'More than a clone': Ian McDiarmid reveals cut Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker line that explains Emperor Palpatine's return

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker originally featured a line confirming that the evil Emperor Palpatine was in fact a clone of the series’ original villain, according to actor Ian McDiarmid. McDiarmid’s sinister bad guy made a surprise return to the franchise last year, having previously been killed at the end of 1983’s Return of the Jedi – but the film itself offered no explanation for his survival. Less than a man.’ Which seemed to me to sum it up really.” The revelation that Episode IX‘s version of Palpatine was a clone was recently unearthed when advanced copies of the official Lucasfilm book were sold in Chicago’s C232, and leaked online. McDiarmid’s comments are the first confirmation that Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrams had intended to explain Palpatine’s survival in the film itself, instead of leaving it to be explained by the tie-in novels.