Just curious, are we supposed to know Palpatine is the emperor when we are first introduced to him, or are we supposed to be shocked at his transformation and manipulation by the third film?
shareI think we are supposed to know. Though not mentioned in the originals, the merchandising clearly stated the Emperor's name is Palpatine...
shareI remembering knowing he was the Emperor when TPM came out and while I like Star Wars I never read any EU so I didnt get that information from books/comics
shareThere is no way we are not supposed to know that Palpatine was the Emperor. They all but vocally confirmed it in countless ways from the beginning.
shareMaybe a better question would be, if someone who had never seen Star Wars went to watch it in the "Lucas-approved" order (I-VI), do you think it would be obvious that Palpatine is Sidious? Do you think Lucas wanted it to be *objectively* clear? As opposed to knowing the story, where yes we are supposed to know that's Palpatine because its explicit
shareI think it is fair to say that you are supposed to know that Senator Palpatine is indeed Darth Sidious. Though it would be hard, but even if you didn't watch the originals trilogy thee were enough blatant parts that would make them aware. You see, initially I think when people watched the prequels, it was so blatantly obvious that people were expecting some sort of bait and switch, but unfortunately the obvious was just that. If Lucas thought or intended for the viewers to not know regardless if you watched the originals, then that is an insult to peoples intelligence.If you missed all the signs throughout TPM, It basically was told to you at the end when Yoda queried about who was killed, the master or apprentice and the screen panned to Palpatine. However, there are some really stupid people out there.
sharein this racist movie
by DoctorShemp
Maybe a better question would be, if someone who had never seen Star Wars went to watch it in the "Lucas-approved" order (I-VI), do you think it would be obvious that Palpatine is Sidious?
The whole scenario back in '99 was rather curious...
My brother and I only learned of The Emperor's name once Kenner released the "Power of the Force"' action figure line two years prior.
Up until that point the Emperor was always billed simply as "The Emperor", despite Lucas having had a name for him as early as the novelization of "Star Wars" (A New Hope).
So when the action figures for The Phantom Menace were released we saw one for "Senator Palpatine" and one for a wholly new character called "Darth Sidious".
My brother and I (13 and 10 respectively) just put it together before the movie came out; so the Senator is the wolf in sheep's clothing, and Sidious is the wolf himself.
As far as the script and the film itself, I think Lucas expected most of us to just know, while newcomers might actually be shocked if they were watching "in order".
Up until that point the Emperor was always billed simply as "The Emperor", despite Lucas having had a name for him as early as the novelization of "Star Wars" (A New Hope).He was known as Emperor Palpatine long before the "Power of the Force" toy line. share