A new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer seemingly reveals Palpatine was behind Kylo Ren's corruption all along. Ever since the first Rise of Skywalker teaser from Celebration Chicago confirmed the Emperor's return, fans have spent much time theorizing about the villain's role in the film. Disney's spoiler-averse marketing campaign has largely hidden Palpatine from official materials, merely hinting at his physical presence and mainly utilizing his voice to help set the mood for the saga's final episode.

One of the main reasons why Palpatine's return was so surprising is because the Sith Lord was presumed dead, and he wasn't even mentioned in either The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi (save for a brief line where Luke talked about the Jedi's failure). At first glance, bringing Palpatine back to the fold appeared to be somewhat random, so some fans speculated that perhaps he was behind Kylo Ren's corruption from the beginning (perhaps by possessing Darth Vader's mask). Viewers still have to wait a week before all the answers are revealed, but it certainly looks like Palpatine was heavily involved with Ben Solo's downfall.

Related: Star Wars 9 Theory: Rey's Secret Force Power Is The Key To Defeating Palpatine

A new Rise of Skywalker clip was revealed today on the official Star Wars Facebook page. The juiciest bit, of course, shows Kylo Ren exploring a temple on an unknown planet, where he hears Palpatine's voice and discovers the terrifying truth behind his fall to the dark side. The line "My boy, I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head" (alternating between Palpatine, Supreme Leader Snoke, and Darth Vader) implies the Emperor's had his sights on Ben for a long, long time.

Most importantly, this clip establishes a link between Palpatine and at least one of the new sequel trilogy leads, helping tie the entire saga together. For all their merits, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi arguably felt disconnected from the first six episodes (where Palpatine was the big bad) from a narrative perspective since the Emperor was thought to be defeated during the Battle of Endor. Revealing that Palpatine is not only back, but was responsible for Ben's turn, goes a long way in selling the sequel trilogy as an organic continuation of the decades-long story. It's also smart to connect Snoke with Palpatine, suggesting the fallen Supreme Leader was actually an agent of the Emperor (or maybe even one and the same), and the First Order was Palpatine's creation. Again, it makes the new films feel like a natural progression as Palpatine looks to control the galaxy.

The timing of the clip's release is definitely interesting, as it feels like it would have been well-suited for the final theatrical trailer that debuted back in October. While many fans enjoyed that preview, there were plenty of others left disappointed by it, arguing it was one of the film's weaker promotional materials. Perhaps aware of that and looking to build more hype a week ahead of The Rise of Skywalker's theatrical debut, Disney chose to unveil this now. Anticipation was already high, but this should get viewers even more excited.

More: Everything We Know About Palpatine's Role In The Rise of Skywalker

Source: Star Wars