Ian McDiarmid is throwing some subtle shade at the new “Star Wars” installment “The Rise Of Skywalker”.
During an interview with Digital Spy, the actor, who starred as villainous Emperor Palpatine in the original episodes, told the outlet that he was “totally surprised” by Palpatine’s return.
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As many “Star Wars” fans remember, Darth Vader killed the emperor in “Return Of The Jedi” but according to McDiarmid, creator George Lucas never intended to revive his character. And with “The Rise Of Skywalker” in theatres, fans were upset that J.J. Abrams brought back the Sith leader.
“I thought I was dead!” McDiarmid said. “I thought he was dead. Because when we did ‘Return Of The Jedi’, and I was thrown down that chute to Galactic Hell, he was dead. And I said, ‘Oh, does he come back?’ And [George] said, ‘No, he’s dead.’ So I just accepted that.”
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“But then, of course, I didn’t know I was going to be doing the prequels, so in a sense, he wasn’t dead, because we went back to revisit him when he was a young man,” McDiarmid continued. “But I was totally surprised by this.”
McDiarmid returned to play his iconic role for the new film.
“The Rise Of Skywalker” is in theatres now.
