Ian McDiarmid supports Palpatine's return in 'Rise of Skywalker'

"Somehow, Palpatine returned." This has become the defining Star Wars meme, mocking the Emperor's controversial revival in The Rise of Skywalker. Most fans criticized Palpatine's clone-based resurrection following his demise in the beloved Return of the Jedi. But what did Ian McDiarmid, the actor who's portrayed Palpatine for four decades, think about the fan backlash?

During a Variety interview celebrating Revenge of the Sith's theatrical re-release (which has performed exceptionally well at the box office), McDiarmid dismissed the criticism, stating "mine and Palpatine's logic was completely sound."

"It seemed perfectly plausible that Palpatine would have a backup plan," he explained. "Despite being severely injured, he would find a way to reassemble himself. Discovering I had a sort of astral wheelchair made it even better - I had four crew members pushing me around the set, which was incredibly fun. Daisy Ridley seemed more concerned about that than anything else. Then we developed an even more grotesque makeup look than before."

Addressing the fan reaction directly, McDiarmid added: "There's always controversy, isn't there? I don't follow online discussions unless someone brings them to my attention. I anticipated some debate about bringing him back, but as I said, our reasoning was solid. This was a severely wounded man who prepared for every contingency. I loved the concept of his return with even greater power - though this time, he needed to be completely destroyed. So yes, I believe he's truly dead now."

The Rise of Skywalker offers only vague explanations for Palpatine's return. When Kylo Ren encounters him early in the film, the Emperor appears as a reanimated corpse, suggesting he didn't actually survive his fall in Return of the Jedi.

Yet this apparent death barely hindered him. As McDiarmid noted, Palpatine had prepared for this scenario. In the film's ambiguous explanation, Palpatine quotes his famous Revenge of the Sith line during his villainous monologue to Kylo Ren: "The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider... unnatural."

In other words: ancient Sith magic. That's the official explanation.

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It seems unlikely the Star Wars fanbase will ever fully accept Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker, with many preferring to ignore it entirely. The bigger question is whether future Star Wars films will follow suit. Reports in November indicated Daisy Ridley's Rey Skywalker will appear in multiple upcoming Star Wars films, having been identified as the franchise's "most valuable cinematic asset."

Ridley is already confirmed to reprise her role in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's sequel to The Rise of Skywalker. The film will follow Rey approximately 15 years after the events of the trilogy as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order.