If there’s one thing that has confused Star Wars fans since Palpatine was announced to return in Rise of Skywalker, it’s this – just how did Palpatine survive the events of Return of the Jedi? After all, a major fall down the Death Star’s reactor core would surely be enough to finish off the most resilient of Sith?
Well, thanks to the upcoming Rise of Skywalker novelization, we have our answer. The answer is simple; Palpatine didn’t survive the events of ROTJ. The Emperor we see in the latest Skywalker film is a clone of the original.
The page detailing this fact was posted on Twitter through the account, ‘Star Wars Facts.’ Check out the passage from the novelization right here:
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ novelization confirms Palpatine was a clone pic.twitter.com/58DG6htTYP
— Star Wars Facts (@SWTweets) February 29, 2020
So, it turns out that not only was Snoke a doppelganger, but also Palpatine himself. How extraordinary (and what a cunning ability in foresight the Emperor had). Many fans have criticized the return of the infamous Star Wars villain as forced fanservice and unnecessary in a narrative sense.
It should be noted that the Rise of Skywalker novelization doesn’t officially go on sale until March 17. This passage was photographed after a fan got hold of an advance copy from this weekend’s C2E2 in Chicago.
For Star Wars fans with sight problems, the passages detailing the Palpatine clone reveal are as follows:
“What could you give me?” Kylo asked. Emperor Palpatine lived, after a fashion, and Kylo could feel in his very bones that this clone body sheltered the Emperor’s actual spirit. It was an imperfect vessel, though, unable to contain his immense power. It couldn’t last much longer.
