Star Wars Theory: Palpatine Was Originally a Jedi
Emperor Palpatine is the living embodiment of evil in the Star Wars universe, but, curiously, we don’t know much about his backstory. Was he always so evil, or is it possible he started out good? Previously, before Disney declared all Expanded Universe stories non-canon in 2015, Palpatine’s backstory was told in James Luceno’s 2012 novel Darth Plagueis. Palpatine was born to a noble Naboo family and had a thirst for power from the beginning, which ultimately drove him to slaughter his family to become the Sith apprentice of Darth Plagueis.
Star Wars villains are often sympathetic characters
Since this backstory was retconned by Disney’s rebranding of the Expanded Universe as Legends, it remains to be seen how Disney will flesh out Palpatine’s backstory. Lucasfilm has always had a tendency to make Star Wars villains more sympathetic by giving them a backstory that shows them evolving from good to evil. We, of course, saw this with the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy, but it doesn’t stop there. Cavan Scott’s original audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost tells the story of Count Dooku’s more righteous beginnings before exploring his slow progression to the dark side. The good to evil trend continues with Asajj Ventress and Kylo Ren.
