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Ian McDiarmid: “I’m not in Star Wars Episode VII”

July 18th, 2014 by Marc 3 Comments

Well, it looks like old Emperor Palpatine isn’t going to be the villain in the new Star Wars Episode… and this is straight from the Horse’s mouth. But he may be back… at some point.

Dark Horizons drew our attention to the video below which was filmed at the London Film and Comic-Con in which Palpatine himself, Ian McDiarmid, talks about his involvement, or lack of, in Episode VII: “I’m definitely not in it. As you know, he’s dead by then. I know, we believe in reincarnation, and holograms…”

However, he adds: “But you know, they are going to take many twists on the story as the years go on, and I guess they may go back to a time – I’ve got no clue, I’m speaking off the top of my head – when the Emperor ran the universe. And I don’t want anyone else to play him, do I?” 

Wait, did he just hint that the period in which the Emperor ruled may be something that is explored later? Perhaps in the spin-offs? Will the Empire be thriving in the spin-off movies, with Palpatine in the background? Probably not… but still, let’s run with it!

The cast for Episode VII includes Pip Anderson, Crystal Clarke, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the Saga Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18th, 2015.

Full interview below:

Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….