Star Wars: 10 Things Colin Trevorrow's Episode 9 Script Did Better Than The Rise Of Skywalker

Bringing back Palpatine in Episode IX makes total sense. After all, he was the big bad in the previous two trilogies, and Ian McDiarmid was the only actor not bound to a costume to reprise his original trilogy role in the prequels.

As early as The Force Awakens, the sequels felt like an overhang of Star Wars rather than an organic extension of the story; the reappearance of another familiar face hypothetically should have helped to further ground the Sequels as part of the same universe.

But reintroducing Palpatine in a minor, grounded, capacity is not the same as resurrecting him from the grave, reinstating him to the exact same position he held in Return Of The Jedi.

Bringing back the Emperor as a shadowy sinister figure not only managed to simultaneously undermine Anakin Skywalker's legacy and, by extension, the whole point of the first six films, it also ensured audiences never saw Supreme Leader Kylo Ren achieve his full potential, transforming the movie into nothing more than a soft reboot of Episode VI.

In Duel Of The Fates, Palpatine appears as a cameo, a pre-recorded message intended to lead Vader to Tor Valum, Palpatine's old master. While the script's Tor Valum sub-plot is a bit silly, this is a much more naturalistic way to integrate good old Sheev into the story without becoming its focus and distracting audiences from the plots established in the last two movies.

Hell, if he really wanted to JJ could have still retconned Rey's origin without bringing back her definitely dead grandpappy.