Palpatine

Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious
Star Wars character

First appearance The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Last appearance Star Wars Rebels (2014)
Created by George Lucas
Portrayed by Elaine Baker (Episode V original release and 1997 Special Edition)
Ian McDiarmid (Episodes I-III, VI and Episode V 2004 DVD and subsequent releases)
Voiced by Clive Revill (Episode V original release and 1997 Special Edition)
Paul Hecht (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi audio dramas)
Nick Jameson (Clone Wars, video games)
Nick Tate (Read-along storybook CDs)
Ian Abercrombie (The Clone Wars film and The Clone Wars television series)
Samuel Witwer (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, Disney Infinity 3.0 and Star Wars Rebels)
Robert Martin Klein (Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace)
Tim Curry (The Clone Wars seasons 5-6)
Trevor Devall (Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles and Droid Tales
Seth MacFarlane (Robot Chicken and Star Wars Detours)
Information
Species Human
Gender Male
Occupation Original trilogy:
Emperor of the Galactic Empire
Prequel trilogy:
Senator from Naboo
Chancellor of the Galactic Republic
Dark Lord of the Sith
Affiliation Sith Order
Galactic Empire
Homeworld Naboo

Sheev Palpatine[1] (also known as Darth Sidious or simply The Emperor) is a fictional character of the Star Wars universe,[2] mainly portrayed by Ian McDiarmid.

In the original trilogy, he is depicted as the aged, pale-faced and cloaked Emperor of the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, he is portrayed as a charismatic Senator from Naboo who uses deception and political manipulation to rise to the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.

Though outwardly appearing to be a well-intentioned public servant and supporter of democracy prior to becoming Emperor,[3] he is in fact Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith – a cult of practitioners of the dark side of the Force previously thought to have been extinct in the Star Wars galaxy for a millennium.[3] As Sidious, he instigates the Clone Wars, nearly destroys the Jedi, and transforms the Republic into the Empire. He also corrupts Anakin Skywalker to serve at his side as Darth Vader. Palpatine's reign is brought to an end by Luke Skywalker and the redeemed Darth Vader.

Since the initial theatrical run of Return of the Jedi, Palpatine has become a widely recognized popular culture symbol of evil, sinister deception, tyranny, and the subversion of democracy.

Appearances in the main saga

Original trilogy

Palpatine does not appear in Star Wars but is mentioned as the Galactic Empire's ruler by Grand Moff Tarkin during a meeting with Darth Vader and the Death Star's executive officers. There, Tarkin explains that Palpatine has dissolved the Imperial Senate due to increasing support for the Rebel Alliance and given direct control to the regional governors of the star systems controlled by the Empire.

Palpatine makes his first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. In hologram form, he is revealed to be the Sith master of Darth Vader. He tells Vader that Luke Skywalker is becoming a serious threat to the Empire and must not become a Jedi. Vader convinces him that Luke would be a great asset if turned to the dark side.[4]

In Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine appears in person to oversee the last stages of the second Death Star's construction. He assures Darth Vader that they will together turn Luke, now revealed to be Vader's son, to the dark side. Unbeknownst to Vader, Palpatine plans to replace his apprentice with Luke. (Conversely, as revealed in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader intends to overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy with Luke). When Vader brings Luke before his master, Palpatine tempts Luke to the dark side by appealing to the young Jedi's fear for his friends, whom he has lured into a trap. This leads to a lightsaber duel in which Luke defeats and nearly kills Vader. Palpatine orders Luke to kill Vader and take his place, but Luke refuses. Enraged, Palpatine attacks Luke with Force lightning. Emotionally moved by his son's cries for help, Vader throws Palpatine into the Death Star's reactor shaft, killing him.[5]

Prequel trilogy

Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

In The Phantom Menace, set 32 years before A New Hope, Palpatine is depicted as a middle-aged Galactic Senator from the planet Naboo who is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. As Sidious, he influences the corrupt Trade Federation to blockade and invade Naboo. Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo flees to the planet Coruscant to receive counsel from Palpatine, unaware that he actually engineered the invasion. After a plea for help from the senate results in bureaucratic delays, Palpatine persuades the queen to make a motion to have Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum removed from office.

When Padmé tries to liberate Naboo, Sidious sends his Sith apprentice Darth Maul there to capture her. The invasion is eventually thwarted and Maul is defeated in a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Palpatine uses the crisis to be elected the new Chancellor of the Republic. He returns to Naboo, where he tells nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker that he "will watch [his] career with great interest".[6]

In Attack of the Clones, Chancellor Palpatine has led the Republic for 10 years, exploiting constitutional loopholes to remain in office even after the official expiration of his term. Meanwhile, as Darth Sidious, he continues to manipulate events from behind the scenes by having his new Sith apprentice Count Dooku lead a movement of planets in seceding from the Republic to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Since the Separatists are secretly building a battle droid army, Palpatine uses the situation to have himself granted emergency powers. Palpatine feigns reluctance to accept this authority, promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis has ended. His first act is to allow the use of an army of cloned human warriors, which were discovered by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, to counter the Separatist threat; this results in the opening salvo of the Clone Wars. With the galaxy now at war as Sidious planned, Dooku brings him the secret plans for a new superweapon.[7]

Palpatine as Darth Sidious

In Revenge of the Sith, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is captured by Separatist leader General Grievous, as part of a plan actually engineered by his Sith alter-ego Darth Sidious. Palpatine is rescued by Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but not before the Jedi confront Count Dooku again. A duel ensues in which Dooku gets defeated at the hands of Anakin. Although initially hesitant, the young Jedi follows up with Palpatine's orders to kill the unarmed Dooku in cold blood. Palpatine then escapes with his Jedi rescuers and returns to Coruscant. By this point, Palpatine has become a virtual dictator, able to take any action in the Senate. The Jedi Council is troubled by Palpatine's near-absolute power and fears he will not relinquish it when the Clone Wars end. Their suspicions only grow when Palpatine appoints Anakin as his personal representative on the Jedi Council. While they allow him a seat, the Council refuses to grant Anakin the rank of Jedi Master, and instruct him to spy on Palpatine. Anakin instead reveals to Palpatine the Jedi's plan. Palpatine tells Anakin the story of Darth Plagueis, a powerful Sith Lord who was able to manipulate life and death but was killed by his own apprentice. Eventually, Palpatine reveals his secret Sith identity to Anakin; he knows that Anakin has been having prophetic visions of Padmé, his pregnant secret wife, dying in childbirth, and offers to teach him Plagueis' secrets to save her life.

Anakin informs Jedi Master Mace Windu of Palpatine's treachery. Windu and three other Jedi Masters attempt to arrest Palpatine and haul him before the Senate for trial. Palpatine pulls a lightsaber out of his sleeve and kills everyone but Windu, whom he engages in a fierce duel. Windu eventually disarms the Sith Lord and deflects a blast of Force lightning back into Palpatine's face with his lightsaber, disfiguring Palpatine's face into the pale, wizened visage seen in the original trilogy. Anakin appears and intercedes on Palpatine's behalf by cutting off Windu's arm, allowing Palpatine to kill the Jedi Master with a blast of Force lightning. Anakin then pledges himself to the dark side as Palpatine's new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.

Palpatine orders the clone troopers to turn on their Jedi Generals, while dispatching Vader to kill everyone inside the Jedi Temple and then assassinate the Separatist leaders on the planet Mustafar. Palpatine then reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor. Jedi Master Yoda confronts him in his Senate office and engages the Sith Lord in a lightsaber duel that ends in a stalemate. Sensing that his new apprentice is in danger, Palpatine travels to Mustafar and finds Vader near death following a duel with Obi-Wan. After returning to Coruscant, he rebuilds Vader's ruined body with the black armored suit from the original trilogy. Palpatine then tells Vader that Padmé was killed in the heat of Vader's anger, breaking what remains of his apprentice's spirit. Palpatine is last seen watching the original Death Star's construction, with Vader and Wilhuff Tarkin at his side.

Appearances in other works

Palpatine has appeared in other works, outside of the main films, including the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The Expanded Universe (also known as the EU) encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional material of the Star Wars saga, outside of the seven feature films, The Clone Wars film and series, Rebels series produced by Lucasfilm, and the 2015 Marvel Comics. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, toys, and other assorted media. The EU is no longer official canon.

Literature

Star Wars expanded universe literature elaborates on Palpatine's role in Star Wars fiction outside of the films. The first appearance of Palpatine in Star Wars literature was in Alan Dean Foster's (writing as George Lucas)[8] novelization of the script of A New Hope, published as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976).[9][10] Foster characterizes Palpatine as a cunning senator who "caused himself" to be elected president of the Republic, and then declared himself Emperor and isolated himself from his subjects, eventually becoming a pawn of his advisers.

Palpatine made his first major appearance in the Expanded Universe in 1991 and 1992 with the Dark Empire series of comic books written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Cam Kennedy. In the series (set six years after Return of the Jedi), Palpatine is resurrected as the Emperor Reborn or "Palpatine the Undying". His spirit returns from the netherworld of the Force with the aid of Sith ghosts on Korriban and possesses the body of Jeng Droga, one of Palpatine's elite spies and assassins known as the Emperor's Hands. Droga flees to a secret Imperial base on the planet Byss, where the Emperor's advisor Sate Pestage exorcises Palpatine's spirit and channels it into one of many clones created by Palpatine before his death. Palpatine attempts to resume control of the galaxy, but Luke Skywalker, now a senior Jedi Knight, sabotages his plans. Luke destroys most of Palpatine's cloning tanks, but is only able to defeat the Emperor with help from Leia Organa Solo, who has received rudimentary Jedi training from Luke. The two repel a Force storm Palpatine had created and turn it back onto him, once again destroying his physical form.[11]

Palpatine's clone in the Dark Empire series by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy

Palpatine's ultimate fate is further chronicled in the Dark Empire II and Empire's End series of comics. The Dark Empire II series, published from 1994 to 1995, details how the Emperor is once again reborn on Byss into a clone body. Palpatine tries to rebuild the Empire as the Rebel Alliance grows weak.[12] In Empire's End (1995), a traitorous Imperial guard bribes Palpatine's cloning supervisor to tamper with the Emperor's stored DNA samples. This causes the clones to deteriorate at a rapid rate. Palpatine attempts to possess the body of Anakin Solo, the infant son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, before the clone body dies, but is thwarted once again by Luke Skywalker. Palpatine is killed by a blaster shot fired by Han, and his spirit is captured by wounded Jedi Empatojayos Brand. When Brand dies, he takes Palpatine's spirit with him, destroying the Sith Lord once and for all.[13]

Novels and comics published before 1999 focus on Palpatine's role as Galactic Emperor. Shadows of the Empire (1996) by Steve Perry and The Mandalorian Armor (1998) by K. W. Jeter—all set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi—show how Palpatine uses crime lords such as Prince Xizor and bounty hunters like Boba Fett to fight his enemies.[14][15] Barbara Hambly's novel Children of the Jedi (1995), set eight years after Return of the Jedi, features a woman named Roganda Ismaren who claims that Palpatine fathered her son Irek.[16] The Jedi Prince series of novels introduces an insane, three-eyed mutant named Triclops who is revealed to be Palpatine's illegitimate son.[17] Created from DNA extracted from Palpatine and placed into a woman, he was born mutated, cast away and forgotten. Triclops had a son named Ken who became known as the "Jedi Prince".

Beginning in 1999 with Terry Brooks' novelization of The Phantom Menace, Star Wars writers chronicled the role of Palpatine prior to A New Hope as a politician and Sith Lord. The comic "Marked" by Rob Williams, printed in Star Wars Tales 24 (2005), and Michael Reaves' novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (2001) explain Darth Sidious' relationship with his apprentice Darth Maul.[18][19] Cloak of Deception (2001) by James Luceno follows Reaves' novel and details how Darth Sidious encourages the Trade Federation to build an army of battle droids in preparation for the invasion of Naboo. Cloak of Deception also focuses on Palpatine's early political career, revealing how he becomes a confidante of Chancellor Finis Valorum and acquainted with Padmé Amidala, newly elected queen of Naboo.[20] Palpatine's role during the Clone Wars as Chancellor of the Republic and Darth Sidious is portrayed in novels such as Matthew Stover's Shatterpoint (2003), Steven Barnes' The Cestus Deception (2004), Sean Stewart's Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004), and Luceno's Labyrinth of Evil (2005) and Darth Plagueis (2012).

Following the theatrical release of Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars literature focused on Palpatine's role after the creation of the Empire. John Ostrander's comic Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties (2005) chronicles how, shortly after seizing power, Emperor Palpatine sends Darth Vader to assassinate Sagoro Autem, an Imperial captain who plans to defect from the Empire.[21] In Luceno's novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (2005) (set shortly after Revenge of the Sith), the Emperor sends Darth Vader to the planet Murkhana to discover why clone troopers there refused to carry out Order 66 against their Jedi generals. Palpatine hopes these early missions will teach Vader what it means to be a Sith and crush any remnants of Anakin Skywalker.[22]

Television

Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars: Clone Wars

Palpatine/Darth Sidious is a central character in Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series, which is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The character's likeness in the series is based on that in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. In the first chapter, Palpatine is informed by Obi-Wan Kenobi that the Jedi have discovered that the InterGalactic Banking Clan has established battle droid factories on the planet Muunilinst. Palpatine agrees to send a strike force that includes Anakin Skywalker, and suggests that Anakin be given "special command" of Obi-Wan's fighters. Yoda and Obi-Wan initially speak against the idea, but reluctantly concede.[23] In the seventh chapter, a holographic image of Sidious appears shortly after Dooku trains Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress. Sidious orders Ventress to track down and kill Anakin. He remarks to Dooku that Ventress is certain to be defeated, but that the point of her mission is to test Anakin.[24] In the final chapters, a hologram of Sidious again appears and orders General Grievous to begin an assault on the galactic capital.[25] Later, the Separatist invasion of Coruscant begins and Palpatine watches from his apartment in the 500 Republica. Grievous breaks through the Chancellor's window and attempts to kidnap him,[26] leading to a long chase while Palpatine is protected by Jedi Shaak Ti, Roron Corobb and Foul Moudama. After Grievous apprehends the Jedi, Palpatine is taken on board the Invisible Hand, setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith.[27]

In the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (also set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), Darth Sidious engineers a Separatist plot where Count Dooku turns Jabba the Hutt against the Republic by kidnapping his son Rotta and framing the Jedi for it. Meanwhile, Palpatine suggests that the Republic ally itself with the Hutts. Although Anakin Skywalker and Padawan Ahsoka Tano foil the plot, the outcome suits Palpatine's ends: Jabba places Hutt hyperspace routes at the Republic's disposal.

In the subsequent animated series, Palpatine continues to serve as Supreme Chancellor while his Sith identity remains behind the scenes via holograms. In the second season, Sidious hires bounty hunter Cad Bane to infiltrate the Jedi Temple and steal a holocron. He then takes a valuable Kyber memory crystal that contains the names of thousands of Force-sensitive younglings - the future of the Jedi Order - from around the galaxy. The final stage of the plot: to bring four Force-sensitive children to Sidious's secret facility on Mustafar. Anakin and Ahsoka again foil the plot, but Bane escapes and all evidence of Sidious' involvement is lost. In the fifth season, Sidious personally travels to the planet Mandalore to confront his former apprentice Darth Maul after becoming leader of Death Watch, killing Savage Opress before torturing Maul with the intent to make use of him. In the final season, Sidious goes to lengths to conceal the full nature of his plan from the Jedi by attempting to silence the Clone Trooper Fives when he learns of Order 66 and having Dooku wipe out anything tied to Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas.

Characteristics

The Emperor in the original 1980 version of The Empire Strikes Back portrayed by Elaine Baker and voiced by Clive Revill. The eyes of a chimpanzee were superimposed onto Baker's features to make the character more eerie.

In Star Wars fiction, Palpatine is a cunning politician, a ruthless emperor, and an evil Sith Lord. The Star Wars Databank describes him as "the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical regime the galaxy had ever witnessed"[28] and Stephen J. Sansweet's Star Wars Encyclopedia calls him "evil incarnate."[29]

As a senator, Palpatine is "unassuming, yet ambitious".[28] In Cloak of Deception, James Luceno writes that Palpatine carefully guards his privacy and "others found his reclusiveness intriguing, as if he led a secret life".[30] Despite this, he has many allies in the government. Luceno writes, "What Palpatine lacked in charisma, he made up for in candor, and it was that directness that had led to his widespread appeal in the senate. ... For in his heart he judged the universe on his own terms, with a clear sense of right and wrong."[30] In Terry Brooks' novelization of The Phantom Menace, Palpatine claims to embrace democratic principles. He tells Queen Amidala, "I promise, Your Majesty, if I am elected [chancellor of the Republic], I will restore democracy to the Republic. I will put an end to the corruption that has plagued the Senate."[31] A Visual Dictionary states that he is a self-proclaimed savior.[32]

As Emperor, however, Palpatine abandons any semblance of democracy, as noted in Star Wars, when he abolishes the Imperial Senate. Sansweet states, "His Empire ... is based on tyranny, hatred of nonhumans, brutal and lethal force, and, above all else, constant fear."[29] In Matthew Stover's novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Count Dooku anticipates the coming of the new government: "A government clean, pure, direct: none of the messy scramble for the favor of ignorant rabble and subhuman creatures that made up the Republic he so despised. The government he would serve would be Authority personified. Human authority."[33]

Revenge of the Sith suggests that Palpatine was the apprentice of Darth Plagueis, while later Expanded Universe materials say explicitly that he was.[34] Palpatine is characterized as "the most powerful practitioner of the Sith ways in modern times."[35] Palpatine is so powerful that he is able to mask his true identity from the Jedi for decades. In the novel Shatterpoint, Mace Windu remarks to Yoda, "A shame [Palpatine] can't touch the Force. He might have been a fine Jedi."[36]

The Star Wars Databank explains that the Force "granted him inhuman dexterity and speed, agility enough to quickly kill three Jedi Masters" (as depicted in Revenge of the Sith).[28] Stover describes the duel between Yoda and Palpatine in his novelization of Revenge of the Sith thus: "From the shadow of a black wing, a small weapon ... slid into a withered hand and spat a flame-colored blade[.] When the blades met it was more than Yoda against Palpatine, more the millennia of Sith against the legions of Jedi; this was the expression of the fundamental conflict of the universe itself. Light against dark. Winner take all."[37] During the duel, Yoda realizes that Sidious represents a small but powerful Sith Order that had changed and evolved over the years, while the Jedi had not: "He had lost before he started."[38]

According to the Databank and New Essential Guide to Characters, Palpatine possesses great patience and his maneuverings are as a dejarik grandmaster moves pieces on a board.[39] He is depicted as a diabolical genius.[40][41]

Palpatine was not given a first name in any canonical or "Star Wars Legends" sources until 2014, when the character's first name—Sheev—was revealed in the novel Tarkin, written by James Luceno.[1] The Lucasfilm Story Group approached Del Rey Books and asked if they wanted to use the name, which was created by George Lucas, in the Tarkin novel, to which Del Rey agreed.[42]

Character creation

Lucas' conceptualization of Palpatine and the role the character plays in Star Wars changed over time. From Return of the Jedi onwards, Palpatine became the ultimate personification of evil in Star Wars, replacing Darth Vader as the central villain.

When the original Star Wars trilogy was filmed, the Emperor was unnamed and his throne-world unidentified. The name would not be used in film until the prequel trilogy and the first mention of the name Palpatine came from the prologue of Alan Dean Foster's 1976 novelization of A New Hope, which detailed the Emperor's rise to power. Foster writes,

Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic. He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic. Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears.[9]

However, it is unclear whether Lucas intended Palpatine to be the reigning Emperor or just the first of a succession of Emperors.[43] Michael Kaminski, author of The Secret History of Star Wars, claims that Lucas' initial notes discuss a line of corrupt Emperors, not just one. If Palpatine was the first, Kaminski infers, he would therefore not be the current.[43] Later Lucas would abandon this idea, opting instead to focus on a sole villainous ruler.

During story conferences for The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas and Leigh Brackett decided that "the Emperor and the Force had to be the two main concerns in the [Empire Strikes Back]; the Emperor had barely been dealt with in the first movie, and the intention in the sequel was to deal with him on a more concrete level."[44] Lucas ultimately decided instead to feature the Emperor in Return of the Jedi.

In that film, the initial conception of Palpatine was superseded by his depiction as a dictatorial ruler adept in the dark side of the Force. The Emperor was inspired by the villain Ming the Merciless from the Flash Gordon comic books.[45] The rise of Palpatine involving an ambitious and ruthless politician dismantling a democratic republic to achieve supreme power is in part inspired by the real-world examples of Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. Other elements of the character come from historical figures such as Vladimir Lenin and Richard Nixon.[46] Lucas said, "The whole point of the movies, the underlying element that makes the movies work, is that you, whether you go backwards or forwards, you start out in a democracy, and democracy turns into a dictatorship, and then the rebels make it back into a democracy."[47]

Lucas wanted to establish the Emperor as the true source of evil in Star Wars. Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan noted, "My sense of the relationship [between Darth Vader and the Emperor] is that the Emperor is much more powerful ... and that Vader is very much intimidated by him. Vader has dignity, but the Emperor in Jedi really has all the power."[48] He explained that the climax of the film is a confrontation between Darth Vader and his master. In the first scene that shows the Emperor, he arrives at the Death Star and is greeted by a host of stormtroopers, technicians, and other personnel. Lucas states he wanted it to look like the military parades on "May Day in Russia."[49]

Lucas fleshed out the Emperor in the prequel films. According to Lucas, Palpatine's role in The Phantom Menace is to explain "how Anakin Skywalker came to be [Palpatine's] apprentice" and the events that lead to his rise to power.[50] The true identity of Darth Sidious — the phantom menace — is left a mystery, and his relationship to Palpatine is not clear, though popular consensus agreed that Darth Sidious and Palpatine were one and the same. Film critic Jonathan L. Bowen remarks, "Debates raged on the Internet concerning the relationship between Darth Sidious and Senator Palpatine. Most fans believed the two characters are actually the same person with logic seeming to support their conclusion." Bowen notes that the debate was fueled by the fact that "suspiciously Darth Sidious does not appear in the credits."[51]

Augustus in the robes and cloak of his position as Pontifex Maximus.

In Star Wars and History published by Lucasfilm, it describes Palpatine's consolidation of power as being similar to the Roman political figure Augustus, named Octavian before renaming himself. Both legitimized authoritarian rule by saying that corruption in the Senate was hampering the powers of the head of state; both pressured the Senate to grant extraordinary powers to deal with a crisis, falsely claiming that they would rescind those powers once the crisis was over; and both relied on their strong control over military force.[52]

Portrayal

When the Emperor first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, he was portrayed by Elaine Baker, the wife of make-up designer Rick Baker.[53] Chimpanzee eyes were superimposed into darkened eye sockets during post-production "in order to create a truly unsettling image". The character was voiced by Clive Revill.[54]

"With Kershner," Revill said, "you had to keep the reins tight — you couldn't go overboard. It was the perfect example of the old adage 'less is more' — the Emperor doesn't say very much. But when he finally appears, it's at a point in the saga when everyone's waiting to see him. It's the Emperor, the arch villain of all time, and when he says there's a great disturbance in the Force, I mean, that's enough oomph!" [55] Years later, during production of Revenge of the Sith, Lucas decided to shoot new footage for The Empire Strikes Back to create continuity between the prequels and original trilogy. Thus, in the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition, the original version of the Emperor was replaced by McDiarmid, and the dialogue between the Emperor and Darth Vader was revised.[56]

Lucas and director Richard Marquand cast Scottish Shakespearean actor Ian McDiarmid to play Emperor Palpatine for Return of the Jedi. He was in his late 30s and had never played a leading role in a feature film, though he had made minor appearances in films like Dragonslayer (1981). After Return of the Jedi, he resumed stage acting in London.[57] In an interview with BackStage, McDiarmid revealed that he "never had his sights set on a film career and never even auditioned for the role of Palpatine." He elaborated, "I got called in for the interview after a Return of the Jedi casting director saw me perform in the Sam Shepard play Seduced at a studio theatre at the Royal Court. I was playing a dying Howard Hughes."[58]

McDiarmid was surprised when Lucas approached him 16 years after Return of the Jedi to reprise the role of Palpatine. In an interview, he stated, "When we were doing Return of the Jedi there was a rumor that George Lucas had nine films in his head, and he'd clearly just completed three of them." McDiarmid added, "Someone said that, 'Oh, I think what he might do next is go back in time, and show how Vader came to be.' It never occurred to me in a million years that I would be involved in that, because I thought, 'oh well, then he'll get a much younger actor [to play Palpatine].' That would be obvious." However, "I was the right age, ironically, for the first prequel when it was made. ... So I was in the very strange and rather wonderful paradox of playing myself when young at my own age, having played myself previously when 100-and-I-don't-know-what."[59]

Palpatine's role in the prequel films required McDiarmid to play two dimensions of the same character. Recalling the initial days of shooting The Phantom Menace, McDiarmid stated, "Stepping onto the set of Episode I for the first time was like going back in time, due to my experience in Jedi. Palpatine's an interesting character; he's conventional on the outside, but demonic on the inside — he's on the edge, trying to go beyond what's possible."[60] McDiarmid added another layer to the character in Attack of the Clones. He noted, "[Palpatine] is a supreme actor. He has to be even more convincing than somebody who isn't behaving in a schizophrenic fashion, so he's extra charming, or extra professional — and for those who are looking for clues, that's almost where you can see them." McDiarmid illuminated on the scene where Padmé Amidala is almost assassinated:

There's a moment in one scene of the new film where tears almost appear in his eye. These are crocodile tears, but for all those in the movie, and perhaps watching the movie itself, they'll see he is apparently moved — and of course, he is. He can just do it. He can, as it were, turn it on. And I suppose for him, it's also a bit of a turn-on — the pure exercise of power is what he's all about. That's the only thing he's interested in and the only thing that can satisfy him — which makes him completely fascinating to play, because it is an evil soul. He is more evil than the devil. At least Satan fell — he has a history, and it's one of revenge.[61]

In Revenge of the Sith, McDiarmid played a darker interpretation of the character. He explained that "[...]when you're playing a character of solid blackness, that in itself is very interesting, in the sense that you have no other motivation other than the accumulation of power. It's not so much about not having a moral center, it's just that the only thing that mattered is increasing power." He admitted, "I've been trying to find a redeeming feature to Palpatine, and the only one I've got so far is that he's clearly a patron of the arts because he goes to the opera."[62] McDiarmid compared the character to Iago from William Shakespeare's Othello:

Everything he does is an act of pure hypocrisy, and that's interesting to play. I suppose it's rather like playing Iago. All the characters in the play — including Othello until the end — think that "Honest Iago" is a decent guy doing his job, and he's quite liked. But at the same time there's a tremendous evil subconscious in operation.[57]

McDiarmid noticed that the script for Revenge of the Sith demanded more action from his character than in previous films. Lightsaber combat was a challenge to the 60-year-old actor, who, like his costars, took fencing lessons. The close-up shots and non-acrobatic sequences of the duel between Palpatine and Mace Windu were performed by McDiarmid.[63] Advanced fencing and acrobatic stunts were executed by McDiarmid's doubles, Michael Byrne, Sebastian Dickins, and Bob Bowles.[64]

McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine was generally well received by critics. Todd McCarthy of Variety commented, "Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, 'Sith' has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid's dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire."[65] A reviewer for The Village Voice wrote that "Ian McDiarmid's unctuous Emperor turns appropriately vampiric as he attempts to draw Anakin into the Sith fold with promises of eternal life."[66] Still, his performance was not without detractors; David Edelstein of Slate critiqued, "McDiarmid isn't the subtlest of satanic tempters. With his lisp and his clammy little leer, he looks like an old queen keen on trading an aging butt-boy (Count Dooku) for fresh meat — which leaves Anakin looking more and more like a 15-watt bulb."[67]

Make-up and costumes

Ian McDiarmid required little make-up in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. He recalled, "I'm ... slightly aged [in Attack of the Clones]. In the last film, I had a fairly standard make-up on, but now, they're starting to crinkle my face."[68] Transforming McDiarmid into Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, however, required extensive make-up. McDiarmid remarked in an interview with Star Wars Insider magazine, "Yes—that was a four-hour job, initially, although we got it down to about two-and-a-half in the end. But this was just a little bit of latex here and there, a little bit of skin-scrunching."[68] He told the Homing Beacon newsletter, "When my face changes in the film, my mind went back to the early silent movie of The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, Sr.."[62] Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that he "looks uncannily like Death in The Seventh Seal" (1957)[69] and film historian Robin Wood compares him to the hag from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).[70]

Palpatine's wardrobe, tailored by costume designer Trisha Biggar, played an important part in the development of the character throughout the films. In Attack of the Clones, explained McDiarmid, "The costumes ... have got much more edge to them, I think, than the mere senator had [in The Phantom Menace]. So we see the trappings of power."[68] In the next episode, McDiarmid remarked, "To wear the costumes as the character I play is wonderfully empowering."[71] McDiarmid's favorite costume in Revenge of the Sith was a high-collared jacket that resembles snake or lizard skin. He stated that "it just feels reptilian, which is exactly right for [Palpatine]." According to Trisha Biggar, Palpatine's costumes proved the most daunting challenge. She said, "His six costumes get progressively darker and more ornately decorated throughout the movie. He wears greys and browns, almost going to black, taking him toward the dark side."[71]

Popular culture

With the premiere of Return of the Jedi and the prequel films and the accompanying merchandising campaign, Palpatine became an icon in American popular culture. Kenner/Hasbro produced and marketed a series of action figures of the character from 1983 to 2005.[72] According to John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett, "These action figures allow children ('4 & up') to handle the symbols of the Force."[73]

Academics have debated the relationship of Palpatine to modern culture. Religion scholars Ross Shepard Kraemer, William Cassidy, and Susan Schwartz compare Palpatine and Star Wars heroes to the theological concept of dualism. They insist, "One can certainly picture the evil emperor in Star Wars as Satan, complete with his infernal powers, leading his faceless minions such as his red-robed Imperial Guards."[74] Lawrence and Jewett argue that the killing of Palpatine in Return of the Jedi represented "the permanent subduing of evil".

Since Return of the Jedi and the prequel films, Palpatine's name has been invoked as a caricature in politics. The liberal website BuzzFlash remarked in 2004, "When we saw ... [Senator] Zell Miller [of Georgia] giving his invective at the RNC, we knew it reminded us of someone. We just couldn't place it until we realized it was the hate in Zell's eyes, his skin and the way it looks like that hate is eating his soul. Then we remembered: he reminded us of the evil Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. (We didn't know the Emperor had a name until this morning.)"[75] A Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial noted that anti-pork bloggers were caricaturing West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd as "the Emperor Palpatine of pork" with Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska having "clear aspirations to be his Darth Vader." The charge followed a report that linked a secret hold on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to the two senators.[76] Politicians have made comparisons as well. In 2005, Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey compared Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee to Palpatine in a speech on the Senate floor, complete with a visual aid.[77]

A Fox News editorial stated "no cultural icon can exist without someone trying to stuff it into a political ideology. The Star Wars saga, the greatest pop culture icon of the last three decades, is no exception... Palpatine's dissolution of the Senate in favor of imperial rule has been compared to Julius Caesar's marginalization of the Roman Senate, Hitler's power-grab as chancellor, and FDR's court-packing scheme and creation of the imperial presidency."[78]

A pig version of Palpatine appears as a playable character in Angry Birds Star Wars II. Rovio Entertainment also created a "Join the Pork Side" promo video starring the Emperor, and features Ian McDiarmid reprising his role from the film series.[79]

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Further reading

  • Anderson, Kevin J., and Daniel Wallace. The Essential Chronology. New York: Del Rey, 2000. ISBN 0-345-43439-0.
  • Bortolin, Matthew. The Dharma of Star Wars. Somerville, Mass.: Wisdom Publications, 2005. ISBN 0-86171-497-0.
  • Feeney, Mark. Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. ISBN 0-226-23968-3.
  • Hanson, Michael J., and Max S. Kay. Star Wars: The New Myth. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2002. ISBN 1-4010-3989-8.
  • Horne, Michael Allen. Dark Empire Sourcebook. Honesdale, Penn.: West End Games, 1993. ISBN 0-87431-194-2.
  • Jensen, Hans, and Richard Chasemore. Star Wars: Complete Locations. New York: DK Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7566-1419-8.
  • Luceno, James. Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary. New York: DK Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7566-1128-8.
  • Lyden, John. "The Apocalyptic Cosmology of Star Wars." Journal of Religion and Film 4 (No. 1, April 2000): online.
  • Peña, Abel G. "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties." Star Wars Insider 88 (June 2006).
  • Reynolds, David West. Episode I: The Visual Dictionary New York: DK Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-7894-4701-0.
  • Reynolds, David West. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary. New York: DK Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-7894-8588-5.
  • Smith, Jeffrey A. "Hollywood Theology: The Commodification of Religion in Twentieth-Century Films." Religion and American Culture 11 (No. 2, Summer 2001): pp. 191–231.
  • Velasco, Raymond L. A Guide to the Star Wars Universe. New York: Del Rey, 1984. ISBN 0-345-31920-6.
  • Wallace, Daniel. The New Essential Guide to Characters. New York: Del Rey, 2002. ISBN 0-345-44900-2.
  • Wallace, Daniel, and Kevin J. Anderson. The New Essential Chronology. New York: Del Rey, 2005. ISBN 0-345-44901-0.

External links

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