Summary
- The recent live-action Star Wars TV show, Andor, recaptures Emperor Palpatine's original trilogy menace by not having him appear in season 1.
- Palpatine's presence is felt through mentions in the original trilogy, establishing him as the true power behind the Empire.
- While Palpatine appears in other Imperial era Star Wars properties, Andor focuses on smaller parts of the galaxy, creating an unspoken presence akin to the original trilogy.
One recent live-action Star Wars TV show has recaptured a key aspect of Emperor Palpatine from the original Star Wars trilogy. While the galaxy has generated numerous iconic villains, Palpatine is easily the franchise’s best, combining sinister Machiavellian manipulations with dark side Force powers that no other Sith Lord could equal or surpass. Yet in the original trilogy, Palpatine is absent from A New Hope and only appears briefly in The Empire Strikes Back before supplanting Darth Vader as the ultimate antagonist in Return of the Jedi.
The Star Wars prequel trilogy gave Palpatine a far more prominent role than the original trilogy, with the secret Sith Lord and future Emperor appearing in all three films. Rather than delving into his backstory, which can be found in James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis, the prequels showed his rise to power, with Palpatine orchestrating the Clone Wars and controlling both sides before wiping out the Jedi Order and twisting the democratic Galactic Republic into the autocratic Galactic Empire. Unfortunately, one aspect of his original trilogy portrayal has been missing from recent Star Wars properties set in the same era, save for one live-action TV show.
