Summary
- Emperor Palpatine survived his death in Return of the Jedi by transferring his spirit into a clone body, which required constant life support.
- Palpatine orchestrated Operation: Cinder and the Contingency to destroy the Empire and pave the way for the rise of the First Order.
- Palpatine controlled the First Order through Snoke and other agents, using them as puppets to further his plans for galactic domination.
Emperor Palpatine died in Return of the Jedi but somehow returned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, creating a significant gap in the Star Wars timeline. Between the end of the Galactic Civil War and the rise of the First Order, Palpatine had 30 years to plot revenge, but most of this history was brushed over in the movies. Since The Rise of Skywalker's release, the Star Wars books, comics, and video games have revealed more about Palpatine's actions after the original trilogy.
These stories explain how Palpatine survived his defeat in Return of the Jediand how he was the mastermind behind the First Order. It creates a fascinating account of the Emperor's return to power between the Star Wars trilogies that may be explored further. While there are more details to be fleshed out, Star Wars has revealed quite a bit about what Palpatine did between Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
