A few weeks back, an excerpt from the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker novelization was released that expanded upon the opening scene of Episode IX, having Kylo Ren encounter a strange creature protecting the Sith Wayfinder.

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Not due out officially until March 17, some advance copies of the book were sold at C2E2 this weekend in Chicago, and a new passage is being passed around (h/t Screenrant ) that answers a huge mystery regarding the return of Emperor Palpatine This is what Kylo observed while visiting Exegol for the first time and seeing Palpatine still alive. Check it out..."All the vials were empty of liquid save one, which was nearly depleted. Kylo peered closer. He'd seen this apparatus before, too, when he'd studied the Clone Wars as a boy. The liquid flowing into the living nightmare before him was fighting a losing battle to sustain the Emperor's putrid flesh.""What could you give me?" Kylo asked. Emperor Palpatine lived, after a fashion, and Kylo could feel in his very bones that this clone body sheltered the Emperor's actual spirit. It was an imperfect vessel, though, unable to contain his immense power. It couldn't last much longer."It would appear that Palpatine's spirit, his essence, was now housed in a clone body - one that wasn't strong enough to maintain the Emperor's power. It isn't clear, however, if the galaxy's most dominant Sith Lord had gone through many clone bodies over the decades, using them until they basically disintegrated completely, or if he'd just resided in this single one - and was just now losing control of it.Check out our video breaking down how Emperor Palpatine is a clone and what additional details actor Ian McDiarmid revealed on the subject:This clone method of bringing Palpatine back is similar to how 1991's Star Wars: Dark Empire comic series had him return.For more on the Skywalker Saga, check out how Rise of Skywalker's Visual Dictionary answers a ton of key plot questions our explainer of the ending, and every Jedi that spoke to Rey in her final battle with the Emperor.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler