Not only did the initial teaser trailer hint at the return of Ian McDiarmid’s villainous Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but the film’s director and co-writer have both confirmed as much. (Hell, even the prequel trilogy’s invention of midichlorians could show up in some form or fashion.) So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that, despite the ninth and final “Skywalker Saga” movie’s intense secrecy, the latest clip promoting its release includes an official reveal of sorts for the Sith lord. Emphasis on “of sorts.”
As first reported by Entertainment Weekly, the official Star Wars Facebook page dropped a short, minute-long clip that, judging by the numerous cuts and fads, feels more like a much longer sequence spliced together for the sake of brevity (and secrecy). These details notwithstanding, it’s what it does show that’s interesting. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) flies his TIE fighter to an unknown planet, where he lands it at some kind of fortress or temple that, upon entering, greets him in Palpatine’s voice — as well as the voices of many, many other Sith lords.
“At last my boy,” the Palpatine-esque voice begins. “I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head.”
The Palpatine voice quickly changes to that of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), then to none other than Darth Vader’s (James Earl Jones). Meanwhile, Ren’s journey into the underworld of this place seems to reveal that it is, in fact, a Sith temple or facility of some type, as his path is guarded by the monstrous statues of dark, cloaked figures reminiscent of the emperor himself.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
