While the story of the latest Star Wars episodes has largely moved on from the conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire, the antagonists of the Original Trilogy still cast a definite shadow on the events of the new movies, and according to one rumor, the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX could have a callback planned in the form of an old villain’s return.
Express reports of a newly leaked scene description in which Kylo Ren wanders through a jungle planet – perhaps the same one that last month’s set pics revealed. It’s said that the son of Solo cuts through a blast door with his lightsaber to what appears to be a vault. According to this rumor, Kylo then holds up a square object that projects the image of none other than Emperor Palpatine, who shows the young Supreme Leader “blueprints or plans that could be a new weapon.”
Obviously, none of this should be taken too seriously until we have further evidence, but this all seems rather plausible at this stage. While Kylo has tried to model himself on his grandfather Vader, the First Order essentially stands as one big homage to the Empire as a whole, so it only figures that these latest villains will look for inspiration from the old team. What’s more, this rumor slots in well with a previous report that Kylo will be seen piloting the Millennium Falcon, which a recent set pic suggests could be visiting this jungle region.
In any case, with a director as nostalgic as J.J. Abrams at the helm, you can be sure that Star Wars: Episode IX will contain at least a few nods to the Original Trilogy when the film hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.
