Emperor Palpatine Actor Ian McDiarmid Confirms Clone Line Cut From Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

John F. Trent |

Mar 2, 2020

Emperor Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid recently confirmed that confirmation that his character was a clone was cut from Star Wars: The Rise of Walker.

McDiarmid’s comments, seen below, come after the novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker retconned Palpatine into a clone.

In the novelization, it is revealed that Palpatine’s spirit is housed within a clone body.

The novelization reads in part, “What could you give me? Kylo asked. Emperor Palpatine lived, after a fashion, and Kylo could feel in his very bones that this clone body sheltered the Emperor’s actual spirit. It was an imperfect vessel, though, unable to contain his immense power. It couldn’t last much longer.”

McDiarmid confirms there was actually dialogue in the first draft of The Rise of Skywalker script that confirmed his character was inhabiting a clone body.

ian on sheev being a clone in tros:

(credit to insert coin on yt) pic.twitter.com/Qt9xOl0lpF

— brice⚡️| sheev stan (@senatesidious) March 1, 2020

McDiarmid explains, “Of course there were all sorts of explanation for why I might return.”

He continues, “It’s interesting. I think I can reveal something. At one point, the script had the line in that first scene with Adam when he says, “You’re a clone.” And I said in that original script which is no longer with us, ‘More than a clone, less than a man.'”

McDiarmid adds, “Which seems to me to sum him up really. Because we knew the camera had already snaked pass the clone tank in which there are various versions of Snoke.”

He then adds, “So, Snoke was a clone… Palpatine was responsible for everything. He made everything in one way or another. Talk about power early on. If you think back from, I’m sure you will, go back to watch them in the correct sequence, that threaded throughout all the movies is this sense of evil. And in a sense when anyone commits a bad act, it’s because of this character’s influence, either in public or pervasively in private…”

Palpatine Saga confirmed.