A brand new Star Wars book suggests that, even within the Star Wars Galaxy, Palpatine/Darth Sidious’ shocking return Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is not fully accepted. The sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker in particular, it remains highly controversial in the franchise, and many still consider it one of the Star Wars worst films. There were several problems with the Star Wars sequels, but Palpatine’s baffling resurrection, explained in the film only by Poe Dameron saying: “Somehow, Palpatine has returned,” is largely the biggest offense in the eyes of most viewers. Now, that resurrection may be getting a major makeover.
In Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxywritten by ST Bende, a scientist named Ardis San Tekka refers to the defeat of “Emperor clone.” Even more remarkable, in the book, which must be written by a source in the universe, this “Emperor clone” is never referred to as Palpatine. This wording indicates that, at least from this scientist’s perspective, the version of Palpatine seen in The Rise of Skywalker was not truly Palpatine, but just a clone. This completely rewrites Palpatine’s ‘resurrection’ and suggests that the real Palpatine never returned.
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What the “Clone Emperor” means for Star Wars
This change could have huge implications for the franchise
This potential retcon could mean changes to both the universe and the franchise. Most obviously, this would resolve the ongoing criticism of this plot twist The Rise of Skywalkerespecially since clones are already well established in Star Wars movies and TV shows. It would not be difficult for the public to accept this version of events.
This could also suggest that news about Rey’s confrontation with Palpatine has spread in interesting ways. It could simply be a matter of the story changing as she travels across the galaxy. It could also be that this is the version of events told to downplay the threat that the Sith continued to pose to the galaxy long after they were believed to have been destroyed. This would have particularly interesting implications for the future of the Jedi.which will no doubt be addressed in the next Rey film Star Wars film, supposedly titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order.
Our take on “Somehow, Palpatine Returned”
This is a truly intriguing possibility
The possibility that the version of Palpatine seen in The Rise of Skywalker it’s just a clone, completely rewriting the idea that he was resurrected, it’s fascinating. Realistically, Star Wars has struggled to make this return make sense, even in the 5 years since the film was released. It seemed like Star Wars: The Bad Batch would finally reveal all the details of this return, but the Bad batch The end of season 3 left many questions still open.
On the one hand, this would make Palpatine’s return a little easier to swallow. However, this would also make the final battle in The Rise of Skywalker feel much less significant, which would be a shame, as that would have an impact The Rise of Skywalker importance for the worse. It will certainly be interesting to see if Star Wars will confirm this Palpatine/Darth Sidious After all, he didn’t really return and what could be the consequences of such a revelation.
Source: Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy