This 'Star Wars IX' Theory Explains the Return of Palpatine and His Connection to Snoke and Kylo Ren
In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Emperor Palpatine tells young Anakin Skywalker about a Sith lord named Darth Plagueis.
"Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life," Palpatine explains. "He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying ... The only thing he was afraid of was losing his power. And fortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep."
This apprentice, as you may have guessed, was Palpatine, who we now know will be returning in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Fans have long theorized that Palpatine could somehow return using the techniques he learned from Plagueis.
But, one Reddit user has taken this theory one step further, and explains how Plagueis also connects to Snoke and Kylo Ren. So, why, this user asks, if Plagueis was so powerful, did he "lose his power" and not anticipate his apprentice killing him?
The truth is, he didn't lose his power and he knew Sheev planned to kill him. It was part of the plan. By dying, I believe Darth Plagueis was able to transmit himself into Sheev and assume control of his body, almost like an infectious disease.
Plagueis, he points out, sounds a lot like plague (Star Wars has never been known for subtlety).
Darth Plagueis unlocked the secret to immortality by moving from one body to the next, continuing his lifespan through multiple hosts over countless years. Ever wonder why Palpatine was so obsessed with training a powerful young apprentice? Surely he knew that one day the apprentice would want to overthrow him, so why train his own murderer? In Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine continually provokes Luke to strike him down. Why would Palpatine want to be killed if the goal is longevity? Because Emperor Palpatine was assumed by Darth Plagueis and, through his death, he would then be able to transmit himself into a new host body. He wasn't just looking for an apprentice, he was looking for a new body since Palpatine's body was growing old. Luke Skywalker was meant to be the next host body for Darth Plagueis. But unfortunately for Plagueis, Darth Vader had a change of heart and defeated the Emperor.
That's the last we've seen of Palpatine in the Skywalker Saga until the upcoming Episode IX. As the user explains, Snoke-whose identity remains a controversial secret-is described as a seeker and collector of arcane and ancient memorabilia and lore.
At some point, Snoke must have found the wreckage of the Death Star on the forest moon Endor, and was infected by Darth Plagueis when he came upon the corpse of Palpatine. Did you ever wonder why Snoke thought it was so important to complete Kylo Ren's training? It's because Snoke was Darth Plagueis and he was training his next host body. Plagueis didn't have a choice but to infect a really old political influencer like Snoke. Kylo was being groomed to become the next host body.
Remember the infamous scene in The Last Jedi where Snoke is "predicting" how Kylo Ren will kill Rey? Wasn't it a little too obvious? Wouldn't Snoke have been able to foresee Kylo's treachery? See through his conflict? It's because he wasn't predicting Rey's death, he predicted his own. He knew Kylo would kill him. He deliberately bullied and provoked Kylo in order to stir his anger into hatred to further fuel his dark side and lead him to completing his training.
It's true that after the death of Snoke, Kylo Ren's allegiances changed pretty quickly.
Then, after Kylo killed Snoke, he told Rey that they should just "leave it all behind". He told her to forget the First Order and the Resistance. But then, suddenly, when Rey turned him down, Kylo Ren became the new Supreme Leader... Why? If Kylo wanted to burn it all down, why is he suddenly taking charge and leading the First Order attacks against the Skywalkers and the Resistance?
Because as soon as Kylo defeated Snoke, Darth Plagueis infected him. He is no longer Kylo Ren, he is now assumed by Darth Plagueis, and it is Darth Plague's desire to rule.
In Episode IX, I believe Rey and company will discover this secret in the ruins of the second Death Star. Emperor Palpatine will not be alive. He will either be a haunting spirit or he will merely be a recording that provides insight to the secret of cheating death.
With this new found information, Rey will use the knowledge of the sacred texts and call upon the help of former Jedi Masters in order to save Kylo Ren from Darth Plagueis.
So, obviously, a lot of this is pretty deep fan fiction, but it's still an interesting theory that actually connects with some previous leaks about Star Wars IX. Back in October, a brief description of Palpatine returning leaked online, and described a scene pretty similar to the one this theory predicts.
Some Reddit users have wondered in the comments how Plagueis would have survived the years before he inhabited Snoke. There are certainly ways to write around that: Maybe he jumped from host to host before finding Snoke? Or, as one person suggested, maybe Snoke was an officer on the new Death Star when it crashed?
It's only a matter of time until we know the truth this December.
('You Might Also Like',)
