10 Awesome Movie Characters Everybody Forgot Was Recast

The first time audiences got a glimpse of the evil Emperor of the Galaxy wasn't until The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters in 1980. In the film, he appears as a large hologram during a moment when he and Vader communicate, and while he is kind of grainy, you can see his face rather well.

Pronouns being what they are, referring to the Emperor as a man is misleading since "he" was portrayed by Elaine Barker, the wife of makeup artist Rick Baker. The voice was done by Clive Revill, so it was a team effort in bringing the Emperor to life, but the pair wouldn't reprise the role further.

When his role was expanded in Return of the Jedi, it was recast to the actor who would continue to play Emperor Palpatine from that point forward. Ian McDiarmid took on the role in the third film in the franchise, and he gave a memorable performance.

That may be the reason he was ultimately brought back when George Lucas launched the prequel trilogy in 1999. Despite filming taking place 16 years after his last performance as the Emperor, McDiarmid came back and killed it as Palpatine. He even told the BBC in 2017 that he had no intention of letting someone else play the character, which means he could show up in a flashback/clone situation in the ninth film if rumors of his return are true.