Emperor Palpatine's entire history, timeline and manipulations explained

Emperor Palpatine is the central villain of Star Wars franchise, making its timeline one of the most expansive in the Skywalker Saga. Palpatine has long been considered one of the Star Wars best villains, if only for his longevity as a thorn in the side of the Jedi Order. Despite his many appearances in the Skywalker Saga, the canon reveals about Star Wars Darth Sidious has been few and far between among the nine main films.

For the most part, Palpatine is expected to have a minimal role in the upcoming Star Wars films. After all, the character met his definitive end in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerbut his lineage lives on within Rey Skywalker. This could mean that Palpatine's ghost has a looming presence in Rey's New Jedi Order movie story, further expanding her timeline in the film. Star Wars franchise. With that in mind, it's worth exploring the many elements of his story revealed in the Skywalker Saga so far, complete with his plans, betrayals, manipulations, and depictions of Sith evil.

Palpatine's origin before the Star Wars films

Palpatine's story is shrouded in mystery

Given how Palpatine has long been involved with the Sith, his history before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is incredibly vague. The character was a master of secrecy, with only a few elements of his childhood known. Unfortunately, these elements could have been further explored in The Acolyte Season 2 before the show's cancellation, as it teased the introduction of Palpatine's Sith master, Darth Plagueis. Regardless, Palpatine's early years revolve around the planet Naboo.

Born as Sheev Palpatine, the character was raised in the capital of Naboo, Theed. Palpatine was raised around the planet's political landscape, meaning he became savvy at manipulation from an early age. Possibly, Palpatine became a senator of Naboo and was involved in the Galactic Republic, while training with Darth Plagueis in the ways of the Sith.. Balancing his training with increasing political influence, Palpatine learned everything from Plagueis as they both sought immortal life. At some point before The phantom menacePalpatine killed Plagueis, becoming the most powerful Sith Lord in Star Wars vast galaxy.

Palpatine's Clone Wars Plan and Creation of the Empire

Palpatine's plans for domination were implemented in the Prequel trilogy

After killing Plagueis and solidifying his place in the Galactic Senate, Palpatine manipulated his way into becoming Supreme Chancellor. This happened after he set the Trade Federation on the path of segregation from the Republic, resulting in more planets following his example. This began the timeline of Star Wars Clone Wars, during which Palpatine controlled both the Republic and the Separatists. Palpatine's plan was complex down to the smallest detail, but simple enough to understand when looking at the big picture: he wanted to spread discontent throughout the galaxy during the previous era.

As the galaxy descended further into chaos, the power of the Sith grew and that of the Jedi Order waned. Likewise, Palpatine's political influence grew as the Republic looked to him for guidance. One of the main parts of Palpatine's plan was to create the eponymous clone army of the Clone Wars. Palpatine embedded inhibitor chips within the clones, eventually activating these chips in an event known as Order 66.

Order 66 was a purge of Palpatine's main enemies, the Jedi Order. The 10,000 Jedi roaming the galaxy were betrayed by the Clones they believed they could trust, resulting in a small handful of Order 66 survivors in Star Wars. After, Palpatine faced little resistance as he activated the final steps of his plan: the formation of the Galactic Empire. As sole leader of the Republic and with the Jedi virtually extinct, Palpatine became the supreme ruler of the galaxy when the first Galactic Empire was formed.

Palpatine's plans during dark times

Palpatine only sought to secure his power

During the reign of the Empire, located between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and A New HopePalpatine's main goal was simple: safety. Whether for the security of the Empire and its power or the consolidation of his long-held plans, the Emperor was fixated. Regarding the former, Palpatine formed the Inquisitorius, led by Anakin Skywalker under his dark side guise as Darth Vader, to hunt down and kill any remaining Jedi who slipped through the cracks of Order 66.

In addition to using Star Wars' many Inquisitors to keep the Jedi under control, Palpatine began the secret construction of the Death Star. The infamous planet-destroying weapon was intended to prevent any resistance to his rule from escalating into all-out war. Finally, the last important elements of Palpatine's plans during the dark times were his experiments with cloning. As shown in Star Wars: The Bad BatchPalpatine's Necromancer Project was implemented as a means of securing his life and fulfilling the quest for immortality that began with Plagueis through cloning midi-chlorians into other bodies.

Palpatine's Big Mistakes During the Galactic Civil War

Many aspects contributed to the rise of the Rebel Alliance

The next point in the Galactic Empire's timeline under Palpatine comes with the start of the original trilogy: the Galactic Civil War. Palpatine's need for total control turned out to be a serious mistake, with the pressure he placed on the rest of the galaxy leading to an all-out rebellion. Led by Star Wars Rebel Alliance, Palpatine's government faced opposition while the people of the galaxy appeared to be free from his tyranny. A major mistake was his oversight during the construction of the Death Star, which allowed Galen Erso to implement a failsafe that destroyed it, loosening Palpatine's overall control over the galaxy.

Palpatine's next mistake was underestimating Luke Skywalker and his connection to Darth Vader. Palpatine assumed that the allure of the dark side was strong enough to result in the death of either Luke or his father, as they both fought to become the Emperor's subordinates. However, the father-son bond between Anakin and Luke was enough to see them overcome this, forever ending Palaptine's reign as Galactic Emperor in Return of the Jedi.

Palpatine's Death and Resurrection

Return of the Jedi was not the end for Palpatine

As mentioned in Palpatine's plans during the Dark Times, the Emperor's "death" was not the end of his tyranny. The Necromancer Project eventually worked, with some of the Imperial remnants of the Star Wars The New Republic era pledged to see Palpatine resurrected using cloning technology that had apparently been perfected decades earlier. As Poe Dameron so eloquently puts it Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkersomehow, Palpatine returned. Unbeknownst to Poe, this "somehow" involved failed clones, Supreme Leader Snoke, the First Order, and a hidden Sith planet known as Exegol.

“Family” and Palpatine’s Rey

Palpatine's cloning plan didn't always go as planned

One element that is loosely linked to Palpatine's resurrection is his “family”. As Palpatine and his cultists searched for a way to create a clone with the full potential of the Force, many failures occurred. One of these "failures" was called Dathan, one of the few perfectly healthy bodies that Palpatine's Necromancer Project managed to create. However, the clone known as Dathan did not have a strong connection to the Force and as a result was mistreated by his "father" Palpatine, forcing the former to abandon his home world.

Dathan eventually settled on the planet Jakku, far from the Emperor's limited reach. There, Dathan met Miramir and the two formed a family. The couple conceived a daughter, Rey, who was incredibly powerful in the Force. So many Star Wars As fans well know, Rey's journey was explored in the sequel trilogy, leading her to discover that she is - through cloning - the "granddaughter" of Emperor Palpatine.

The Rise of the First Order and Palpatine's Final Defeat

Palpatine's own failed experiments led to his ultimate downfall

Another of Palpatine's "failed" cloning attempts was the body of Supreme Leader Snoke. Via Snoke, Palpatine began manipulating the galaxy's evildoers, eventually forming the First Order. With what was essentially another budding Empire under his command, Palpatine used Snoke's body to bring the galaxy into submission once again with the help of Ben Solo as the shadowy Kylo Ren. Eventually, Palpatine revealed that he was behind the rise of the First Order and enacted the Final Order: a fleet of Star Destroyers armed with Death Star-like weapons to destroy all planets that oppose him.

The final step in Palpatine's nearly century-long plan was to unleash the power of Star Wars Dyad Force. Using the connection between Rey and Ben Solo, Palpatine drains enough energy to finally complete his fully Force-sensitive clone body. Just as he is about to get everything he has worked for, Rey connects with the Jedi of the past and defeats him, putting an end to the Emperor Palpatine and his long plan to once and for all and free the Star Wars Galaxy.