Why did Palpatine have to show up in Star Wars: the rise of Skywalker?

Last week, Star wars The celebration broke the roof of the Internet with the first look at Star Wars: The rise of Skywalker. There is much to be said in the new teaser, but the most popular element is probably the return of Emperor Palpatine. The classic Star wars Baddie is making a comeback, and although we may wonder how this is possible, it is not surprising that Palpatine is back. When you think about it, there was no other choice for a bad guy because, well, there are not any more.

The threatening laugh of Emperor Palpatine concludes The rise of Skywalker trailer, and director J.J. Abrams later confirmed that Palpatine was definitely back for the final installment of the trilogy. The news took the fans by surprise. Even though Palpatine's return was a popular theory to fans for years, it's still foolish to see him come back.

This is an exciting way to close the saga started in 1977, but once the lights have dimmed, it becomes more and more clear that Star wars did not really have any choice but to bring back Palpatine.

For starters, the news is not so surprising when one thinks about bringing back the familiar, that is J.J. Abrams' Star wars Mr. O. He directed Star Wars: The awakening of the force, which has come to a lot of nostalgia. A popular criticism of this film is that it is TOO similar to the original trilogy. After all, there is essentially another death star headed by a scary old man who appears as a hologram to a masked servant who has family ties to the Gentiles.

In addition, Abrams brings Lando back to The rise of SkywalkerExtending the invitation to Palpatine, is simply giving people more of what they want. Detractors of this decision might say that bringing back Palpatine is not too exciting and a sign that this new trilogy may not have had many new ideas.

I do not necessarily think I agree with all of this, but I think this trilogy was found in a hole, and that the only way out was to resurrect Palpatine.

To be honest, Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy said it was still planned to bring Palpatine back to the end. The problem is that the importance of the story of the three new films has never been clearly defined. Even though Abrams has set up mysteries, The last Jedi Director Rian Johnson said that he was working with a blank slate and that he enjoyed complete creative freedom. It does not look like a plan.

The last Jedi, for all that he does well, put The rise of Skywalker in a pickle because it has erased all the bad guys from the board. The fans promoted Snoke, which turned out to be a kind of red herring and that killed quite easily. It was just not interesting to start with, but it was what looked more like those movies compared to a villain.

The other option is Kylo Ren, but it's a circle that tries to fit in a square hole. The bow of Ren is so much linked to the fact that he is redeemed or not, he does not feel like a real bad guy. He is too confrontational to be the last boss. So we do not have any bad guys to take us to the homestretch unless you want General Hux to get a major promotion.

It is also too late to introduce a new villain. Since it is the last film, why should we be interested in a character who comes out of nowhere? There is not enough audience in which to invest. His connection with the main characters would be tenuous at best, and it is difficult to find convincing motivations for them to be attached to them.

Palpatine, however, solves all these problems. This is a known character, so everyone is aware, and the film does not have to waste time presenting it. Plus, he has the nostalgia factor and it's much more fun to talk about him than to talk about a new guy.

Although Palpatine's motives are slim (he wants to rule the galaxy because he wants it), it works for him. Star wars is pretty black and white, and Palpatine is supposed to be the face of ultimate evil. It's a cruel bastard and not much else, but it's also the goal. It's not supposed to be more than that, so it's even easier to get on board with his return as he does not come with a lot of complicated luggage.

In addition, Palpatine is the Star wars Bad boy. Yes The rise of Skywalker is meant to close the book on these characters and the story we have come to know, it is normal that it be the last hurdle. He was technically the main villain of two trilogies and the architect of almost all the bad things that happen in Star wars. Why not bring him back for a last round?

All the mystery behind how Palpatine will take into account the film can not be under-sold either. There will be a ton of fan theories and discussions on this topic before the film arrives in December. The trailer has already sparked a lot of enthusiasm and the use of a familiar and beloved villain certainly does not hurt the marketing department.

I guess it's not very difficult to get excited for a new Star wars movie, but Palpatine is gone a long time ago. There is no shame in being excited that the villain comes back to laugh and shoot one last time in a flash.

I think it's too early to tell if Palpatine's return is a good or bad decision. Everything will depend on how he is brought back and how he was involved in the plot. You can argue that it's a lazy and safe decision, but I also think it was the only decision that filmmakers could have made. The options are much more limited in the bad guys department after Snoke's death and it's too late to bring in a new villain. However, the advantage of Palpatine is that we have at least some idea of ​​what to expect.