Fans have taken to Reddit to describe their first impressions of hearing the unmistakable voice of Emperor Palpatine in the original trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The Dark Sith Lord’s controversial appearance in the film perplexed fans of the franchise, who wondered how he could possibly have survived the destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance in Return of the Jedi.
Redditor Baxterrocky asked fellow Star Wars fans about their initial response to the mysterious resurrection of Emperor Palpatine in the trailer for Episode IX.
Some fans could not resist sharing tongue-in-cheek responses. A post from Redditor gatorbettle riffed on the movie’s laughably vague declaration, delivered by Poe, that “somehow, Palpatine has returned”.
The sentiment was echoed by bakedl0gic, who took also a dig at the continuity of J.J. Abrams’ storyline.
Another Redditor agreed, wondering how Emperor Palpatine and his dais could have possibly survived the attack.
ThrawnsCousin expressed a sense of dread and disappointment over Palpatine’s appearance in the trailer.
Actor Ian McDiarmid, who plays Emperor Palpatine in the franchise, was also surprised when he was asked to reprise the role in Episode IX because George Lucas had told him that the character was dead.
However, J.J. Abrams was nonplussed by the mixed reactions to the storyline and said he had always planned to bring back Emperor Palpatine. Later, his resurrection was explained on StarWars.com as a result of the Emperor’s contingency plan, which saw him cloned by Sith cultists.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is currently available to stream on Disney Plus.