Mere hours after we brought you the news that Imperial astromech droid C2-B5 – otherwise referred to as evil R2-D2 – would be rolling onto the scene in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it now appears Gareth Edwards’ upcoming Anthology flick has no room for one Emperor Palpatine.
Word comes by way of ComicBook.com, relaying an interview from the recent Amsterdam Comic-Con that featured Ian McDiarmid confirming that the galactic menace formerly known as Darth Sidious will remain firmly on the sidelines when Rogue One checks into theaters come December.
If there was any lingering speculation pertaining to the potential involvement of Palpatine, McDiarmid has now cooled rumors, stating, “I don’t feature in that myself, but I understand that Darth Vader may be making an appearance.” It should be noted that just because McDiarmid isn’t actively involved himself doesn’t rule out the chances of Sidious popping up entirely – it’d just be fairly unlikely. With both Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and Darth Vader on board to thwart yet another Rebel uprising, Palpatine is surely considered a surplus to the requirements.
Spearheading that galactic heist to pluck blueprints for the Death Star are Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk as the towering droid K-2SO, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. James Earl Jones and Genevieve O’Reilly also star as Vader and Mon Mothma, respectively.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story shoots for theaters on December 16. For a look at the characters you’ll be getting acquainted with once the film hits, check out the video below.
