Lucasfilm dropped the very first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker during the film's panel at the 2019 Star Wars Celebration in Chicago yesterday, bringing with it a lot of great reveals, one of which included the return of Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid).
While most Star Wars fans were surprised to hear Emperor Palpatine's familiar cackle at the very end of the trailer for Episode IX, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy reveals that the Star Wars villain's return has been the plan for quite some time now.
Speaking in an interview with Kevin Polowy (Via Yahoo!), Kennedy discussed Episode IX's official title and the entire revelation that Palpatine was going to be brought back for the third and final film in the studio's sequel trilogy. When asked whether the Emperor's return had been planned even before the beginning of the sequel trilogy, Kennedy gives her confirmation.
"This has been in the blueprint for a long time, yeah. We had not landed on exactly how we might do that, but yes, it was always (going to be in Episode IX)," the Lucasfilm producer explained.
This debunks all the talk that Palpatine's return was meant as a measure to counter the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. While most fans have been busy celebrating the release of The Rise of Skywalker's trailer, others have been busy making jabs at the film's predecessor, saying that the film would retcon everything that The Last Jedi has done for the franchise.
What were you feel when you heard Palpatine's cackle in the trailer for Episode IX? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres December 20, 2019.
Read: Disney+ To Feature The Entire Star Wars Franchise Including Rise of Skywalker
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