Another day, another "Star Wars: Episode VII" rumor, but this one might be worth paying special attention to.
According to Latino Review (known in the past to land some pretty big scoops) a familiar villain from the Star Wars franchise will be pulling the strings behind the scenes of the new trilogy. Ready?
Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead!
Saying that two independent sources have written to confirm the new rumor, Latino Review writes that none other than Emperor Palpatine himself, a.k.a. Darth Sidious, will be the puppet master behind the trilogy's new Sith Inquisitor villains. If true, it would follow a familiar formula seen throughout all six Star Wars films. In the past, Sith Lords such as Darth Maul, Count Dooku and Darth Vader were all being commanded by Palpatine behind the scenes.
But wait, isn't Emperor Palpatine dead? You may remember that he got thrown into a bottomless pit on the second Death Star by Darth Vader as part of his redemption in "Return of the Jedi," and that Luke barely manages to escape the space station before it is blown to bits, thanks to Lando Calrissian in the Millenium Falcon.
As strange as it sounds, there is some precedent for the villain to come back from the dead. Darth Maul suffered a similar fate (in addition to being cut in half), but came back with robotic spider legs (we're not making this up) in the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" television show, which is deemed as official Star Wars canon by Disney and Lucasfilm. Luke himself jumped into the void as well at the end of "Empire Strikes Back," only to survive by hanging on for dear life at the bottom of Cloud City.
A leaked piece of concept art reportedly from "Star Wars Episode VII" shows a robotic cloaked fellow that, in light of the new rumors, might just be a robotic Emperor Palpatine, seen holding the broken mask of Darth Vader.
Indie Revolver originally reported the concept art to be of Episode VII's Inquisitor villain, but perhaps it is robo-Palpatine himself in those images. Latino Review says its source is 100 percent positive Emperor Palpatine will appear in "Star Wars: Episode VII" and "VIII," but curiously makes no mention of the character in the final film of the trilogy. Actor Ian Mcdiarmid, who previously played Emperor Palpatine, will not be returning to the role, according to Latino Review.
Are the new rumors true? Hard to say for sure, and there are plenty of Star Wars rumors to choose from. Fans will just have to play the waiting game as the film's Dec. 2015 release date slowly inches closer.
