When the first trailer for STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER dropped at Star Wars Celebration this past weekend, fans of the Lucas-founded space saga lost their collective minds as they marveled at Rey's force gymnastics, Kylo Ren's emotional soldering skills, and of course, the promise of a formidable villain returning to the franchise. That's right, I'm talkin' about your pale boy in the black pajamas, Emperor Palpatine. At first, fans didn't know what to make of the character's familiar cackle toward the end of the trailer, but shortly thereafter, Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid sauntered onto the Celebration stage. As the crowd gasped in unison, it soon dawned on Star Wars fans the world over that a fan-favorite nemesis was returning to make trouble for those who would embrace the light side of The Force.
Of course, shortly after Palpatine's involvement in STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER was confirmed, journalists began asking questions about how the villain became a part of Abrams' plan for the final installment of the Skywalker Saga. Thankfully, Kevin Polwy of Yahoo! Entertainment was able to catch up with Kathleen Kennedy, who revealed that Palpatine's return had been a part of their grand plan for quite some time.
“This has been in the blueprint for a long time, yeah. We had not landed on exactly how we might do that, but yes, it was always [to be in Episode IX],” Kennedy told Polowy.
During the interview, Kennedy also elaborated on the film's title, which she believes is "provacative," as it poses many questions about the next chapter rather than tell you what the movie is about, directly.
You can watch Polowy's interview spot with Kathleen Kennedy below:
Of course, now that we know Palpatine will be contributing to the narrative of the upcoming film, it's time for fans to speculate wildly about what that could mean for the newest trilogy overall. Has he been acting as a shadowy puppet master this entire time? Does his evil plan involve irradicating the Skywalker bloodline once and for all? Do you think his closet is filled with nothing by black robes? I mean, how exactly does laundry service work in a galaxy far, far away? I suppose we'll have to wait until STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER arrives in theaters on December 20. 2019 to find out. Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments section below.