Ian McDiarmid seems to tease Palpatine’s presence in upcoming Star Wars series

Speaking yesterday at the ICCCon, Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid hinted that he would play the Sith Lord again in upcoming Star Wars series.

McDiarmid reminded the audience that “certain series” will take place in periods when Palpatine is around, and he added:

“I have nothing to tell you, but who knows? Whether my physical presence will be there or not, my presence will definitely be felt.”

This could refer to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor or the second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. These three series take place between Episodes III and IV, when the Emperor rules the galaxy with an iron fist.

Watch the video below (McDiarmid adresses the matter at 10:55).

Anakin Skywalker’s ghost will return in the novel ‘Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith’

StarWars.com has revealed the cover and an excerpt from the upcoming novel Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith. This novel is set about 20 years after Return of the Jedi and tells Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian’s quest to find Exegol.

In the excerpt, Luke has a vision of Exegol and sees the spirit of his father Anakin appearing before him.

“For a moment, all was still.

Then the blue figure turned around, his lightsaber extinguished.

Luke pushed himself up onto his elbows. He blinked.

It couldn’t be.

It couldn’t be.

The blue figure lifted his hood back to reveal the strong, sharp face of a young man, his gaze intense beneath a furrowed brow that was bisected by straight, vertical scar. His thick hair was shoulder-length and had a slight wave to it.

Anakin Skywalker reached out his hand.

Luke took it, and everything went white.”

Read the entire excerpt on StarWars.com.

Here are the cover and the synopsis for Shadow of the Sith, which will be released on June 28.

“Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian return in this essential novel set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

The Empire is dead. Nearly two decades after the Battle of Endor, the tattered remnants of Palpatine’s forces have fled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. But for the heroes of the New Republic, danger and loss are ever-present companions, even in this newly forged era of peace.

Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is haunted by visions of the dark side, foretelling an ominous secret growing somewhere in the depths of space, on a dead world called Exegol. The disturbance in the Force is undeniable . . . and Luke’s worst fears are confirmed when his old friend Lando Calrissian comes to him with reports of a new Sith menace.

After Lando’s daughter was stolen from his arms, he searched the stars for any trace of his lost child. But every new rumor leads only to dead ends and fading hopes—until he crosses paths with Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith assassin tasked with kidnapping a young girl.

Ochi’s true motives remain shrouded to Luke and Lando. For on a junkyard moon, a mysterious envoy of the Sith Eternal has bequeathed a sacred blade to the assassin, promising that it will answer the questions that have haunted him since the Empire fell. In exchange, he must complete a final mission: Return to Exegol with the key to the Sith’s glorious rebirth—Rey, the granddaughter of Darth Sidious himself.

As Ochi hunts Rey and her parents to the edge of the galaxy, Luke and Lando race into the mystery of the Sith’s lingering shadow and aid a young family running for their lives.”

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ director says we’ll see a Darth Vader that isn’t as “fully formed” as in ‘A New Hope’

Entertainment Weekly has published an interview with Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow about Hayden Christensen’s return as Darth Vader. Here are some interesting excerpts:

“ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, why did you decide to bring Darth Vader back for this series?

DEBORAH CHOW: Honestly, for me the starting place was that I really wanted to do something that was character-based and character-driven, because that is the benefit of the limited series, is that you have more time to sort of tell a real character story. And so for me, the starting place of character is you just start and you look at who has been important to him in his life. And it’s quite hard to avoid Anakin/Vader in that scenario, especially coming out of Revenge of the Sith.

So really it came out of an evolution of the character for me. It wasn’t just to sort of bring him back. It was really like, who means something and where are we at this point in the timeline with Vader?”

“What kind of Vader will we see here on the show? We only saw him for a few very quick scenes at the end of Revenge of the Sith in that armor. So where does he pick up 10 years later?

For us, it’s very similar [to Obi-Wan] in the sense that he’s in between these two trilogies. So he isn’t the New Hope Vader quite yet, you know what I mean? So we are with the character sort of in the middle of this period. It is still Vader obviously, but it’s a Vader that isn’t quite as fully formed as A New Hope.”

Ian McDiarmid hopes to play Palpatine again in future Star Wars projects

In an unnoticed September 2021 interview with Metro (dug up today by r/starwarsleaks), Ian McDiarmid was leaving the door open to his return as Palpatine/Darth Sidious in future Star Wars projects:

“I think I have to accept that, thanks to my ungrateful granddaughter, my annihilation was finally final. [But] of course [Darth] Vader is back in the new [Obi-Wan Kenobi] television series so I suppose it’s not impossible that one day his mentor might be discovered once again skulking in the shadows.”

I really hope that he secretly filmed some scenes for Obi-Wan Kenobi with Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. McDiarmid must be part of this Prequel Trilogy reunion!

RIP J.W. Rinzler, author of many behind-the-scenes Star Wars books

Berekeleyside announced the passing of J.W. Rinzler, author of many official behind-the-scenes Star Wars books;

“Jonathan Rinzler, who wrote under the name J.W. Rinzler, died peacefully on July 28 at his home in Albion after an 11-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 58.”

His most famous Star Wars books are the three huge “making-of” of the Original Trilogy, but he also wrote The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith which I particularly enjoyed as a Prequel Trilogy fan. It’s much shorter than the others, but it still has a lot of content, including excerpts of George Lucas’ early drafts. Rinzler’s The Art of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is also a must-have.

Here is the rest of Berekeleyside’s obituary for Rinzler:

“Jonathan was born Aug. 17, 1962, to parents Alan and Marilyn Rinzler and spent his formative years in Berkeley, attending Berkeley High School with brothers Peter and Ben. He began his undergraduate studies at the Parsons School of Design, where he studied painting, an interest he continued throughout his adult life. Rinzler graduated from New York University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in comparative literature.

Rinzler had a prodigious career as a bestselling author of cinematic history books about Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other 20th century blockbuster films. He joined Lucasfilm in 2001 and became the executive editor of its publishing arm, Lucasbooks. Over 15 years, he authored an extensive body of Star Wars-related publications, including The Making of Star Wars (a New York Times bestseller), The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, The Making of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Blueprints, and The Sounds of Star Wars.

The publication of The Making of Star Wars gained Rinzler widespread critical praise for establishing a new standard of meticulous archival research including in-depth interviews with key film cast and crew members. The London Times wrote: “For anyone who has the Force with them, this awesomely nerdy tome is a gift from heaven.” And from Film Review: “A book like this simply blows everything else out of the water.” All told, he wrote over 25 books, including three New York Times bestsellers and one London Times bestseller. In addition to his multiple books about the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, he wrote The Making of Aliens, The Making of Planet of the Apes, The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life.

In addition to his nonfiction works, Rinzler wrote two novels, the No. 1 best-selling graphic novel The Star Wars, which he co-authored with artist Mike Mayhew, and his recent space history novel All Up, hailed by award-winning science fiction author Dr. Jacques Vallee as “an exceptional book that takes the reader beyond the usual descriptions of the challenges and achievements of the first Space Age, by describing the human reality behind the extraordinary efforts of intelligence and will that made it all possible.”  

Rinzler is survived by his beloved wife, Genevieve Rinzler; daughters, Judith (a psychologist practicing in Fort Bragg, California) and Sarah (a student at Hastings Law School in San Francisco); and grandson, Henry. He is also survived by his parents, Alan and Marilyn, and siblings Ben, Peter, Ari and Daniel.

The family requests that any remembrances in Jonathan’s name be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.”

Rumor: C-3PO and R2-D2 to appear in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi?

LRM Online claims to have learned that C-3PO and R2-D2 will make an appearance in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. The site can’t say how big of a role the two droids will have.

LRM has released real scoops but also false rumors in the past so this should be taken with a grain of salt.

Between Episodes III and IV, 3PO and R2 serve Captain Antilles, who works for the Organa family. Maybe we’ll see them with Leia if the previous rumor is true.

Vader visits Padmé’s tomb in Darth Vader #4 preview

From StarWars.com:

“Naboo is a world of beauty. For the former Anakin Skywalker, it’s a world of ghosts.

In StarWars.com’s first look at Marvel’s Darth Vader #4, set after the events of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the titular Sith Lord seeks revenge against those who hid Luke Skywalker from him — and the truth about how Padmé Amidala, his wife, died. What he finds on Naboo, home of Padmé, is violence, bittersweet and painful memories from the past, and the final resting place of his lost love…

Darth Vader #4, from writer Greg Pak and artist Raffaele Ienco, with a cover by In-Hyuk Lee, arrives August 12 and is available for pre-order now.”

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga key art revealed

From StarWars.com:

“LEGO Star Wars is one of the few gaming franchises that’s truly for everyone. Kids and families play it. Older hardcore gamers play it. Couples play it together. And it’s easy to see why. With a unique combination of challenging puzzles, fun LEGO builds, and tons of gags, the series offers something for all kinds of players. So, to say LEGO Star Wars games are popular would be a LEGO Death Star-sized understatement. And it’s been almost four years since the release of the series’ last entry, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Well, LEGO Star Wars is about to strike back. In a big way.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, arriving later this year for the Xbox One family of devices, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC, will span all nine Skywalker saga films, feature hundreds of playable characters and ships, and allow fans to start at any point in the timeline — a first for the franchise. It looks to be the ultimate love letter to both the series, which began in 2005, and to its loyal fans. In celebration of Star Wars Day, StarWars.com is excited to reveal the game’s key art below — a vibrant image that beautifully pays tribute to each trilogy —  and we also caught up with Jonathan Smith, head of production and strategic director at TT Games, and Craig Derrick, managing producer at Lucasfilm Games, to discuss the development of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. […]

StarWars.com: I love that you can start the game at any point in the saga.

Jonathan Smith: Freedom of choice is a really important principle for us! We love stories and storytelling; but we also feel, both as gamers ourselves and with particular concern for young players driven to experimentation and change, that stories exist to be played with, however the player wants.

Craig Derrick: We all have our favorites that we want to jump straight into, while others may want to start with the new trilogy first, and yet we find most want to start at the beginning of the saga to see and play from where the story all began.

StarWars.com: There are also hundreds of playable characters. It’s pretty astonishing. Beyond the main heroes and villains, how did you pick what lesser-known characters to include? And if you’re able to say, which new character are you most excited for fans to use?

Jonathan Smith: We’re all fans; there’s no shortage of characters we’d love to play with. And you can’t ask us to pick a single favorite! It’s the fact that the whole cast is brought together, uniquely in this LEGO form — the complete collection, from Admiral Ackbar to Zorii Bliss — which makes the game so special.

Craig Derrick: There are nearly 500 characters in this game, with many of them playable. When choosing characters for a game this large, we just looked at every film in the saga and tried to say “yes” as much as possible. That said, it often comes down to storytelling and the specific role of the character in the quests and game progression. Of course, we have almost all of your favorite heroes and villains from the films, many background players, a few surprises, and…Yaddle! […]”

Official video: “Celebrating May the 4th in a Galaxy Far, Far Away”

From Star Wars:

“Today, we celebrate the Force with us all. Happy Star Wars Day and May the 4th Be With You!”

See the Disney+ poster for the complete Skywalker saga

From Star Wars:

“The complete Skywalker Saga, all in one place. Stream all 9 movies this May the 4th, only on #DisneyPlus.”