars trilogy. Initially, Darth Vader was the true villain, so much so that the Emperor does not even appear in A New Hope. When Lucas decided to make Darth Vader Luke’s father, the introduction of the Emperor was not yet the focus, as the story became much more about these family ties. To achieve Vader’s redemption, however, Star Wars needed the Emperor.
Return of the Jedi revealed the Emperor as the true mastermind behind the Empire’s evil deeds. He also gave Vader someone to protect Luke and chose Luke.upholding a redemption arc that was believable and affirmed that, ultimately, Vader’s son was more important to him than anything else. Even in this narrative arc, however, the Emperor was little more than an evil force that the heroes had to oppose. He wasn’t intended to be a fleshed out, developed character.
Until the 90s, Palpatine wasn’t really a character
The Prequel Trilogy Really Made Palpatine the Character He Is Today
The prequel trilogy revealed an entirely different characterin more ways than one. In Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom MenacePalpatine’s name is finally spoken and a series of other details about the future Emperor are shared. Much like Anakin being presented as an innocent boy in The phantom menacePalpatine is shockingly introduced as a very human senator from Naboo – a planet also known for peace and the arts, completely contrary to the original nature of the Emperor trilogy. He also becomes a dynamic character with his own arc, which was also new.
In fact, this work began off-screen, often in stories that are now categorized as legend following Disney’s acquisition of Disney. Star Wars. Although Palpatine’s name was never mentioned in the original trilogy films, he was mentioned in the novelizations of both. A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Subsequent books delved even deeper into Palpatine’s story, including the Dark Empire comic book series (1991-1995) and the novel Cloak of Deception (2001). Notably, this suggests that there was growing interest in Palpatine during and just after the ’90s specifically.
The prequel trilogy continued to explore Palpatine’s rise to power and shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch showed in even more detail how he became the emperor seen in the original trilogy. It all made a lot of sense, though. It was largely the work of the prequels to set up the original Star Wars trilogy and provide additional backstory, and they certainly accomplished that for Palpatine’s story. What made much less sense was the sequels’ decision to bring Palpatine back once again..
Star Wars Was Never Really Palpatine’s Story
Palpatine was never meant to be so essential
Even though Palpatine had a much more significant role in the prequel trilogy, he still played a fairly consistent role. Throughout the prequels, though especially Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the SithPalpatine’s influence over Anakin Skywalker and manipulation of the Jedi and the Republic Senate were the focus of his character. The Rise of Skywalker radically changed this, effectively making Palpatine a main character in the Skywalker Saga. He was no longer just having an impact on the main characters – he was the only true villain.
This also strangely Star Wars Palpatine’s story.
This also strangely Star Wars Palpatine’s story. Yes, Star Wars this has long been about the Skywalkers, but having Palpatine serve as the ‘big bad’ in all three trilogies, The Rise of Skywalker made Palpatine an equally significant throughline. Knowing this Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious went from the nameless character to Return of the Jedi to the only true villain of the Skywalker Saga does Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker even more bizarre choices and reveals how much George Lucas’ original plans were changed.