J.J. Abrams Teases the Return of Palpatine in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and Says the Final Shot Was Decided Early On

Star Wars fans are excited and curious to see how Emperor Palpatine makes his return to the franchise after all these years in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There are a lot of theories and rumors, but we don’t know for sure what to expect until the movie is actually released.

Director J.J. Abrams did talk about Palpatine, though, in an interview with MTV. He obviously wasn’t giving any story details away, but he hinted at what we can expect. When asked about including Palpatine on the poster of the film, Abrams said:

"I will say that that's part of what the story is, and also, I will say that with the Emperor around, he's not going to be your, you know, the cuddly pal. I can't wait for you to see how that plays out, but he's in the poster for a reason."

In another interview Daisy Ridley talked about the Emperor’s big return saying:

"He's the biggest baddie in Star Wars history. Now that we've done the story, I'm like, it couldn't have happened any other way. It had to be that. But he's very instrumental to the plot of the film. It's not just like he appears again; it's all explained."

John Boyega shared his own thoughts on the character, adding:

"I think the Emperor and his doctrine has trickled down to so many of the characters in the Star Wars universe. The Dark Side, it is what it is because of a lot of his actions and plans. To have him come back, he's like the greatest foe, the greatest enemy. I mean, we might as well take him down properly."

Abrams went on to address Kylo Ren and the possibility of the character finding redemption:

"I will say that with an actor like Adam Driver, you can never limit what that man can do. I will say, without talking about redemption or not, that he is mind-blowing in this. He’s brought a whole other level to this, so I can’t wait to see what happens with him."

When asked about the last shot of the film and when he decided on what that would be, Abrams responded with:

“If I had not decided on that, I’d be in real trouble. But, it was a very early on thing, and it’s less the last shot of the movie than the last sequence, but it’s something that I… hope you like.”

I really hope that Abrams and Lucasfilm deliver on this final movie of the saga. They have to! They are closing out this epic saga that started in 1977! They have to close it out in a way that will satisfy all the fans, but we know that’s an impossible feat. Regardless, I’m hoping for the best, and I’m excited to see how this movie is going to close out the saga.

.@jjabrams gave us a few hints on what to expect in '#StarWars: Rise of Skywalker' from the mysterious Emperor, to the pivotal final sequence and a possible redemption for #KyloRen through Adam Driver's performance: "He is mindblowing in this" #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/QbXNJzixnm

— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) August 28, 2019