The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer confirmed that Emperor Palpatine will be making his shock return in Episode IX, leaving fans scrambling to theorize ways that he could be back after Darth Vader threw the Sith Lord to his doom in Return of the Jedi. It’s intriguing to note, then, that a Star Wars novel published just days after the trailer was released back in April might foretell his resurrection.
Credit to Reddit user Franzman86 for highlighting this significant passage in Claudia Grey’s Master & Apprentice. In it, Qui-Gon Jinn discovers a prophecy that reads: “He who learns to conquer death will through his greatest student live again.”
Read the relevant section for yourself in the gallery below:
The original poster believed this could be a tease that Darth Plagueis might be set to make a comeback in some form of Star Wars media – after all, he’s the one who’s said to have mastered the art of resurrection. Meanwhile, another user offered that it could apply, more metaphorically, to Luke Skywalker, passing on his knowledge to Rey and living on through her.
However, perhaps the juiciest interpretation of the prophecy is that it somehow refers to Palpatine. A recent theory suggested that Snoke was taught by Darth Sidious himself, with the villain’s Force ghost training Snoke up to command the First Order and continue his work. Assuming for a moment that this is correct, Snoke could be the “greatest student” the prophecy refers to.
Of course, the prophecy might be referring to both Plagueis and Palpatine. It’s an old theory that the latter was actually the apprentice of the former, and it was Palpatine who murdered his master in his sleep. If you believe this idea, the Emperor could have learned the trick to immortality too, thereby explaining his return in Episode IX.
Either way, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will reveal all when it hits cinemas on December 20th.