Something has bothered me about the Star Wars saga’s big bad since seeing The Rise of Skywalker: why are the inferior Star Wars films always the ones that feature Palpatine in a major role? Rise of Skywalker, like Return of the Jedi, is the weakest film in its trilogy, and while Revenge of the Sith is the most watchable prequel, it is still inferior to A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi.
It’s strange, given the notion that your story is always as strong as your villain, and Emperor Palpatine — or Darth Sidious, to use his preferred name — is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and entertaining monsters of all time. Forget the Alien: he’s the perfect predator, unclouded by conscience, remorse, or morality, a man who’s somehow become the living embodiment of Death, the Destroyer of Worlds. Portraying a character whose sole emotion appears to be schadenfreude must’ve been refreshing for Ian McDiarmid, whose enthusiastic performance proved irresistible to audiences, whether they were die-hard Star Wars fans or not.
So why is there a correlation? Let’s go through the films:
The Original Trilogy (1980-1983):
of Palpatine in ESB
Palpatine first appeared briefly in The Empire Strikes Back as a hologram, originally portrayed by actress Marjorie Eaton (with voiceover from Clive Revill), until George Lucas reshot the footage with Ian McDiarmid for the 2004 DVD release. An ominous reminder that Darth Vader is not the ultimate authority in the Empire, he is the subject of a tantalizing tease during the big reveal at the end of the movie, when Vader tells Luke, “you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.”
Sadly, Vader’s grand vision is completely gone by the time Return of the Jedi begins: he’s apparently so crestfallen his son rejected him that he now sees the Emperor as his best friend, whom he ardently defends, even though Palpatine is enamored with the possibility of replacing him with Luke. It’s one of many issues that render Jedi the weakest original trilogy film, from the world’s longest opening sequence, to the emphasis on teddy bears, and the contrived resolution of the Luke-Leia-Han love triangle.
Palpatine isn’t immune to the film’s flaws, as strong as McDiarmid’s first performance in the role is: like Jabba, he spends most of his screentime resembling an arrogant toad, prematurely declaring victory. Greg Weisman, executive producer and story editor of the first season of Star Wars Rebels, once opined, “If the Emperor just keeps his mouth shut for five minutes, Luke turns to the dark side and the Empire wins. But the Emperor insists on gloating out loud, and it’s that very gloating that keeps Luke from turning. Not once. Not twice. But three times.”
Palpatine is a creation of style over substance, a tool to end Vader’s arc; he’s grotesque and unlovable, not cool and charismatic like him, so we’re happy when he’s tossed by Anakin into a bottomless pit. That’s fine in Jedi, but it sets up subsequent films for failure when they try to give him a greater role.
The Prequel Trilogy (1999-2005):
The Phantom Menace
Palpatine reappears in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones as a kindly senator-turned-chancellor, and the shadowy Darth Sidious pulling the strings behind the Clone Wars. Neither persona is particularly engaging thanks to the limited screentime given to both sides, which prompted needless speculation on release over whether the two were actually siblings or clones.
McDiarmid seems as bored by these films as we are, and while it wouldn’t have improved them that much, he would’ve probably enjoyed a scene where you actually get to see Palpatine becoming increasingly fed up with posing as the distinguished diplomat. As is, he’s just another piece being moved into position for the lion’s share of the story in Revenge of the Sith.
Fortunately, McDiarmid must’ve had a ball in the trilogy’s finale, being finally unbound and unrestrained by the character’s unmasking as the Dark Lord of the Sith. He seems to savor chewing every line: for better or worse, virtually every line has become an Internet meme, and he’s a huge part of why the movie is much more enjoyable to watch than its predecessors. (He and George Lucas even found time to convey the Emperor’s inner coward during the fight with Yoda.)
Continued belowHowever, Palpatine is not the protagonist of the prequels, even though the trilogy is as much about his rise to power as it is Anakin’s fall from grace, and he can only do so much to improve Sith — the film still suffers from this weird feeling of a historical reenactment at a college theater, with Palpatine as the breakout star everyone remembers they knew would go on to become a big name. The film’s mixed results are embodied by the ending, where Darth Vader melodramatically screams at the death of his beloved wife, while Palpatine gives the most beautifully devilish grin about his anguish.
The Sequel Trilogy (2015-2019):
Palpatine’s voice is only heard during Rey’s nightmare in The Force Awakens, but given Rise of Skywalker revealed the film’s big bad, Supreme Leader Snoke, was apparently just a ventriloquist meat dummy for Sidious, it’s worth mentioning Force and Last Jedi understood the overarching villain is primarily there to provide a backstory for the main characters — and in the case of Rian Johnson’s film, a stepping stone for the true villain’s ascendancy. Unfortunately, when J.J. Abrams came back to finish the cycle, it was decided Kylo Ren would not remain the main antagonist.
Skywalker is jarring from the start, with its inexplicable, vaguely explained reveal that Palpatine survived his demise in Return of the Jedi, and gets worse with the twist that he is Rey’s grandfather. There was absolutely nothing to suggest Palpatine had children beforehand (he was as sexless as any of his Jedi enemies), and despite this being the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, we’re not even told the name of his son and daughter-in-law. More importantly, his reintroduction turns Rey’s story into a retread of Luke’s rejection of his family’s evil legacy, which is shocking given the criticism that Force Awakens was too similar to A New Hope.
To its credit, the film does magnify the notion that killing Palpatine may not be in the protagonist’s best interest by depicting him as genuinely decrepit (rather than just feigning), but then the Emperor sucks up Rey and Ben Solo’s lifeforce, and is restored to his two-dimensional old self. He remains a tool to advance the story of the main protagonist and antagonist, whose own arc also becomes a retread of Vader’s redemption, sacrificing himself for the one he realizes he loves.
The point is, Skywalker relies too heavily on Palpatine to tell a compelling story and tie the three trilogies together, as if the legacies of the old characters weren’t being carried through by the ones Abrams and co. created. What makes it more frustrating is that Star Wars Rebels brought back Palpatine for its final season, yet he never overshadowed its heroes and their conflict: he remained a specter of the past, whose story has been concluded elsewhere, and never overturns Thrawn’s status as Ezra Bridger’s nemesis — Palpatine’s return to the films should’ve been as brief and impactful as it was there, or Yoda’s appearance in The Last Jedi.
We can now deduce that Palpatine’s presence alone did not hurt the films he starred in, but McDiarmid’s charisma can’t make up for when filmmakers aren’t similarly bringing their A-game to the writing, direction, and pacing. Palpatine is part of the icing in Star Wars: that’s not to say he can’t become a more substantial character with a new backstory or a solo spotlight, but as it is, you can’t hide what’s undercooked inside a movie by having more of him.
In The Skywalker Legacy, the behind-the-scenes documentary for Episode IX, co-writer Chris Terrio states that “we knew that this has always been a story of Skywalkers and Palpatines,” which is rich considering Palpatine wasn’t even in the first film: Star Wars is also about the Solos, Kenobis, Finns, and Damerons of the galaxy, the Ticos, Wookiees and droids — without those gelling together, it’s hard to call an entry a satisfying mix. Like the dark side, the Emperor is an enticing solution to your problems, but an unfulfilling one: thankfully, with the Skywalker and Palpatine Saga over, we won’t have to worry about the character ever again.
