Very few characters inStar Warselicit the same kind of range of reactions from fans asEmperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Going all the way back to 1983 inStar Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, and all through the prequels, he was the most terrifying aspect of the franchise, with his Force lightning and guttural screams making him one of the defining villains of cinema. However, despite seeing this character as a meek senator, a manipulative dictator, and a vicious Sith lord,one aspect of his character is something no one wants to think about: his sex life.
However,Star Wars: Episode IX - Rise of Skywalkerintroduced the idea of Palpatine having children, withRey (Daisy Ridley)being his grandchild. While we saw that Palpatine had access to cloning facilities in order to create Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), the film decided to imply that his son was naturally born and therefore entered into canon the immortal lore that the villain we know as an old, scarred, and wrinkly tyrant had, in fact, been sexually active,most likely during his time as Emperor.The images conjured in our minds are bad enough at first glance, but sadly, Ian McDiarmid had to go a whole lot deeper than just a single thought, and it reveals part of the mess thatRise of Skywalkerwas.
Ian McDiarmid Decided To Explore Palpatine’s Intimate Life for ‘Rise of Skywalker’
In a recent interview withVariety, Ian McDiarmid revealed how he gave the idea more thought than anyone would wish, saying he had to “work it out in my head” how Palpatine has sex. Of course, McDiarmid admitted that there was “never any discussion” about the topic until now, and the “awful vision” of “this monster ever having a sexual relationship” made the process a “slightly embarrassing question” to answer. Eventually, McDiarmid let us all off the hook and claimed he andGeorge LucasbelievedPalpatine’s child, and potential Rey, were the results of a “virgin birth,” and the furthest we should go is to imagine “things in tubes”rather than Palpatine actually having sex. Therefore, we can imagine McDiarmid is talking about Midichlorians, which were explored inStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and how they give the Jedi their ability to use the Force.
However, the idea of a “virgin birth” feels slightly lazy, as that was what createdAnakin (Hayden Christensen), as was also revealed inThe Phantom Menaceand was part of what made him the chosen one. Furthermore, I’m unsure whether “things in tubes” is a better explanation. Theimage is frighteningly disturbing in and of itself and sounds like something out of hentai. Hey, I’m not here to judge, but this is a couple of steps too far, even for the most die-hardStar Warsfan.
The Vague and Disturbing Nature of This Question Reveals the Mess That ‘Rise of Skywalker’ Was
There are so many things one could say about this topic. I don’t think there’s enough computing power on the planet to get through it all. However, for all our sanity, we should keep to the main point, and that is how this issue shows thatRise of Skywalkerwasn’t properly thought out due to the rushed nature of the sequel trilogy, and this is the consequence. When thecreators don’t connect things, fans will for them, causing disturbing images in our heads.
The 10 Best Music Pieces in Star Wars, Ranked
Cue “there’s no sound in space” joke.
Recently, with shows likeAndor, we have seenStar Warsexploringmore mature themes with nuance, and it works because it serves the plot and narrative the creators are trying to tell. However, Palpatine, having children, did not exactly serve the plot throughout the sequel trilogy. All it did was make audiences confused as to the timeline of events and cringe at the implications this reveal had. Hopefully, this will be the last time anyone has to think about such things, with Palpatine being atomized by his own Force lightning at theend ofRise of Skywalkerin a similar way that I’m sure we all wish the images our brain brings up when thinking about this topic could be destroyed. However,they’ve brought Palpatine back from the brink once, and as unlikely as it may be to happen again,no one would have thought we’d be in this position, discussing this topic—so clearly anything is possible in the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
