Star Wars: Ian McDiarmid Reveals if the Emperor Will Appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Obi-Wan Kenobi? The Star Wars series, streaming Friday on Disney+, reunites Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) a decade after the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Now the Dark Lord Darth Vader, Obi-Wan’s former apprentice hunts the Jedi with the Inquisitors: dark side Force users sent by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to eliminate the survivors of Order 66. But during a Star Wars Celebration panel on Thursday, McDiarmid warned fans not to “hope” to see his Sith Lord in the flesh in Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

“You will remember the very first Star Wars film subsequently titled A New Hope. The Emperor was present, or his presence was felt. But he never appeared,” McDiarmid told convention attendees during the Ian McDiarmid: An Audience with The Emperor panel. “He was sort of interpreted by Moff Tarkin, the great Peter Cushing. And then more recently in Rogue One, his presence was felt, but he never appeared.”

He continued, “So all I would say about future speculation is — if you’re expecting the Emperor to appear soon in flesh and blood — don’t get your hopes up.” 

McDiarmid played Chancellor and then Emperor Palpatine in the nine-episode Skywalker Saga, beginning with Return of the Jedi in 1983. (Series creator George Lucas inserted McDiarmid’s Emperor into the 2004 Special Edition release of 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, the shadowy villain first appearing by hologram after being mentioned in A New Hope.) 

In 2019, McDiarmid reprised his role as Darth Sidious for the first time since 2005 in the Skywalker Saga finale Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. A six-episode limited series, Obi-Wan Kenobi marks the Star Wars returns of McGregor, Christensen, and their prequel trilogy co-stars Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse, reprising their roles as the guardians of a young Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely). 

Obi-Wan Kenobi begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat: the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Starring Ewan McGregor, Moses Ingram, Rupert Friend, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Indira Varma, Sung Kang, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Benny Safdie, Kumail Nanjiani, and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming May 27 on Disney+.