Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker surprisingly left the explanation behind Emperor Palpatine’s resurrection a mystery, but this being the Star Wars universe, fans knew to expect the answer to eventually come out in some future installment of the franchise – be it in a movie, TV show, comic or novel. And as per our latest intel, we now know which one of these it will be: TV show. Specifically, the second season of The Mandalorian.Â
Season 1 only just wrapped up on Disney Plus, but we know that another run is already in the works and one of the things it’ll apparently tackle is the return of Palpatine. We Got This Covered has heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Ewan McGregor was returning as Obi-Wan back in May and that young Luke would appear in the Kenobi show, both of which are now confirmed – that the next season, coming this fall, will shed some light on the villain’s return, even revealing who was at least partly responsible for reviving him.
From what we understand, Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon will be unveiled as the one behind Palpatine’s resurrection. The show’s big bad was already established in season 1 to have been a loyal Imperial officer, with Gideon now commanding his own remnant of the Empire’s Stormtrooper army. According to our intel, Gideon will soon come across Palpatine’s body somehow and conduct experiments on it concerning both the Force and cloning. The specifics are still a bit unclear, but this is apparently what will bring Darth Sidious back to life, teeing up his role in the Sequel Trilogy.
As Rise explained, Palpatine has been behind the First Order this whole time, with Snoke merely a puppet. The Mandalorian is set around five years after the events of the Original Trilogy, so it would certainly fit the timeline to have him resurrected at this stage, meaning he can slowly start rebuilding his forces in secret before making the First Order’s might known to the galaxy a couple of decades later.
Of course, this storyline could be ultimately rejected or held off until season 3, but as of right now, this is what we’re hearing Lucasfilm wants to explore in The Mandalorian season 2. And as soon we learn more, we’ll be sure to let you know.
