New details regarding Palpatine’s return have been revealed in Rae Carson’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker “Expanded Edition” novelization.
One of the biggest complaints from many fans and critics of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was leaving the return of Palpatine unexplained. In the film, the closest explanation we get is Palpatine reciting a line from Revenge of the Sith about the dark side of the force.
Rae Carson’s upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization will delve deeper into the final story of the final Skywalker Saga. Attendees at C2E2 in Chicago over the weekend were treated to copies of the novelization ahead of its release. In the novelization, a new detail regarding Palpatine’s mysterious return is revealed and it appears he might have been a clone like the Legends comic book series, Dark Empire. You can read an excerpt from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization where Kylo Ren encounters Palpatine for the first time on Exegol below.
“All the vials were empty of liquid save one, which was nearly depleted. Kylo peered closer. He’d seen this apparatus before, too, when he’d studied the Clone Wars as a boy. The liquid flowing into the living nightmare before him was fighting a losing battle to sustain the Emperor’s putrid flesh.”
How do you think Palpatine returned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Do you think he was a clone? Sound-off in the comments below!
Here is the official synopsis for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:
Lucasfilm and director J. J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.
Directed by J. J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. Carrie Fisher will appear as General Leia Organa through the use of previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will arrive March 17th on digital and on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 31st. Meanwhile, the novelization will also be released on March 17th.
