Emperor Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid has revealed the true secrecy behind his character’s return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, a secret so well-kept that even the most elite Star Wars cast members were shocked by it.
In an interview with Empire for their 25th anniversary celebration of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, McDiarmid reveals that half the cast wasn’t aware of his return as Palpatine – including C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels himself.
We managed to keep the Emperor’s comeback a secret for about a year. I knew six months in advance of shooting that I was going to do it. And of course, these were the last scenes to be shot for obvious reasons, so the word couldn’t get out. J.J. said, “Okay, we’re going to half admit it at [Star Wars] Celebration when we show the trailer.” The whole place went nuts! And half the cast went nuts too, because they didn’t know I was in it. Anthony Daniels said, “Great God, it’s you! We knew there was someone evil coming up, but we didn’t know you were coming back.”
It seems, then, as if the true shock and confusion behind “Somehow, Palpatine returned” is warranted – at least, for the cast of The Rise of Skywalker who were left in the dark until this reveal at Star Wars Celebration.
