Star Wars Throwback Pic Shows Palpatine With a Jedi Mickey Mouse

Topplaywriting – Palpatine actor Ian McDiarmid befriends a fellow Star Wars alum and Jedi Master Mickey Mouse in a fun photo from Disney World’s Star Wars Weekends. In celebration of Ian McDiarmid’s birthday, Revenge of the Sith star Amy Allen shares a throwback photo of the Star Wars actor alongside a Force-sensitive Mickey Mouse. McDiarmid first appeared as the evil Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in 1983’s Return of the Jedi (before being added to the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back). In the original trilogy, the Emperor rules the Galactic Empire as his apprentice, Darth Vader, and the stormtroopers enforce order. George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels unveiled his past as the charismatic politician Sheev Palpatine, who operated as a Sith Lord in secret.

The Phantom Menace, Palpatine is presented as an altruistic and rational Galactic Senator from the planet Naboo—who’s actually behind the Trade Federation’s blockade and invasion of Naboo. This duplicity continues throughout the prequels as he orchestrates the Clone Wars, lures Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, and executes Order 66, extinguishing the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Its in Return of the Jedi that Luke Skywalker redeems his father, who then seemingly puts an end to the Emperor and his Empire. Nearly four decades after McDiarmid’s Star Wars debut, he’s one of the most recognizable cinematic villains of all time.

Jedi Aayla Secura in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, recently took to Instagram to wish McDiarmid a happy 78th birthday. In the post, she thanks the actor for being the nicest Emperor while showing photos of him at Walt Disney World’s last annual Star Wars Weekends in 2015. McDiarmid alongside a robed Mickey Mouse is somewhat symbolic of the House of Mouse bringing Star Wars back to vibrant life. Following Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the sequel trilogy continued the stories of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa, and even Palpatine. Piggybacking off of his Revenge of the Sith monologue about Darth Plagueis and cheating death, 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.

Yoda & Palpatine Taught Luke & Anakin The Exact Same Lesson. Yoda and Palpatine could not be more different teachers, and yet their lessons to Luke and Anakin Skywalker perfectly mirror each other. Palpatine’s teachings to Anakin in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith secretly mirror Yoda’s lessons to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. The original Star Wars movies and the prequels, two very different trilogies, deal with the Force and with the concept of Jedi in different ways – a consequence of how George Lucas was always trying to expand and reinvent the saga. That said, there are thematic similarities between both trilogies, especially regarding how similar to his children Anakin was written.

No matter in which order a person watches Star Wars, chronologically or by release, these thematic parallels become evident. Obviously, there are also some Star Wars canon mistakes created by the non-linear releasing strategy, such as the question of why Leia remembers her mother. Still, despite the retcons, George Lucas managed to create a series of movies that worked as one single story – the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. One element that helped bridge the Star Wars prequels with the originals is the presence of key characters in both trilogies, including Yoda and Palpatine.