PT How many people knew Darth Sidious was also Palpatine?

I've been wondering about this, how many people did Sidious let know he was also Palpatine? I think it was only a select few, I don't recall even Dooku or Grievous know their Master was also the Supeme Chancellor

 

Maul, Dooku, and Mas Amedda

 

I don't even think Mas did.

 

Surely Dooku. He told Obi-Wan the Senate was under Sidious' control. As to the others it's an open question. The films don't clarify and all the old EU is obsolete.

 

Mas gave Valorum bad advice, suggested that Palpatine get emergency powers, and witnessed Palpatine get called "Darth Sidious" and use Force Lightning.

 

I thought it was obvious and supposed to be obvious, I never realized it was a revelation until last year when I read that the Palpatine/Sidious reveal in the PT was the great surprise for those who watched the saga from ep 1 instead of from ep 4, replacing the surprise that Vader is Luke's father.

 

I thought everybody knew because we saw the stories in reverse order…with Return of the Jedi being out before The Phantom Menace.

 

It would have been cool if Gunray found out in his final moments of life.

 

To be fair, if you never read the supplementary material like the comics, books, etc, you really didn't know. He's never referred to as Palpatine in the OT. He's only ever "Emperor" (or "evil Emperor as some called him). And, if you were like me, and grew up in the decade and a half between the OT and the PT... you only ever saw Star Wars on VHS and nobody I knew ever bothered with watching the credits on their home releases. I was 6 when TPM came out. Add in that I never bothered with the credits, I never read the supplementary material beyond the visual dictionary, that I never connected that one actor played two characters one of which with heavy make up and a 16 years age difference... Sidious being Palpatine was a huge curveball to me. I knew Sidious was to become the Emperor... because they dressed exactly the same.... but I had no idea that they were all the same character.

 

It's left ambiguous who knew. But it can be inferred that Maul, Dooku and Mas Amedda knew. Sly Moore may have potentially known as well.

 

Oh I see the thread is asking which characters in the films knew…my bad…lol

 

The fewer people knew his secret, the better. I'd say only his apprentices knew. Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and finally Anakyn.

 

In the old continuity I seem to recall there were a few that had strong suspicions also but didn't know for a fact - Ventress I believe either worked it out or simply had a hunch but never had it officially revealed to her, Tarkin also and perhaps some others. As of the new canon Tarkin still has 'suspects but not officially aware' status on both Vader being Anakin and Palpatine being Sidious I seem to recall.

 

The Clone Wars series has several scenes that show Mas Amedda knows about Palpatines secret Identity, plus He was present in Episode 3 as the dull between him and Yoda began.

Everything shows that Dooku knew about it, Episode II was the first to show it.

And I don't have any evidence to support it but since they met several times in person I can't imagine Maul didn't know.

In RL I saw it when I was little, and only a casual fan I didn't even know Palpatine was the same person in all three movies, let alone Sidious. How is this possible? I just don't know, but I didn't. Not until I saw it for the 50th or so time.

 

As star wars fans we knew Palpatine was Sidious but regular or casual audience, not at all. I remember I had to tell friends who where not as big of fans to listen to Sidious voice and You should know that its palpatine

 

The newcanon Character Encyclopaedia confirms that, just like in the Legendsverse, Sly Moore, Palpatine's bald Umbaran aide, knows.

 

Lol, at first I was going to answer, "yeah, I always knew" but then.. ya know..I read.

I'd agree with a lot of the above. Dooku, Mas Amedda, and in the novel Maul definitely knew. Although I don't necessarily think Palpatine went out of his way to tell his apprentice, I feel like it's just something Maul would figure out on his own.

I always thought Yoda had an inkling from the beginning? ...and was a little disappointed that he was taken by surprise in ROTS.

 

I knew Palpatine was Sidious some point shortly after first viewing TPM in theaters. I can't recall specifically how I first found out, but I think there was some merchandise that openly connected the two as the same character. I bought an unprecedented amount of Star Wars merchandise in 1999.

 

As it would be in Sidious's best interests to keep the number who knows as low as possible, I think that beyond Anakin, Mace, Obi-Wan, Mas (how can he not know after RotS?), and Yoda, (and 99.99% Dooku, but I don't know about Maul--what does Palpatine have to gain by Maul knowing?) there would be very few. I've read Tarkin, but I don't see him as having that knowledge. There could have been others besides those mentioned above, but not many.

 

Everyone is forgetting Bail Organa!

 

We don't know exactly what Yoda and Ben told Bail in the newcanon-verse.

 

I don't think we need anything outside the movies to know that the Bail knew about Palpatine being a Sith.

Bail witnesses the Clones attacking the Temple, and knows that the Clones turned on the Jedi in the field as well.

Bail picks up Yoda and Obi Wan after Order 66.

Bail helps smuggle Yoda and Obi Wan back onto Coruscant so they can get into the Temple.

One of the bigger points is that Bail helps Yoda escape from the Senate building after Yoda's fight with Palpatine. Clearly Bail was in on the plan as he was waiting for Yoda's signal. Surely if he was part of the plan, he knew why Yoda was at the Senate and what the stakes were. Also, Yoda says to Bail after being rescued that he had failed and must now go into hiding. A very non-sensical statement for Yoda to make to Bail if Bail was not aware of Palpatine being Sidious.

Bail rendevous's with Obi Wan on Polis Massa after Obi Wans battle with Anakin. Bail is there at the death of Padme and birth of Luke and Leia. Again, we are left to know that Bail understands the gravity of what's going on. That he is in on what is happening and why.

Finally, Bail is there when Yoda says Luke and Leia are to be hidden from the Sith. I highly doubt Yoda and Obi Wan wouldn't tell Bail exactly who the Sith were that he was hiding Leia from. Why they had to be hidden from the Sith etc etc

While we don't get a line of dialogue that has Yoda or Obi Wan saying to Bail the exact words, I think Bails involvement and presence at very important moments in ROTS shows us that he wasn't kept in the dark.

 

Fair enough. The implications do look rather strong. It's hard to believe Bail would support an assassination attempt on someone he believed to be a physically harmless politician, after all.

 

According to Lords of the Sith, some of the Royal Guards knew.

 

Also adding to this, the royal guards knew, Tarkin knew and so did the Imperial Ruling Council. As well as Yoda, Obi Wan and Luke Skywalker.