I have a bad feeling about this
After Rise of Skywalker repeated too many things that left fans less than excited for the lore, Disney confirmed something. Or rather, Disney retcons something… Again.
In Return of the Jedi (spoilers) Emperor Palpatine is killed when Darth Vader throws him down a shaft in the Death Star. In the Rise of Skywalker it is revealed that the Emperor made a clone and transferred his force essence into it.
Ironically enough, despite the fact that Kathleen Kennedy claimed otherwise, this was done in the EU. In the books, Palpatine actually manages to get Luke to commit to the Dark Side when he realizes he’s immortal. So Rise of Skywalker did not do anything original, but it did take from one of the best comic books.
Then Disney pulled possibly one of the worst things that they could have done. In the comic storyline, the Emperor who died on the Death Star was the original Palpatine. Darth Vader did redeem himself by seeing through his lies and saving his son Luke. Now, in the new Disney Canon, not only was Darth Vader’s sacrifice null and void, but that apparently was not the original Palpatine.
This does not work on multiple levels guys…
According to Disney’s new retconned Star Wars lore, the emperor was a clone in Return of the Jedi as well. Meaning that he was changing bodies and living on Exegol for years before the events of that movie.
Which makes absolutely no sense. Why would he be a clone when he would have been more than able to live that long in the timeline of the movies. JJ Abrams did try to excuse this by saying that George Lucas had originally had this idea for the Emperor. Even if that is the case, Lucas clearly did not go through with it as he helped co-write the comic series that followed it up.
As we get more and more Disney Star Wars projects, it goes back and forth between being frustrating and amazing. The Clone Wars and the Mandalorian showed that Disney has some great ideas. Unfortunately it seems like the movies (barring Rogue One) and books are struggling to keep pace.
What do you think of Disney and Abrams’ latest claim for the movies? Do you agree that it makes sense that it was always a clone? Or do you think that this is simply a case of damage control as fans find new things to critique? Be sure to let us know on social media and keep up to date with news as it comes out!
