Star Wars is a franchise that loves its hooded and robed villains, and there's no doubt that Emperor Palpatine is the worst of the bunch. Many fans speculated that we might see the Emperor again in the upcoming prequel to the original trilogy, Rogue One, and there were several bits of evidence to back this up - including the recently confirmed presence of Darth Vader, and shots of a mysterious black-robed figure entering a room with the Imperial Royal Guard in the trailers.
Unfortunately, it looks like those theories have been dashed, as the Emperor himself, Ian McDiarmid, has confirmed he won't be appearing as the Sith Lord in the film. "I don’t feature in that myself, but I understand that Darth Vader may be making an appearance,” the actor stated during an interview at Amsterdam Comic-Con.
While this doesn't rule out an appearance from Palpatine altogether, it's probably safe to assume that Lucasfilm wouldn't have another actor play the villain, especially with many of the original cast members from both trilogies reprising their roles in some form or another in recent films.
Would you have wanted to see the Emperor in Rogue One? Sound off below!
About The Author:
Matt is a graduate of the Ryerson University School of Journalism, and has been a fan of superheroes since he picked up his first comic book issue as a child. While he works as a professional musician, Matt has a massive passion for comic books, films and heroes, along with participating in discussion and debate with the CBM community.