As intriguing roads not taken go, the thought of a Palpatine TV show detailing the rise to power of the Emperor of the galaxy ranks very, very high, but that’s almost what we got with a planned Palpatine TV series that was reportedly in the works years ago. Obviously, the series never came to be, but speaking recently with Variety on his decades long tour of the galaxy as Sheev Palpatine, actor Ian McDiarmid did touch on a detail that would have connected the series with another, more recent TV show – The Acolyte. Did McDiarmid know any more details on what the series might have involved?
“Just the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise. It’s fairly obvious that my character murdered Plagueis on his road to becoming Palpatine. But beyond that, no. “
What a delicious thought, that the villains journey of Palpatine could have been crafted just as the heroes journey of Luke Skywalker was. With Revenge of the Sith riding high in the global box office charts and the prequel trilogy very much at the forefront of our minds on the 20th anniversary of Episode III, perhaps this rise to power could be something Lucasfilm revisit in some form or fashion. Now in his 80’s, it’s unlikely that McDiarmid would return for anything other than bookends, but just imagine; an ILM created Palpatine voiced by McDiarmid, dispensing wisdom to his apprentice Darth Vader as each episode we see him climb another rung on the ladder towards unlimited power. Our money is on the show being called ‘The Creeping Fear‘.
