canon reveals about Star Wars' Darth Sidious have been few and far between aside from those in the nine mainline movies.

For the most part, Palpatine is expected to have a minimal role in story of Rey's New Jedi Order movie, further expanding his timeline in the Star Wars franchise. With that in mind, it is worth exploring the many elements of his story revealed in the Skywalker Saga thus far, complete with his plans, betrayals, manipulations, and depictions of Sith evil.

Palpatine's Origin Before The Star Wars Movies

Palpatine's Backstory Is Shrouded In Mystery

Given the way Palpatine has long been involved with the Sith, his history before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is incredibly vague. The character was a master of secrecy, with only certain elements known about his early life. Sadly, these elements could have been fleshed out further in The Acolyte season 2 before the show's cancelation, given that it teased the introduction of Palpatine's Sith master, Darth Plagueis. Regardless, Palpatine's earliest years center around the planet of Naboo.

Born as Sheev Palpatine, the character was raised in Naboo's capital city, Theed. Palpatine was raised around the planet's political landscape, meaning he became savvy in manipulation from an early age. Eventually, Palpatine became Naboo's senator and was involved in the Galactic Republic, all while training under Darth Plagueis in the ways of the Sith. Balancing his training with increasing his political influence, Palpatine learned everything from Plagueis as the two sought immortal life. At some point before The Phantom Menace, Palpatine killed Plagueis, becoming the Star Wars’ vast galaxy.

Palpatine's Clone Wars Plan & Creation Of The Empire

Palpatine's Plans For Domination Were Enacted In The Prequel Trilogy

After killing Plagueis and solidifying his place within the Galactic Senate, Palpatine manipulated his way to becoming the Supreme Chancellor. This came after he set the Trade Federation on a path of segregation from the Republic, resulting in more planets following their example. This kickstarted the timeline of Star Wars' Clone Wars, during which Palpatine controlled both the Republic and the Separatists. Palpatine's plan was complex in the minutia, yet simple enough to understand when looking at the big picture: he wanted to sew discontent throughout the galaxy during the prequel era.

As the galaxy fell further into chaos, the power of the Sith grew, and that of the Jedi Order diminished. Similarly, Palpatine's political influence grew as the Republic looked to him for guidance. One of the primary parts of Palpatine's plan was creating the eponymous clone army of the Clone Wars. Palpatine embedded inhibitor chips inside the clones, eventually activating these chips in an event known as Order 66.

Order 66 was a purge of Palpatine's main enemies, the Jedi Order. The 10000 Jedi that roamed the galaxy were betrayed by the Clones they believed they could trust, resulting in a small handful of Star Wars. Afterward, Palpatine faced little resistance when he activated the final steps of his plan: the formation of the Galactic Empire. As the sole leader of the Republic and with the Jedi all but extinct, Palpatine became the galaxy's supreme ruler as the first-ever Galactic Empire was formed.

Palpatine's Plans During The Dark Times

Palpatine Looked Solely To Secure His Power

During the reign of the Empire, set between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Palpatine's main goal was simple: security. Be that the security of the Empire and its power or the consolidation of his long-lasting plans, the Emperor was fixated. Regarding the former, Palpatine formed the Inquisitorius, headed by Anakin Skywalker under his dark side guise as Darth Vader, to hunt down and kill any remaining Jedi that slipped through the cracks of Order 66.

Beyond using Palpatine's Project Necromancer was put into place as a means of ensuring his life and fulfilling the search for immortality that began with Plagueis via cloning midi-chlorians into other bodies.

Palpatine's Great Mistakes During The Galactic Civil War

Many Aspects Contributed To The Rise Of The Rebel Alliance

The next point on the Galactic Empire's timeline under Palpatine comes with the onset of the original trilogy: the Galactic Civil War. Palpatine's need for complete control ended up being a grave mistake, with the pressure he placed on the rest of the galaxy leading to outright rebellion. Led by Star Wars' Rebel Alliance, Palpatine's rule faced opposition as the people of the galaxy looked to be free of his tyranny. One big mistake was his oversight during the Death Star's construction, which allowed Galen Erso to implement a failsafe that saw it destroyed, loosening Palpatine's overall grip on the galaxy.

Palpatine's next mistake was underestimating Luke Skywalker and his connection to Darth Vader. Palpatine assumed that the allure of the dark side was strong enough to result in the death of Luke or his father, as both of them grapple to become the underling of the Emperor. However, the father-son bond between Anakin and Luke was enough to see them rise above this, ending Palaptine's reign as the Galactic Emperor for good in Return of the Jedi.

Palpatine's Death & Resurrection

Return Of The Jedi Was Not The End For Palpatine

As alluded to with Palpatine's plans during the dark times, the Emperor's "death" was not the end of his tyranny. Project Necromancer eventually worked, with some of the Imperial remnants of Star Wars' New Republic era committed to seeing Palpatine resurrected using the cloning technology that was apparently perfected decades prior. As Poe Dameron so eloquently puts it in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, somehow, Palpatine returned. Unbeknownst to Poe, that "somehow" involved failed clones, Supreme Leader Snoke, the First Order, and a hidden Sith planet known as Exegol.

Palpatine's "Family" & Rey

Palpatine's Cloning Plan Did Not Always Come Out As Intended

An element that is loosely linked to Palpatine's resurrection is his "family." As Palpatine and his cultists searched for a way to create a clone with the full Force potential of his own, many failures occurred. One such "failure" was named Dathan, one of the few perfectly healthy bodies that Palpatine's Project Necromancer managed to create. However, the clone known as Dathan did not have a strong connection to the Force and was mistreated by his "father" Palpatine as a result, forcing the former to eventually abandon his homeworld.

Dathan appears briefly in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, played by Billy Howle.

Dathan eventually settled on the planet of Jakku, far from the Emperor's limited reach. There, Dathan met Miramir and the two started a family. The couple conceived a daughter, Rey, who was incredibly powerful in the Force. As many Star Wars fans well know, Rey's journey was explored in the sequel trilogy, leading her to find out that she is - by way of cloning - the "granddaughter" of Emperor Palpatine.

The Rise Of The First Order & Palpatine's Final Defeat

Palpatine's Own Failed Experiments Led To His Ultimate Downfall

Another of Palpatine's "failed" clone attempts was the body of Supreme Leader Snoke. Via Snoke, Palpatine began manipulating the evildoers of the galaxy, eventually forming the First Order. With what was essentially another brewing Empire under his command, Palpatine used Snoke's body to bring the galaxy to submission once more with the help of Ben Solo as the dark Kylo Ren. Eventually, Palpatine unveiled that it was him behind the rise of the First Order and enacted the Final Order: a fleet of Star Destroyers armed with Death Star-like weapons to destroy every planet that opposes him.

Using the connection between Rey and Ben Solo, Palpatine siphons enough energy to finally complete his fully Force-sensitive clone body...

The last step in Palpatine's long, almost century-long plan was unleashing the power of Star Wars' Force Dyad. Using the connection between Rey and Ben Solo, Palpatine siphons enough energy to finally complete his fully Force-sensitive clone body. Just as he is about to get everything he has worked towards, Rey connects with the past Jedi and defeats him, putting an end to Emperor Palpatine and his long plan once and for all and freeing the Star Wars galaxy.