As the dust of Exegol settles from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, here's your guide to the life and times of Emperor Palpatine. Two thousand years before the Skywalker Saga, the Sith ruled the galaxy. They were eventually overthrown by the Jedi, and cast into the shadows. Ever since, the ancient Sith Order has sought revenge - and through Palpatine, the agents of the dark side achieved their goal.
There's a sense in which Palpatine has always been treated more as a force of nature than as a character in his own right. In the prequel trilogy, he played a politician and mentor figure to Anakin Skywalker, but he was only wearing a convenient mask. In the original trilogy, he was the shadowy force in the background who emerged as a Satanic being of immense power, ultimately defeated by his apprentice's betrayal. But Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker handles him differently; he's still a demonic force, possessed of remarkable power, but he's also a person with a family.
Of course, the problem is that - however much Lucasfilm might claim otherwise - the Emperor's return clearly wasn't planned. As a result, the narrative is a strange one, and frankly it's more than a little contradictory. Here, we draw together everything that's known to present the life, death, resurrection, and ultimate fate of Sheev Palpatine.
Palpatine's Origin Before The Star Wars Movies
The Disney era canon has yet to officially confirm any details of the Emperor's backstory. All that can be said for certain is that he was a prominent politician on his homeworld of Naboo, and that he was ultimately appointed as the planet's representative in the Republic Senate. Unbeknownst to the galaxy, he was actually powerful in the Force, and he somehow caught the attention of the Sith Lord named Darth Plagueis. Palpatine himself was given the Sith name "Darth Sidious." Everything Palpatine did, every detail of his career, was secretly to serve the interests of the Sith.
Interestingly, though, the old Expanded Universe contains information about Palpatine that may still be relevant. James Luceno's novel Darth Plagueis told the origin of Palpatine, revealing that he was born into a noble Naboo House and slaughtered his own family as part of his initiation into the Sith. While Disney declared most of the EU non-canon shortly after they purchased Lucasfilm, this is something of an anomaly, simply because the book was published long after the acquisition. What's more, Luceno's new canon novel Tarkin heavily alluded to characters and events from Darth Plagueis, so something similar may well have happened in the new canon too.
Alternatively, it's worth noting that there's another popular theory: that Palpatine is far older than anyone has ever realized. This could be supported by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which hinted that a dying Sith transfers their essence over into the body of the Apprentice who has slain them. If this has always been the case, then for millennia there has only ever been one Sith Lord, growing in power, possessing host after host, gradually tilting the Force out of balance. Palpatine was simply the latest host.
Darth Plagueis & Palpatine's (Possible) Creation of Anakin
In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine told Anakin Skywalker a tale he called "The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise." This was secretly an account of Palpatine's own Master, who he described as "a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life." This led to intense speculation that Palpatine and Plagueis were somehow responsible for the creation of Anakin Skywalker; this was alluded to in Charles Soule's Darth Vader #25, in which Vader experienced a vision of the Emperor using the Force upon his mother's womb. It's important to note that this theory is still far from confirmed, and Lucasfilm Story Group writer Matt Martin has explicitly said that this was not the intended implication of the comic. Moreover, in the comic Shmi appears to already pregnant when she is visited by Palpatine in the vision, so it may instead just represent the Sith dominating the destiny of the child she bore. Force visions are rarely easy to read.
Palpatine's Clone Wars Plan & Creation Of The Empire
The Sith operate under the Rule of Two, that there must only be two Sith at any time: "one to crave power, the other to wield it." This naturally means that every Apprentice will attempt to supplant their Master, and Palpatine succeeded in murdering Plagueis. That done, he engineered a crisis on his homeworld of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in order to ensure his political ascension as well. This proved successful, and Palpatine became Chancellor of the Republic, positioned to take advantage of a growing crisis in the Galactic Rim. He and his ill-fated apprentice Count Dooku succeeded in inciting the Clone Wars - the ultimate Jedi trap. Overextended, the Jedi didn't realize the threat until it was too late, and they were massacred by Clone Troopers loyal to the Chancellor.
The Jedi Purge was the revenge of the Sith, and Palpatine emerged triumphant, declaring himself Emperor. Worse still, Anakin Skywalker - the Chosen One the Jedi believed destined to destroy the Sith - became his new apprentice, Darth Vader. But the victory did come at a cost, with the Emperor's body badly damaged by Force Lightning reflected back at him by Jedi Master Mace Windu.
Palpatine's Future Plans During The Empire
Palpatine had achieved galactic domination, but like any tyrant he sought to extend his rule and cement it. He had Darth Vader continue the Purge, hunting down Force sensitives and a handful of Jedi survivors, and invested the Empire's technology and resources in the development of superweapons like the Death Star. At the same time, according to Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy he wanted to gain control of the Unknown Regions, where he sensed "some origin of the Force, some dark presence formed of malevolent substance." And, finally, the Emperor wanted to conquer death in order to ensure he ruled forever. It's reasonable to assume some of these goals coalesced when the Emperor discovered the ancient Sith redoubt of Exegol, home to a group of loyalists who had hidden there since the collapse of the Sith Empire millennia ago.
Palpatine's Death & Resurrection
Palpatine had reckoned without the possibility of redemption, however, and his plans fell apart when his Apprentice betrayed him. Darth Vader chose the love for his son Luke Skywalker over duty to the Empire, and sacrificed himself to kill his Master in Return of the Jedi. Still, while the Emperor had not expected the betrayal, he had still established a Contingency that would establish a new Empire in the Unknown Regions. Meanwhile, through some unknown means he was brought back to a form of life on the planet Exegol, where a new fleet of Star Destroyers was secretly being constructed. Palpatine's resurrection came at a cost; he was left crippled, bound to machines for sustenance. And so the Emperor began to consider who he could choose as a potential host for his spirit.
Palpatine's Family & Rey
In a surprising twist, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals that Palpatine had a son. The film is absolutely silent as to how this son fits into the Emperor's timeline; it doesn't reveal the circumstances of his birth, or even his name. What is known, though, is that the son wanted nothing to do with the Emperor, and he and his wife settled for the life of junk traders. They had a daughter, Rey, and they became fearful that the Emperor would seek her out. To that end, their daughter was secreted away on the planet Jakku, her Force potential hidden by a powerful dark side nexus that had ironically been created as part of the Emperor's Contingency. The years passed, and Rey became a young woman, ultimately leaving Jakku to join the Resistance and train as a Jedi.
Palpatine's Plan & Defeat In The Rise of Skywalker
Once again, Palpatine engineered a galactic conflict in order to serve his own ends. The First Order was a tool, nothing more, and their Blitzkrieg seems to have been aimed at bringing Rey into play. Finally, in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker the Emperor revealed himself to the entire galaxy; his goal seems to have been to goad Rey into seeking him out, and he was successful. But when Rey and Kylo Ren stood before him, the Emperor realized he didn't need to possess her after all. The two shared a powerful bond that Palpatine called a "Force Dyad," and he drained its power to restore himself to health and youth.
At Exegol, Palpatine became the embodiment of all the Sith, and used their power to devastating effect against the Resistance fleet that arrived to attempt to hold the Sith's new Star Destroyers at bay. Fortunately for the galaxy, the Emperor had underestimated the light side of the Force, and all the Jedi spirits gave Rey the power to defy him. She was able to repeat Mace Windu's trick, reflecting Palpatine's Force Lightning back at him - to fatal effect.