As the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, Sheev Palpatine has a bit of a reputation. The ruling Sith keeps a tight grip on the officers and Imperial leaders in his closest circles and uses them to control the galaxy. He emanates power and fear, and on the rare occasions he doesn't get his way, he can always resort to wielding Force lightning.
Palpatine had quite the rise to the top. He began as a humble senator on Naboo and through skilled manipulation and careful nudging, he managed to land the highest seat in the Republic Senate. The best part? He made it look like a gracious climb up the ladder that he took upon himself begrudgingly. He was masterful with his poker face.
Given the character's upward mobility, ambition, and mad Force skills, the field is rich with storytelling options for a future Star Wars Story. Potential spin-offs could fall into a few different categories – political thriller, action-adventure, or science fiction. Here are a few stories that could serve as inspiration for an Emperor Palpatine movie...
Palpatine was successful in his bid to rule the known galaxy for a multitude of reasons. He pulled strings in the political and spiritual arenas, his use of the dark side clouded the Force for all and made Jedi resistance less likely, and he was patient. Eerily patient. Who mentored the Sith and fostered these skills? The 2012 Legends novel Darth Plagueis by James Luceno looks at Palpatine's teacher. Taking place partially during The Phantom Menace and partially in the past, the story introduces Sidious' master and details how they worked together and how, eventually, Sidious killed him as part of his end game to, you know, take over the universe.
Since some of the events in Darth Plagueis overlap with Episode I, a spin-off movie would provide an opportunity to revisit the time period. I know the prequel era isn't beloved by all fans, but imagine seeing another point of view. We could watch the Battle of Naboo from Palpatine's eyes as he sees his plans come together and identifies a young Anakin Skywalker as a key element of his future plots, while simultaneously eyeing Count Dooku as a placeholder apprentice. Sidious takes Plagueis' life just as he learns he's going to win the election to become Chancellor, so that adds another layer of treachery to the story.
Aside from another perspective for the setting we know, flashing back to when Plagueis first recruited Palpatine would mean delving into a fresh point on the timeline. Plagueis, posing as a CEO, initially uses Palpatine as a source of information and a political ally; he of course also senses Palpatine's Force abilities. Political intrigue, family homicide, and midi-chlorian exploration ensue. I can picture it unfolding in a film and not only because I want this story to become part of canon. (Palpatine, of course, obliquely refers to the murder of Plagueis during the Revenge of the Sith opera scene.)
On the other end of the timeline is an off the wall (in the best kind of way) tale that could make for a twisting and turning sci-fi entry in the collection of Star Wars standalone movies. Kicking off six years after the defeat of the Empire in Return of the Jedi, the Dark Empire trilogy (including Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, and Empire's End) from Dark Horse Comics gives Emperor Palpatine another chance at life and power. How, you ask? With clones. Plural.
Written by Tom Veitch with art by Cam Kennedy and Jim Baikie, the comics story from the early '90s goes into the inventive way Palpatine pursued immortality. He didn't pull off a Force-ghost trick; no, he spent years funneling his mind and consciousness into numerous clone bodies. They were little more than organic robots, programmed to be exact replicas of Palpatine. By transferring himself and his thoughts and emotions into a number of clones, he had nothing to worry about. If one body was killed, another would rise. A never-ending parade of Palpatines -- could you imagine?
The trick with bringing this tale to screen would be the role of legacy characters in the story. Luke, Leia, and Han are all key players. The final Palpatine clone tries to kidnap Han and Leia's son Anakin to dump his spirit into the infant and survive to rule another day for goodness' sake! Obviously after The Force Awakens, we now know things played out different for Han and Leia. But given the sheer weird and fascinating factor with the clone situation and the race to stop them, coupled with new threats to the galaxy and the looming return of the Empire, I believe the story's interesting enough to stand on its own with new characters.
Palpatine is more than capable of carrying a film on his own cloaked shoulders, but what about him co-starring alongside his servant, Darth Vader? We saw how Palpatine twisted Anakin's fears and pride for his own gain in the prequels and in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but we don't see a lot of the duo working side by side -- not on the screen anyway. Palpatine dispatched orders to Vader in the original trilogy mostly via hologram. But if you look to the comics and books in current canon, you'll find more scenes with the duo interacting. Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp is the ultimate Palpatine and Vader adventure.
The 2015 novel is set approximately five years after Anakin Skywalker first donned the black shiny helmet in Revenge of the Sith. The Empire is at the beginning of its prime, but some planets are fighting back and Vader and Palpatine get stranded together after they crash on one of these rebellious planets. The story on Ryloth features a familiar face or two, including Cham Syndulla, but let's keep the focus on the Sith Lords picking their way through Ryloth's forest regions. It's a survival story with Vader and Palpatine trying to get out of the wilderness as they dodge creatures and freedom fighters. You know neither Sith will be seriously harmed, but their fate doesn't matter. What's front and center here is the strange and intricate interplay between master and servant.
Palpatine never really stops controlling Vader. He gains the powerful Force user as an apprentice, but he doesn't stop screwing with him. He knows the Rule of Two. This book explores the way Palpatine thinks and how he knows what Vader's thinking before he thinks it. While the mind games would be tricky to bring to screen, the psychological aspects combined with the on the run/action scenes would make for an engaging and fresh look at characters we think we know so well.
Sheev. Palpatine's first name was revealed in the Tarkin novel, also by Luceno. It's unique and kind of sounds like a curse word (this calls for an example: "Sheev you, mothersheever!"). How did his parents choose his memorable name? Maybe it could be a whole movie set on a Naboo before Palpatine was born. And maybe I'm kidding... or am I?
Do you have any Palpatine-centric stories you'd want to see on the big screen? Share your picks in the comments.
Amy Ratcliffe is a writer for IGN. She likes Star Wars a little You can follow her on on Twitter at @amy_geek.
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