Palpatine's return in 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' was planned earlier than you thought

Emperor Palpatine's laugh was one of the most amazing moments of the first Star Wars trailer: The Rise of Skywalker. The decision to bring one of the emblematic characters to life is not a coincidence, but something that has been in JJ Abrams' plans since directing The Force Awakens.

In an interview with Uproxx, Abrams explained that Palpatine's absence would be strange if we consider that the Skywalker saga consists of 9 films.

Just look at what he speaks, who he is, how important he is, what the story is; Interestingly, his absence completely from the third trilogy would be notable. It would be very strange.

The director did not offer specific information, although he revealed that his return dates back to the times when Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the script for The Force Awakens.

"We purposefully observe what came before. We chose to tell a story that touches specific things, themes, and ideas that we have seen before, to start a new story. But we examine everything that came before to ask where we feel this is going."

The return of Palpatine has generated many theories, the strongest being the one that speaks of beating death thanks to the teachings of his teacher, Darth Plagueis, a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful that he is said to have learned to prevent the death of their loved ones by studying the midichlorians.

While the presence of the great villain coincides with the death of Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi, Abrams comments that there is no relationship between the two events. The director commented that when reading the script by Rian Johnson, he realized that bringing Palpatine back did not contradict what happened in the previous film.

JJ Abrams also commented that C-3PO would play an important role in The Rise of Skywalker, although he did not reveal specific details.

Star Wars: The rise of Skywalker premiers on December 20, 2019, in cinemas around the world and marks the end of the Skywalker Saga that began in Episode I.