Emperor Palpatine fell to his apparent death in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi but is now making a big comeback in Star WarsThe Rise of Skywalker. Just where has he been and how did he survive? Well, what if his consciousness survived somehow and latched on to a new host? Harry Potter fans will remember that Lord Voldemort returned after a new body was created for him. So perhaps Snoke wasn’t an injured other character after all, but a new body regenerating for Palpatine?
Of course, Star Wars canon makes it clear that Palpatine sensed Snoke shortly before his death, so another option is that Sidious took the Supreme Leader’s body or was offered it.
Now assuming Palpatine’s consciousness was in Snoke in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, he’s now going to be in need of a new Force-sensitive body.
And who better for Palpatine to live on in than Rey herself?
Considering that shot of Dark Side Rey with a double-sided red lightsaber in the latest trailer, perhaps that’s Palpatine inside her.
Similarly, it’s possible that Rey was created for the sole purpose of being a host body for Palpatine.
In this moment, it’s possible that Palpatine transferred his soul to the headgear – a piece that is now in the possession of Kylo Ren.
After all, it’s now canon in Star Wars lore that Sith Lords can live on through Dark Side artefacts.
In a recent official Darth Vader comic, Palpatine gave his apprentice the helmet of Lord Momin which began to talk to him.
If Darth Sidious had such an artefact, surely he knew he could survive in a similar way?
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is released in UK cinemas on December 19, 2019.