'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Trailer A Distraction? Actor Confirms Emperor's Dead

The evil laugh of the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) towards the end of the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” trailer got the fans excited. But was that just a distraction? McDiarmid has confirmed that he has not reprised his role as Palpatine in the upcoming film and also asked the fans to not take the teaser too seriously.

“Star Wars: Episode 9” will mark the end of the Skywalker saga. The first teaser trailer that was released during the Celebration event ended with an audio of the Emperor’s evil laugh. Many fans wondered if Palpatine will return in the film in some form, just as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is expected to return as a Force Ghost.

Speaking at the “Phantom Menace” 20^th anniversary panel discussion, McDiarmid confirmed that his character is dead. The actor apparently had some ideas about how the Emperor could return in the future, but George Lucas told him firmly at that time that his character died after the fall.

On the possibility of McDiarmid reprising his role for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the actor was coy. He said that he was in the area when the Celebration event was being held and he decided to drop by for a laugh.

In another interview at the Celebrations event, McDiarmid confirmed that he did not record the Emperor’s laugh for the upcoming film. The audio the fans heard at the end of the trailer was actually from an old recording that the filmmakers decided to attach to the teaser, according to McDiarmid.

McDiarmid also pointed out that big budget films like “Star Wars” have different scripts and false scripts that make the story of the film a mystery to even the cast and crew. The actor explained that an atmosphere of mystery is always a great thing to have in a film.

Talking about the title of “Star Wars: Episode 9,” McDiarmid said that it is such a tease. About his character, he said that the voice may have come from the past or from Hell.

From McDiarmid’s words it seems that the Emperor will not be back in the film, but his voice may be featured in a Force vision of the past or a similar sequence. The actor, however, emphasized that the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” trailer was just a tease, and he asked the fans not to take it too seriously.