Star Wars icon Ian McDiarmid faces inquiries regarding the Emperor's romantic life.

      Lucasfilm

      This past weekend, the re-release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, celebrating its 20th anniversary, outperformed expectations with a $25 million opening, finishing in second place behind Sinners. Revenge of the Sith marked the peak of Chancellor Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) schemes, which led to the Jedi's downfall and his rise to emperor. Despite Palpatine's demise in his first appearance—Return of the Jedi in 1983—Revenge of the Sith was meant to be McDiarmid's final live-action portrayal of the character. Yet, his return in Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker prompted questions about his character's revival, particularly concerning his personal life and how he could have a granddaughter.

      In an interview with Variety, McDiarmid mentioned that fans have posed “somewhat embarrassing questions” regarding Palpatine, including “‘Does this evil monster ever have sex?'”

      “And we don’t really have an answer for that either,” McDiarmid added. “You would probably think about things in tubes instead of imagining the gruesome image of this monster engaging in a sexual relationship.”

      The Rise of Skywalker disclosed that Rey (Daisy Ridley) is Palpatine's granddaughter, but her parents only made a brief appearance in the film. The movie did not delve into the details of how Palpatine fathered children; however, Star Wars supplementary materials revealed that Rey's father, Dathan, was a clone created from Palpatine's genetic material. He married a woman named Miramir, and together they had Rey before they sent her away for her safety.

      During his conversation with Variety, McDiarmid recounted Steven Spielberg's reaction to his initial portrayal of Palpatine—“'Oh my God, you’re evil!'”—along with his own reflections on the character's return in Episode IX.

      “My logic and Palpatine’s was completely rational,” McDiarmid stated. “This man, who was horrifically injured, considered that it might eventually happen to him, and we need to have a plan B. I loved the idea that he should return even more powerful than before. However, he had to be utterly defeated this time. So I think he’s dead.”

      Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His work has been featured in Wizard Magazine, Geek...

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