10 Burning Questions Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Left Us With

Who Are Palpatine’s Hooded Followers On Exegol?

Though his return is quickly dumped on us in the opening crawl, it seems Palpatine has been busy amassing his forces in secret for a long while. Not only has he created the entire Final Order fleet of Star Destroyers, but he’s also surrounded by legions of hooded followers. These acolytes circle his enormous throne room on Exegol and occasionally chant in his honor. And that’s about it.

We’re left to wonder who exactly these devout followers of the Emperor are. Are they just random Sith sympathizers who’ve travelled to the planet after Palpatine released his broadcast across the galaxy? That’s one theory, but what if they aren’t folks who’ve made their way to Exegol but are actually the planet’s natives?

Exegol is explained as the mythical hidden world of the Sith. In the Legends timeline, there’s an ancient Sith species who inspired the Sith Order. Maybe these followers belong to this species. The race has red skin and tentacle “beards” in the Legends universe, and given their hoods, it’s possible Palpatine’s posse have the same features under there, too.