What you expect to see Palpatine's possible development in EP9?

[thwhtGuardian]

if he comes back it has to be in a young body with a new actor. He has to be able to do acrobatic combat like in the modern movies.

Eh, in the newer trilogy they've sort of kept to the style from the OT but if you wanted to follow the pt trilogy style they did that style with Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith and it was mostly just cgi so I don't think it means you need to recast.

[AJBopp]

I could see a clone, but given the age of the actor I don't know what the larger point would be.

My suspicion is that it's flashback, or some forgotten recording or both. I seriously doubt the Emperor is back in any physical sense, particularly given they are marketing this movie as a conclusion. Bring him back physically for one movie? Eh, no.

OTOH, this is the new trilogy, and it's lost its footing in so many ways. It's hard to imagine what the creators might do out of desperation. In the end, it doesn't much matter to me. This is fantasy Star Wars anyway, not canon. Put on the screen whatever you want, it's no longer important in any narrative sense.

The entire point of Palpatine's existence was to be inextricably aligned with Anakin's. He was Anakin's father, in any reasonable definition of the term. Having created the person through a massive perversion of the Force, he influenced Anakin to the dark side. Eventually Anakin rejected the dark side and killed Palpatine - apparently the only person in history to recover from the dark side. Through this, Anakin confirmed that he was the Chosen One, and brought balance to the Force.

Suggesting that Palpatine, and the evil he represented, wasn't really destroyed makes the Star Wars story completely irrelevant. But they've already demonstrated irrelevancy in the last two movies, so what does it really matter what Palpatine's influence is this time around?

[Somecrazyaussie]

I could see a clone, but given the age of the actor I don't know what the larger point would be.

My suspicion is that it's flashback, or some forgotten recording or both. I seriously doubt the Emperor is back in any physical sense, particularly given they are marketing this movie as a conclusion. Bring him back physically for one movie? Eh, no.

OTOH, this is the new trilogy, and it's lost its footing in so many ways. It's hard to imagine what the creators might do out of desperation. In the end, it doesn't much matter to me. This is fantasy Star Wars anyway, not canon. Put on the screen whatever you want, it's no longer important in any narrative sense.

The entire point of Palpatine's existence was to be inextricably aligned with Anakin's. He was Anakin's father, in any reasonable definition of the term. Having created the person through a massive perversion of the Force, he influenced Anakin to the dark side. Eventually Anakin rejected the dark side and killed Palpatine - apparently the only person in history to recover from the dark side. Through this, Anakin confirmed that he was the Chosen One, and brought balance to the Force.

Suggesting that Palpatine, and the evil he represented, wasn't really destroyed makes the Star Wars story completely irrelevant. But they've already demonstrated irrelevancy in the last two movies, so what does it really matter what Palpatine's influence is this time around?

I think you succinctly outline my main concerns with Palpatine being brought back. If it isn't a fake out, and he is truly back in the flesh, it makes Anakin's betrayal and return to the light side all for nothing.

[Somecrazyaussie]

What are people's thoughts on the chatter going around that the First Order was secretly perpetuated by Sheev from the Unknown Regions to provide a distraction while he rebuilt the Empire Fleet in secret and that HE was the true architect behind everything from ROTJ till now? George Lucas originally intended for The Emperor to be the final opponent when he envisioned the saga running 9 - 12 films (he was apparently "consulted" on the story this time around). So i can believe that being a strong possibility

[Arsenal]

It feels like an incredibly lazy way to shove Palpatine into the ST and pretend that it was the plan all the along. For better or for worse, TLJ set up Supreme Leader Kylo as the big bad for EP9 and I honestly would of preferred that direction over dragging Palpy’s rotten corse back out for the final installment of the saga.

[ZeroBG82]

Ok, first thing first: I 100% agree that bringing the Emperor back for RoS is lazy and desperate filmmaking. But that shouldn't be surprising from the makers of TFA, which was basically a greateat hits montage from the OT.

That said, I think there are ways in which they could justify, and even earn, Palpatine as the villain without undermining Anakin's sacrifice in RotJ. I don't think they will make any effort to do so, but I think they probably could if they wanted.

Think about it. Palp's undercurrent through the PT is his quest for eternal life. Conquering death. It's fitting, in a way, that he would be the one to succeed.

And we could recontextualize Anakin's sacrifice. Maybe it isn't just that he came back from the darkness, but the reason he did so. TLJ worked hard to give focus to the arguments of light and dark. Protecting what you love is the heart of it's argument for light. The Jedi of the Republic had forgotten that, turned inward. In essence, turned gray. So what Anakin has restored, through his sacrifice to save Luke, is a commitment to love and family. Anakin shows that attachments are not weakness for a Jedi, they can be a strength.

We see echoes of that through Ben Solo. Particularly the stuff with Han in TFA, and again with Leia in TLJ. And I suspect that all the Reylo stuff in TLJ is set up for more of that in RoS.

I just don't think the people making this film will care to put that much thought into it. They want the nostalgia, the cheap call back. But the narrative just may not support it.

Hell, I'm expecting we get ZERO explanation for how Palpatine is back. Maybe a hand-wavey line somewhere. It's a cheap trick, rather than a sensible conclusion.

[TriggerWarning]

My theory going back to Force Awakens remains the same and Palpatines presence in this movie fits it perfectly. Rey is genetically the daughter of Palpatine. After the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi the remnants started a program to try and breed a new line of Sith by impregnating women with the DNA of Palpatine hoping to create a new Sith Lord. Rey is one of the results. There were some subtle hints to this back in Force Awakens when Rey was using the same type of stabby lightsaber fighting style that Palpatine used along with a few others.

All the Palpatine stuff in the trailers will be revealed to be some sort of force vision Rey is having after learning her heritage.