Star Wars just confirmed that Emperor Palpatine will be brought back yet again in a project that serves as a spin-off of the Skywalker Saga. Since The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980, Star Wars has made it clear that Emperor Palpatine is the franchise's biggest and most central antagonist. Although Darth Vader is more recognizable, Star Wars felt the need to establish Palpatine as the one pulling the strings, even going as far as to controversially reveal that he was behind all of the villainous occurrences in the sequel trilogy.
Lucasfilm and Marvel Comics recently revealed the official cover and synopsis for the upcoming comic book titled The Fall of Kylo Ren #5 (as shared by IGN), which will bring an end to the miniseries that is set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Notably, Emperor Palpatine looms over every other character on the comic's cover, and was directly mentioned as being a main character in the issue's synopsis.
Since the comic series is a part of Star Wars canon, the illustration of Palpatine on the cover is modeled after Ian McDiarmid, the actor who portrayed Palpatine in live-action since 1983's Return of the Jedi (McDiarmid didn't appear as the character in the theatrical cut of The Empire Strikes Back, but he was later added in digitally, replacing actress Marjorie Eaton (who appeared as Palpatine in Empire) and Clive Revill (the original voice of the character).
The official synopsis for The Fall of Kylo Ren #5, which will be the final issue of the miniseries, notably referenced the Fortnite video game with the words "the dead speak," as, in 2019, Lucasfilm and Disney partnered with Epic Games to give fans an exclusive tease for Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker.
The synopsis for the comic also teases that Kylo was already aware that "Palpatine must be destroyed" by the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and that readers will witness Palpatine sending "Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren into one of the Empire's darkest secrets."
Notably, the synopsis also confirms that Darth Vader will return in the issue as well (from a certain point of view), as "the voice of Darth Vader guides [Kylo Ren's] every step:"
"THE FINAL CHAPTER OF KYLO REN’S DARK DESCENT! The galaxy trembles as the dead speak and EMPEROR PALPATINE announces his shocking return! KYLO REN knows there is only one answer: PALPATINE MUST BE DESTROYED! But when the search for the reborn Emperor leads Kylo Ren and the KNIGHTS OF REN into one of the Empire's darkest secrets, what terrible truth awaits them? As the voice of DARTH VADER guides his every step, is Kylo Ren claiming his destiny... or becoming the final pawn in Palpatine’s greatest scheme?"
The extent of Palpatine's role in The Fall of Kylo Ren #5 won't be made known until the comic is released on December 2, but based on the synopsis and the fact that Palpatine is the largest character on the official cover, fans can expect him to be one of the comic's main characters.
While Palpatine's return in Star Wars canon does seem a bit odd, and fans still have a bad taste in their mouths from the way he was brought back in The Rise of Skywalker, The Fall of Kylo Ren #5 could help make Palpatine's character arc even better and make his appearance in The Rise of Skywalker make a bit more sense.
What Will The Fall of Kylo Ren Add to Palpatine's Character Arc?
The Last Jedi was an extremely divisive film within the Star Wars fanbase, with some loving it and others hating it. However, nearly everyone agreed that, a couple of years later, when it was revealed that Palpatine was coming back in The Rise of Skywalker, it was a horrible decision.
That has not changed. Bringing Palpatine back and undermining Snoke's entire character was still the wrong thing to do, and nothing Star Wars does in the future will ever change that. However, Lucasfilm can still take steps to make the decision less egregious, at least, and The Fall of Kylo Ren #5 could be a good example of how that can happen.
Based on the synopsis for the fifth and final issue of the Marvel Comics miniseries, it seems as though the story will explain the details of how Palpatine began communicating with Kylo Ren.
One of the most criticized aspects of Palpatine's return was that it seemingly wasn't explained at all in The Rise of Skywalker, as Palpatine himself never really confirmed what happened, and then Poe muttered his now iconic (for the wrong reasons) line, "Somehow, Palpatine returned."
Giving Kylo and Palpatine time together in The Fall of Kylo Ren (which included Kylo Ren's replacement in one issue) that wasn't featured in The Rise of Skywalker could at least explain the ins and outs of Palpatine's contingency plan from the original trilogy era, and finally give Star Wars fans some of the answers they have been asking for since 2019.
It is also worth noting that The Fall of Kylo Ren can't actually show Palpatine and Kylo together. It was established in the opening scenes of The Rise of Skywalker that Kylo was meeting Palpatine for the first time in person on Exogol. However, Palpatine revealed that he had been speaking to Kylo for some time. So, when the synopsis for the upcoming comic says that Kylo will hear Vader's voice, it will most likely be the Emperor talking to him instead.
It should also be mentioned that, based on the synopsis, Star Wars could finally explain exactly how Palpatine's cloning process worked. In the synopsis, it teases that Kylo and the Knights of Ren will discover one of the Empire's biggest secrets. One would have to assume that this is referencing Palpatine's cloning technology. If true, the comic could also tie into The Bad Batch, if the cloning facility is on Mount Tantiss, as it is in Star Wars Legends.
While The Fall of Kylo Ren #5 won't entirely fix everything wrong with The Rise of Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine's return, the upcoming comic could at least make his Skywalker Saga comeback a bit more believable, and fans will undoubtedly enjoy getting to see the character once again.
