Wild 'Star Wars 9' theory explains Snoke, Rey, and Palps’ return all at once
It all comes down to clones.
Fans have long been speculating about whether or not Rey will be revealed to be Emperor Palpatine’s clone in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, especially after the latest trailer showed “Dark Rey” wielding a rad new red lightsaber. Now, a bold new theory explains that Palpatine actually created more than one clone, including himself. Confused? Let’s dive in.
Warning! Speculative spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below.
Redditor u/Mr_Berger1 theorizes that the Palpatine who died in The Return of the Jedi was actually a clone, leaving the real Palps to roam the outer regions of the galaxy to continue his work. However, since the former emperor would’ve probably made backups of his backups, he may have created more than one clone to help execute every aspect of his plan.
That’s right, in a strange twist, Palpatine, Supreme Leader Snoke, and Rey could all be clones of the original emperor. Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, yes and no. There’s no telling how far Episode IX will go in terms of cloning — one theory even proposed that the entire Sith Fleet are clones of Jango Fett — but this theory might be onto something.
Is Snoke a clone? Is that why he looks like this?
Why would Palpatine clone himself, though? Think about what the Galactic Empire looked like prior to his demise. They were losing to a puny Rebellion that had already destroyed one Death Star and was about to blow up a second one. Smelling weakness among his own ranks, Palpatine might’ve wanted to “purge the weaker people in the Empire, leaving the strong to inherit the First Order,” as this theory argues.
And why not? Palps could’ve absolutely tricked the empire into thinking he was gone, let everyone fall into a false sense of security before returning stronger than ever.
“It is probable that the first clone of Palpatine wasn’t perfect, this would be Snoke, just another clone pawn to fool everyone while Palpatine builds up the first order,” u/Mr_Berger1 writes, potentially explaining the Supreme Leader’s scarred appearance in The Last Jedi.
It sounds like it’s reaching a bit, right? But, if we’re to look back on Snoke’s history (that we admittedly don’t know much about) and the knowledge and power he’s amassed between the downfall of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the First Order, it’s not outside the realm of possibility to think that he’s just a pawn in Palps’ plan. After all, it’s long been speculated that Snoke wasn’t working on his own and that he either knew Palpatine prior to his death or that he’s been playing host to Palps’ essence the whole time.
Finally, the theory claims that “Rey is a Palpatine and was brought into the world for the express purpose to stamp out the Skywalker bloodline. Once this is done, she will probably be hunted down and destroyed.”
Recent leaks claiming that Rey could be Palpatine’s granddaughter are one thing, but the idea that the Emperor created her in a lab using his own DNA expressly to destroy the Skywalker is a bridge too far — even for us.
If Palps is a clone, it explains why he wants to be rejuvenated to the 'Episode VI' version of himself.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20, 2019.
