11 Terrible Early Drafts That Almost Ruined Iconic Villains
6. The Emperor - A New Hope
In one of the very earliest drafts of Star Wars, Emperor Palpatine had a different, and far more colourful name.
He was once known as Cos Dashit.
Are we really going to stoop as low as to make toilet jokes about the abandoned name of a character? You betcha!
Imagine the irresponsible, distracting humour involved every single time someone mentioned the name: it's hardly the kind of reaction you'd seek for your chief antagonist, let alone someone who had risen to the auspicious office of Emperor, and I think the name was dropped wisely.
Star Wars fans are notoriously fickle with their attentions - few can acknowledge the few high-points of The Phantom Menace because of the toxic presence of Jar Jar Binks, so we can only speculate that a lofty character with a rude name would have been just as disruptive for them to swallow.