Sheev Palpatine or Darth Sidious is the main antagonist of the Star Wars franchise.
created by George Lucas. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back as The Emperor. He is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of the 1999 film The Phantom Menace. In the original film trilogy, Palpatine is the leader of the Galactic Empire and the master of Darth Vader. In the prequel trilogy, which chronicles his rise from Senator to Emperor, Palpatine orchestrates the invasion of his home planet Naboo in a plot to become Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. He then masterminds the Clone Wars to turn the Republic into the Empire. He also destroys the Jedi Order and manipulates Anakin Skywalker into becoming his apprentice, Darth Vader. In The Rise of Skywalker (2019), a resurrected Palpatine is revealed to be the grandfather of Rey, a Jedi-in-training. He is also the mastermind behind Snoke, whom he created to lead the First Order against the New Republic and seduce Skywalker's grandson, Ben Solo, into becoming Kylo Ren. Palpatine is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in all five films in which he physically appears.[b]
The character's story was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Gengis Khan, Iván IV the terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler, Richard Nixon and Alberto Fujimori. Since the release of the original trilogy, Palpatine has become a widely recognized symbol of evil in popular culture. Since the prequel trilogy, he has been a symbol of sinister deception and the subversion of democracy. In addition to the films, Palpatine appears in various Star Wars media, including Clone Wars (2003–2005), The Clone Wars (2008–14, 2020), Rebels (2014–2018), The Bad Batch (2021–2024), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Star Wars: Tales (2022–), all of which take place before the original trilogy.
