Please don’t be a clone. Please don’t be a clone. PUH-LEASE!!!

According to the mighty interweb’s most recent rumors, Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine will appear in Star Wars Episode 7. This is all strictly unconfirmed rumoring, so we don’t know too much more than that simple statement, but hopefully ol’ Palpy won’t be any more significant than a flashback. As you probably know, after dying at the hands of Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine returned nearly a dozen times thanks to his handy, dandy clone facilities. Just like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Sidious was able to reform his ‘soul’ after dying, and transferred it into mindless bodies on a super secret world.

Cheesy, right?

Here’s what Jedi News’s exclusive source had to say about the subject:

“The specifics of the role are unclear,” they say. “But it seems likely that McDiarmid will be returning to his signature role of Palpatine. Whether as the original [Palpatine] or a clone of, we are yet to discern.”

Flashback, or GTFO. Honestly, I would rather the entire cast of villains from Episodes 1-6 were brushed under the kitchen carpet, instead of dragging them onto the silver screen for one last round of “ooohs” and “ahhhs”. Not to sound trite, but the Prequels really butchered that story TOO DAMN MUCH.

Although, it wouldn’t really make sense for the New Republic and Luke Skywalker’s new breed of Jedi to be completely unaffected by the sins of their father’s. In fact, I’m sure (as much as I hate to say it) Vader and Palpatine will influence the invents of the new trilogy, through legacy alone.

SOURCE: JEDI NEWS