The unmistakable laugh of Emperor Palpatine gave Star Wars fans heart palpitations at the end of the Rise of Skywalker trailer. His apparent return is something many have theorized and caused a split between those excited at seeing him again and those who were happy to move on. But J.J. Abrams wants everyone out there to know that bringing back Palpatine wasn’t done on a whim; it’s for a very good reason. Abrams told Empire…
“Some people feel like we shouldn’t revisit the idea of Palpatine, and I completely understand that. But if you’re looking at these nine films as one story, I don’t know many books where the last few chapters have nothing to do with those that have come before. If you look at the first eight films, all the set-ups of what we’re doing in ‘IX’ are there in plain view.”
Can’t really fault him for that, can we? He’s right that the bad guy always comes back to haunt his enemies, so we really shouldn’t be surprised to see Palpatine again. On the other hand, one has to wonder if this was always the plan. Those who enjoyed Rian Johnson’s envelope-pushing on The Last Jedi may not be happy to see things take a step backward.
Honestly, I just want them to stick the landing. Just make sense. That’s all I’m asking.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20th.
