Star Wars Episode VII May Have Another Surprise Returning Character

Is this the hand of [spoiler]?

We know there’s going to be quite a few OT characters making their return in Episode VII— Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia will all definitely be back, and there have been rumors that we may even see Darth Vader in some context (possibly a flashback).

And now we have another, even more surprising return, according to the rumor by the often reliable Latino Review… Emperor Palpatine.  Yup, supposedly he somehow survived being tossed down that nuclear reactor shaft in Return of the Jedi, and is back pulling the strings of the new Inquisitor bad guys.  How MUCH of him survived is another interesting note… one of Episode VII‘s bad guys is going to be a cyborg (you can see his hand in that “thank you” note above from JJ Abrams, and a full pic of him HERE).  But this may actually turn out to be a post-exploded Palpatine, which would explain why he looks so different and will no longer be played by Ian Mcdiarmid.

If this is true, I’m not saying it will ruin the movie, but it does feel a little less inspired than some of the other returns.  Sure, having your villain (whose death was, technically off-screen) return in the sequel is very in line with Star Wars’ pulpy, serial sci-fi influences, but this will only work if the Emperor’s return is actually woven into the story with a purpose.  We saw the prequels do the Family Guy style call backs to lines and characters, and we all know how that worked out.  So far, it seems like Abrams and his team have some more intriguing ideas for the OT cast this time out, and I’m hoping that extends to Palpatine as well.

What do you think– would you be happy to have the Emperor back as the main villain again, or were you looking forward to some totally fresh faces to menace our heroes in the new films?

Source: Latino Review