Emperor Palpatine Has Had Sex, But That’s Not How Rey Happened
When a Sith and an alien love each other very much...
Sometimes, it’s hard to imagine Star Wars characters as people. They’re basically mythical figures, so when Luke chugs a tall glass of blue milk or Anakin talks about his sensory issues with sand, it can become a laughable yet touchingly human moment for some of the galaxy’s most iconic characters. But one character’s inhumanity has only added to his reputation: Sheev Palpatine. From his modest origins in the Senate to his climatic return to life, he’s loomed large over Star Wars in part because he’s so enigmatic.
However, a new quote from the actor who brought Palpatine to life revealed a very intimate detail about the Emperor, one that answers a lengthy, passionate, and very silly fan debate.
In an interview with Empire for the prequel trilogy’s 25th anniversary, actor Ian McDiarmid revealed Palpatine is a normal man with normal desires, including a sexual history. “Yes, he does [have sex],” McDiarmid said. “It’s a horrible idea to think of Palpatine having sex in any shape or form.”
Coruscant’s biggest heartthrob.
But just because Palpatine has scored and has a granddaughter in Rey, that doesn’t mean Ray was born through typical procreation. Canonically, she’s the daughter of a “strandcast,” a failed, non-Force-sensitive Palpatine clone. Still, this quote confirms that the Imperialis, Palpatine’s pleasure craft, clearly had more activities available than just shuffleboard.
Theories about Palpatine’s love life have swirled for as long as he’s been around. In the non-canon Legends timeline, Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard had a close relationship with the Emperor, and her end, at least, was romantic. “Is it any surprise that I would be attracted to the brightest star in the galaxy?” she said in X-Wing: Isard’s Revenge, published in 1999. “He could look you in the eyes and touch the person that you were. He lived for his dream of a stable galaxy. And he died for it.”
Background character Sly Moore may have been Palpatine’s mistress.
There were also rumors surrounding Palpatine and Sly Moore, the Umbaran mind manipulator who served as Palpatine’s senior administrative aide during the prequel era. Information released on the Star Wars website referred to her as “The Queen of the Empire,” and in the non-canon Legends timeline, she gave birth to a mutant three-eyed being known as Triclops. He was referred to as the son of Palpatine, but his exact origins were disputed.
Regardless, this quote would seem to confirm that Palpatine’s Sith practices didn’t include a ban on worldly attachments like the Jedi, and that Palpatine acted on his desires. Maybe he even has some other children — or grandchildren — still out there in the galaxy, plotting to reclaim his throne.
