PT Chancellor Palpatine is Darth Sidious/The Emperor - Did you know it before RotS?

I thought he was from the get go, but because of 'I am your father', 'she's your sister', 'he's the clone father of all of them', 'he actually built him when he was a kid' and so on, it didn't really surprise me that some people were expecting some kind of a revelatory twist with regard to his true identity.

 

Was it?

When was it actually confirmed though?

The name Palpatine was around a long time but the direct connection to the Emperor or the much later Sidious was not actually confirmed until ROTS though simply from the same actor playing the part.

It was one of those it's so obvious that maybe it's a trick kind of things.

It's like saying that someone knew that Vader was Anakin and all the clues were there in the first movie except of course they weren't because at that time he really wasn't but because of the other movies it now looks that way.

 

The ANH novelization explicitly says that Senator Palpatine became Emperor. It is a simple matter of deduction to realize that he was Darth Sidious too.

 

I knew there was an Emperor from watching a ANH back in '77. I didn't know he was called Palpatine until years later as I hadn't read any of the novelisations at the time. I got into the literature some time in the 90s and knew who Palpatine was by the time the prequels were announced.

When Ian McDiarmid was announced as part of the TPM cast it was obvious to me straight away exactly who he was going to play. As soon as Sidious appeared in the movie and opened his mouth it took about 2 seconds for me to work out that they were one and the same.

 

I've always known, since the emperor could use the force and Vader always called him master, so it wasn't hard to connect the dots.

 

I thought it was rather evident always that Palpatine would become the Emperor, but whether Sidious was going to prove the same individual was a toss-up in TPM, but became rather evident in my eyes in AotC. Of course I, like many bright-eyed lil'uns, were more concerned with the fun bits than the Sith machinations at the time.

Personally, I think it could have been fun to have Sidious turn out to be someone else entirely separate from the Chancellor, with the two of them proving to be evil plotters/schemers, but that's me being wistful.

 

TPM was the first full-fledged SW movie I saw. Even at a young age, it was evident. I had previously seen scenes of ROTJ, so I knew who the Emperor was. All I had left was speculation on how kindly, old Palpatine turned into the grotesque (and yet awesome) Emperor we see in the OT.

 

I had seen the OT first, so that gives it away.

But even without that, it isn't hard to figure it out just by watching TPM.
As others have said, the pan over to Palpatine at the end is a very clear signal.
Also Ian has distinctive enough facial features that one can see that Sidious and Palpatine look very much alike. Even with the hood.

Bye for now.
Old Stoneface

 

I remember being in these forums back between AOTC and ROTS, and a few obstinate people just refusing to believe Sidious and Palpatine were one in the same, almost to the point of trolling. There was a particularly intricate clone theory put forth that was utterly ridiculous. I guess for some it was just too obvious, and prompted the need to bog down a fairly simple plot device with contrived wild speculation.

 

Realized it in may 2005, just before RotS was released, when I was reading an article about Star Wars saga in a magazine. Hey, I was 11

 

Since I had read the novelisations of the OT movies I knew that senator Palpatine was the same as the Emperor. However, I doubted that Senator Palpatine was Darth Sidious. I remember I reading speculation before the release of TPM that Sidious would seduce Palpatine to the dark side and then Palpatine would become a Sith Lord before they set about planning Anakin's fall.

But the way the camera lingered on Palpatine at the end of TPM definitely convinced me he was Sidious.

 

Frankly, I was shocked when ROTS came out by how many people didn't know. My father (who had to come with me to the midnight premiere, given that I was eleven, and whom I tend to regard as the embodiment of the casual/lay viewer of SW), for instance, expressed his surprise that Palpatine turned out to be Sidious. As someone who grew up with the PT, I cannot remember a time when I did not know. It is not as if it were a big secret - or at least, I did not know that it was meant to be a secret to the viewer, even though it was to the characters.

It says at the very beginning of the novelisation of ANH (then just 'Star Wars') that Senator Palpatine became Emperor. Obviously, the Emperor was the same as Darth Sidious (unless Darths Vader, Maul, and Tyranus took their orders from different masters) and, therefore, Palpatine was Sidious. The camera fixed on Palpatine at the end of TPM, and they were played by the same actor - the very same actor who played 'The Emperor' in ROTJ.

On the other hand, I did not realise that the clones became stormtroopers. I remember before ROTS came out speculating that the stormtroopers (whence they came, I knew not) killed all the clones. That seems absurd now, but such is the benefit of hindsight ....

 

Sadly I knew since age 4
Of all people, my mom, who introduced me to SW, spoiled it

 

I remember reading the ROTJ novel sometime in the 90's and it called him Emperor Palpatine (as others have already said). Case closed!

 

I was 14 and had been into Star Wars for two months - I didn't realize it until he put his hood on. Yes, I am embarassed and should be.

I imagine that had I been introduced to the movies now, I would have figured it out when Palps started to manipulate Anakin more, early in RotS. Perhaps speculating on it even in TPM.

 

The first image of Darth Sidious made it obvious who is was.

 

It was pretty obvious.

 

I certainly knew going in, but after E1 I remember having to explain it to a few females not quite as familar with Star Wars as me.

 

I knew palpatine was the future emperor, but I didn't know he was also darth sidious during the first few viewings of TPM. At the time I figured palpatine would become sidious' new apprentice and then sidious would die so vader could join in. It wasn't until I found out online later that I put two and two together.

Didn't help that it isn't revealed in the credits. Probably also the reason there were so many sidious is a clone or other rumors floating around for years.

 

It would be amusing if somebody said, "Sidious and Maul are stupid characters. Bring back Palpatine and Vader."

 

I thought it was pretty obvious from the start that Palpatine = Darth Sidious = The Emperor.

 

Sidious looked like the Emperor. I cannot believe anyone would think otherwise.

 

I Knew from the get go, again having read the OT novelizations etc.
Watching TPM it never would have occurred to me that it was supposed to be a mystery, and judging by the chuckle that the line "And Young Skywalker, we shall take great interest in your future career" got, I don't think it surprised many others either. That said, it did occur to me that one reason there was no conversation between Dooku and Palpatine prior to Obi and Anakins arrival was because Lucas wanted to preserve a bit of mystery.

 

tons of people like to go see a sw movie but don't follow everything closely. for those people palps was that nice old president guy with white hair.