After his laugh appeared in the movie's first footage, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brought back Emperor Sheev Palpatine, who was presumed dead following the end of Return of the Jedi. The newest film in the franchise revealed Palpatine had been hiding on the planet Exegol, all while amassing a fleet of ships unlike anything the galaxy far, far away had ever seen. A new still from The Rise of Skywalker now gives fans a look at Palpatine in the film.
The below image of Palpatine from his throne room on Exegol was released by StarWars.com. The image shows Palpatine hooked up to his life-support system as well as his throne.
As of writing, The Rise of Skywalker has made just over $1 billion worldwide, joining the ranks of several other Disney films released in 2019 to reach that significant milestone. Although the film has an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has proven a lot more divisive amongst critics and only holds a 52%.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong' o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film is now in theaters.