Ian McDiarmid Responds To 'Very Good' Palpatine Prequel Series Rumor

Actor Ian McDiarmid is best known for his role as Emperor Palpatine in several Star Wars projects.

Although the back story of many popular characters in a galaxy far, far away are getting prequel stories, Emperor Palpatine's past still remains shrouded in mystery.

On Thursday, Star Wars Celebration kicked off in Anaheim, California. The annual fan event celebrates all things Star Wars and gives fans a sneak peek of what's to come.

Although Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cassian Andor, Mon Mothma, Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, and many more have had their stories expanded on through movies and Disney+ live-action series, Ian McDiarmid would like to see a Disney+ series dedicated to his character as well.

During a panel at Star Wars Celebration last Thursday, McDiarmid was asked about his thoughts concerning an Emperor Palpatine prequel series. The interviewer brought up the fan casting of Tom Hiddleston to play a young Emperor Palpatine, based on fan art that has been circulating online. Hiddleston, of course, is no stranger to the Disney franchise. He plays the trickster Loki in the Marvel franchise and even got a Disney+ dedicated to his character late last year.

The comments McDiarmid made at the panel were transcribed by IGN. When asked about the rumor of Tom Hiddleston playing a young Emperor Palpatine, McDiarmid replied, "I think it's a very good rumor."

He continued, "I think you could do that with practically any of the characters to whom it has not been done already. We saw [Palpatine] rise when he was 50, didn’t we? What did he go through to get there, and how did Sidious come about?"

"I think all of that is very interesting, and no doubt there are people as we speak somewhere around this city thinking along those lines," he added. "It would be great."

It seems like there are no plans for a prequel series for his character in the works at the moment, but even McDiarmid seems to be having fun speculating on the possibility.

When asked if he would consider reprising his role as a young Palpatine, McDiarmid replied, "Anyone younger than 78 is probably more suited to the part than me."

"And here comes the qualifying bit: although, have you seen what they can do with faces?" he asked. "I’d better leave it at that."

Although fans loved seeing Mark Hamill play a de-aged Luke Skywalker in the season 2 finale of "The Mandalorian," the de-aging technology of the late Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing in 2016's "Rogue One" left much to be desired.

Although technology is getting better all the time, it seems unlikely that Lucasfilm will decide to explore Emperor Palpatine's back story. The last Star Wars movie to hit theaters was 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker," which many felt was a lackluster conclusion to the nine-episode Skywalker Saga.

At the beginning of the film, Oscar Isaac's character Poe Dameron announces to the Resistance forces that Emperor Palpatine has somehow returned. It still hasn't been fleshed out exactly how Palpatine was able to survive so there is room for a potential back story to be explored.

That being said, the lackluster reception to his return, and to the sequel trilogy in general, seems to have pushed Lucasfilm in another direction. Last Friday, Disney released the first two episodes of the highly anticipated "Obi-Wan Kenobi" six-episode limited series.

On Thursday, other panels revealed that "Andor" will debut later this year and get a second season that is expected to air in 2023. Jude Law will be starring in a brand new Star Wars series called "Skeleton Crew," which seems to channel the vibes of "The Goonies" into a galaxy far, far away.

If that wasn't enough, Lucasfilm also announced that season 3 of "The Mandalorian" will be released on Disney+ in February 2023. The "Ahsoka" series began production earlier this month and is also expected to be released in 2023 as well. Fans are also excited to hear more information about "The Acolyte" series.

So although it seems unlikely that Emperor Palpatine will get his own Disney+ series - and even less likely that Ian McDiarmid would star in it - at least there is still plenty of Star Wars content for fans to look forward to.