J.J. Abrams teases the Emperor’s return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

From the very first teaser for STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, fans have been prepared for the return of the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), the Dark Lord of the Sith who orchestrated the downfall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. The character seemingly met his end in RETURN OF THE JEDI when Darth Vader threw his cackling ass down a reactor shaft on the second Death Star (which exploded not long after), but it seems that he'll have a part to play in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

At the recent D23 Expo, the presentation featured new footage with a fresh line of dialogue from the Emperor ("Your journey nears its end") and he was also featured prominently in the new poster. It still remains to be seen whether the Emperor has somehow managed to survive all these years or if he's some sort of Sith Force ghost, but J.J. Abrams dropped some teases while speaking with MTV News. "I will say that that's part of what the story is," Abrams said when asked who the big bad of THE RISE OF SKYWALKER would be. "And also, I will say that with the Emperor around, he's not going to be your, you know, the cuddly pal. I can't wait for you to see how that plays out, but he's in the poster for a reason."

In a separate interview with IGN, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega both shared their thoughts on the return of the Emperor. "He's the biggest baddie in Star Wars history. Now that we've done the story, I'm like, it couldn't have happened any other way," Ridley said. "It had to be that. But he's very instrumental to the plot of the film. It's not just like he appears again; it's all explained." Boyega was also quite excited about the Emperor's return, saying, "I think the Emperor and his doctrine has trickled down to so many of the characters in the Star Wars universe. The Dark Side, it is what it is because of a lot of his actions and plans. To have him come back, he's like the greatest foe, the greatest enemy. I mean, we might as well take him down properly."

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.