Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

When it was first revealed in April 2019 that Emperor Palpatine would be coming back to life as a villain in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it came as a major shock to Star Wars fans the world over. Although Palpatine had returned from the dead in now non-canonical Expanded Universe material, there had previously been no indications that he would make a comeback on the big screen. Up to this point, it had seemed Palpatine being thrown down into the Death Star’s core in Return of the Jedi had ensured he would not be returning for more adventures in this galaxy far, far away.

Despite that, Palpatine not only returned in The Rise of Skywalker but ended up serving as the primary villain of the piece once Kylo Ren entered his mid-movie redemption arc. Despite serving as a formidable foe for Rey, Kylo and The Resistance to face off against, Palpatine ended up getting defeated by a Jedi warrior he tried to convert to the Dark Side of the Force once again. Thanks to Rey using two lightsabers to deflect Palpatine’s lightning blasts back onto him, Palpatine was disintegrated, his skin and skeleton both falling apart as audiences watched.

Though it was a gruesome and seemingly definitive demise, the fact that Palpatine previously came back from another seemingly conclusive death leaves a question of whether this truly is the end for Palpatine, as well as the Sith altogether. After all, the methods that helped Palpatine survive after his demise at the end of Return of the Jedi weren’t just kept vague within the context of the movie - they were kept entirely a secret. With such crucial details about how he was resurrected left undefined, there’s plenty of wiggle room available for future storytellers looking to bring Palpatine back from the grave once again.

The fact that there aren’t any more movies about Palpatine’s primary adversary, the Skywalker family, in current development makes it unlikely, from a practical standpoint, that we’ll see the villain again in near future Star Wars films. But, as Luke Skywalker said, “no one is ever truly gone.”  As for the Sith, they’re far more likely to re-emerge in future Star Wars tales - primarily because, unlike Palpatine, they’re not limited to just one character. As seen throughout the eleven Star Wars feature films, the Sith can take on many different forms and it’s doubtful they won’t emerge in another incarnation in the assorted Star Wars movies headed our way in 2022 and beyond.

The oft-repeated idea that the Jedi and Sith exist in a persistent balance that has endured throughout eons also lends credence to the idea that the Sith are far from gone. Even if future Star Wars movies head down into other eras of history in this galaxy far, far away, a version of the eternally-present Sith could very likely re-appear again. Of course, these are all educated guesses based on previously established elements of Star Wars lore. The sudden reintroduction of a revived Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker makes it clear that Palpatine and the Sith could also re-emerge in totally unexpected ways that take everybody by surprise.

  • Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20