This weekend, the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary re-release had a much stronger performance than expected with $25 million and a second-place finish behind Sinners. Revenge of the Sith was the culmination of plans by Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) that led to the fall of the Jedi and his own ascension to emperor. Because McDiarmid’s Emperor died in his first appearance — 1983’s Return of the Jedi — Revenge of the Sith was supposed to be his live-action swan song. However, Palpatine’s return in Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker left McDiarmid being asked questions about his character’s comeback, particularly about his sex life and how he could have a granddaughter.
While speaking with Variety, McDiarmid noted that fans have asked him “slightly embarrassing questions” about Palpatine including “‘Does this evil monster ever have sex?’”
“And we don’t really know the answer to that question either,” added McDiamird. “Things in tubes, you think about probably, rather than the awful vision that you might have in your head of this monster ever having a sexual relationship with anybody.”
The Rise of Skywalker revealed that Rey (Daisy Ridley) is the granddaughter of Palpatine, but her parents were only briefly glimpsed in the movie. The film didn’t really address how Palpatine had any children, but Star Wars ancillary media noted that Rey’s father, Dathan, was cloned from Palpatine’s genetic template. He married a woman named Miramir and they had Rey together before they sent their daughter away for her own protection.
During the interview with Variety, McDiarmid shared his memory of Steven Spielberg reacting to his original performance as Palpatine — “‘Oh my God, you’re evil!’” — as well as his own thoughts about the character’s return in Episode IX.
“Mine and Palpatine’s logic was entirely reasonable,” said McDiarmid. “This man who was horribly maimed thought maybe one day it might happen to him, and we’ve got to have a plan B. I loved the whole idea that he should come back and be even more powerful than he was before. Though this time, he had to be utterly destroyed. So I think he’s dead.”