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Palpatine is confirmed to return inStar Wars : The ascent of Skywalker- but he ca n’t peradventure be a Force Ghost . The first trailer forStar war : Episode IXended with the malign laugh of Emperor Palpatine , confirming that the greatest Sith Lord of all sentence has returned to chevvy the beetleweed . It ’s a satisfying way of ending the subsequence trilogy , creating a uninterrupted tale that hunt down through the prequels , the original trilogy , and now the sequel ; they are all the news report of the battle between the lightheaded side and Palpatine himself .
course , this shocking divine revelation is causingStar Warsfans to revisit all the tie - in novels and comics , look for any wind as to how Palpatine has returned and what his true destination is . They ’re find a surprising act of clue , supporting Lucasfilm presidentKathleen Kennedy ’s insistency that this had been the plan all along ; the most explicit reference is in the"Aftermath " trilogy of novel , where one of Palpatine ’s old aides insist that his Master would rise from the dead .
tie in : Star Wars Canon Already Revealed That The Emperor Survived Return Of The Jedi
But just how has Palpatine survived ? One common theory doing the cycle is that the Emperor could be a Force Ghost . After all , so the argument give out , inthe house trailer forThe Rise of SkywalkerLuke says nobody is ever really go , suggesting there ’s a parallel between his own continued presence and the Emperor ’s return . Here ’s why that hypothesis can be dismiss .
The Rules Of Force Ghosts (And Who Became One In Star Wars Canon)
The estimate of Force Ghosts runs all the way back to 1977 , when Darth Vader face Obi - Wan Kenobi on the Death Star . " If you strike me down , " Kenobi splendidly warned , " I shall become more brawny than you could perchance imagine . " Proving the point , Kenobi ’s body vaporize at the mo of his death , and from that moment on his feeling serve as a usher to Luke . He had become one with the Force , a spirit that hold its sense of consciousness after death . viewing audience could be excuse for ab initio sham that this bechance to any Jedi , and yet logically even at this microscope stage it was open that could n’t be the case ; Vader had killed countless Jedi , but was visibly taken aback at what happened to Kenobi at the minute he chance upon the killing shock .
The prequels have divulge thatQui - Gon Jinnwas the first Jedi in a long meter to hold back the knowledge of how to live on after end . An unusual Jedi , Qui - Gon was menial enough to feign other Force tradition could learn him important example , and he learned the trick from a Shaman of the Whills . As confirmed inThe Clone Wars , he was shoot down before he could complete his education , and ab initio could only communicate with the living humans as a unembodied part . Qui - Gon was able to go along his training after death , and - concord to the lately - issue anthology bookFrom A sure tip of View- he finally learned how to manifest as a Force Ghost . Only a handful of being have learned this secret : Qui - Gon Jinn , Obi - Wan Kenobi , Yoda , Anakin Skywalker , and Luke Skywalker . The body dissolves at the point of death if the Jedi has complete their training , explaining why neither Qui - Gon ’s nor Anakin Skywalker ’s faded out .
relate : Star Wars uncover Why Qui - Gon Jinn Was n’t On The Jedi Council
From A sealed Point of Viewcontains a short story call " Master and Apprentice , " by Claudia Gray , that is in reality severalize from the linear perspective of the Force Ghost Qui - Gon . It unveil that Force Ghosts transcend time and blank , and can see past , present , and future all weave together as one . Meanwhile , Star warfare : The Last Jedihas confirmed just how powerful a Force Ghost can be ; ten after his death , Master Yodahad learned to pull strings the physical creation when he destroy the ancient library of Ahch - To .
Page 2 of 2 : How Light Side & Dark Side Force Users Can Survive decease
Why Force Ghosts Are Exclusive To The Light Side
The tilt of Force Ghosts immediately create it clear that this power is colligate with the light side of the Force , and there ’s a simple grounds for it ; adherents of the promiscuous side of the Force reconcile to the will of the Force , whereas dark siders set about to keep in line the Force and drive events in accordance to their own will . for experience on after expiry , a brightness level sider has to submit completely to the Force , even to their own imminent death . A standard dark sider is unequal to of doing this , and a Sith even more so .
Matt Stover ’s novelization ofRevenge of the Sithmade this pretty explicit . Stover worked intimately with George Lucas himself on the playscript , and was present permission to hyperbolize many of the scene . As a result , he put out the conversation between Qui - Gon ’s Force Ghost and Master Yoda to include a tenacious discussion of immortality . " The ultimate goal of the Sith , yet they can never achieve it , " Qui - Gon explained . " It follow only by the outlet of self , not the deification of ego . It comes through compassion , not covetousness . Love is the response to the darkness . " While this record book ’s canonicity can be scrap , the same point was made - albeit less explicitly - inThe Clone Warsseason 6 , which featured a routine of episodes dedicate to Yoda ’s quest for this ability .
How Sith CAN Survive Death
And yet , Qui - Gon ’s insistence that the Sith can not evidence as Force Ghosts seems to model uncomfortably with another scene inRevenge of the Sith . seek to seduce Anakin with the enticement of the dark side , Palpatine tempts him with thetale of Darth Plagueis the Wise , a Sith who had learned how to conquer destruction . The future Emperor does n’t spell out what this means , let alone how to achieve this through the dark side , but it ’s clear he believes it . In the novelization , the dialogue run a step further , with Palpatine suggesting that Plagueis ' learner - i.e. himself - may well be " almost immortal . "
Related : Star Wars 9 Theory : Palpatine Never Existed , It Was Always Darth Plagueis
In the old Expanded Universe , a Sith could last death by transferring their essence into a nearby eubstance , a relic of some kind , or even into a geographical positioning . In the first eccentric , anyone who is tightlipped to a dying Sith can really be possessed by them ; in the second , a Sith can implant their consciousness in an objective such as a mask , and continue to maintain an influence through this relic ; and in the third , the Sith disembodied spirit can be bound to a specific post and fundamentally " frequent " it . While Lucasfilm has abandoned the old Legends persistence , the Force tycoon do n’t seem to have changed much . The Clone Warsseason 6 included arc in which Sith spirits were seen inhabiting a specific site , while Charles Soule ’s recentDarth Vadercomic introduced Lord Momin , a Sith religious outcast whose spirit had inhabited a mask . clear this king seems to have been retained in the new canon .
The key spot is that a Sith spirit can indeed survive after destruction - but it does n’t seem to be a pleasant experience . Where a Jedi Force Ghost experiences death as freedom and authorization , a Sith appear to be bound to a new John Milton Cage Jr. - be it another somebody ’s body , a relic , or a position . That ’s a far call from the kind of sprightliness after expiry Palpatine line to Anakin Skywalker inRevenge of the Sith , and for certain not something Palpatine would take as his final future Department of State . So , while Palpatine ca n’t be a Force Ghost , it ’s also unlikely that the key is in an essence transfer - unless that was but a step along the journey to a more in effect solvent .
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