Star Wars: Colin Trevorrow Reveals Who Had the Idea to Bring Back Emperor Palpatine for The Rise of Skywalker

Filmmaker Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of the final entry in the Skywalker Saga back in 2015, with Lucasfilm revealing they were parting ways with the director in 2017, leading audiences to wonder how far into the development process the Jurassic World director had gotten on the film. While it was recently revealed that Trevorrow would be receiving a story credit on the film, the filmmaker pointed out that finding a way to bring Emperor Palpatine back into the fold was a decision made by replacement director J.J. Abrams, though it’s still unclear how drastically the narrative will differ from Trevorrow’s initial concept.

“Bringing back the Emperor was an idea J.J. brought to the table when he came on board,” Trevorrow revealed to Empire. “It’s honestly something I never considered. I commend him for it. This was a tough story to unlock, and he found the key.”

Numerous reports have emerged since Trevorrow’s departure about the reason for the exit, but with the split happening before Star Wars: The Last Jedi even landed in theaters, it would seem as though Abrams had almost complete creative control over the direction he wanted his final film to take. The recent development that Trevorrow would receive a credit on the film, however, seemingly implies some of the beats of the story he pitched were either approved by Lucasfilm for inclusion or that Abrams’ original concept ended up aligning with Trevorrow’s plans.

Trevorrow did note that some of his ideas were embraced by the film, which he was grateful for.

“I’m not sure anyone who chooses the creative life should expect things,” the filmmaker shared. “But I’m grateful to J.J. for embracing some of our ideas. It’s exciting that fans will get to see the moments that felt essential to all of us.”

Earlier this year, Disneyland opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, an entire attraction devoted to the galaxy far, far away. The opening of the park saw the debut of the TIE Echelon ship, which was confirmed as being part of Trevorrow’s plan for the sequel, cementing his ideas in the franchise’s history.

“The Imagineering team asked us to develop a new ship for the park while we were designing the film,” Trevorrow shared with Collider after confirming he created the ship. “I took it pretty seriously—it’s not every day you get to be a part of something like that. They let me see what they were working on, so I got to see what Galaxy’s Edge was going to be. I think what they’ve created is incredible. It’s such an immersive experience.”

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands in theaters on December 20th.

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