CT Would the emperor being destroyed have been necessary in the long run given his age?

Sidious had been a Sith for many years before he became Emperor; the Sith have been around for thousands of years in the shadows prior to Sidious. Sidious needed the Imperial machinery to hold power - hence his and the Sith working toward that aim. Without that he is going to have to go into the shadows again. If the machinery of the Empire is destroyed then Sidious can no longer rule.

I guess another way of asking the question is, does evil have to be destroyed in order to defeat the Empire?

 

Yes. The Alliance doesn't have the means to topple the Empire completely as long as Palpatine is alive. Within one year the Empire falls apart and signs a treaty ending the war. In Legends it was decimated for four years, then was whittled down to a small territory sixteen years later.

The Saga was long predicated on the idea that good (the Jedi and the Alliance) had to destroy evil (the Sith and the Empire), in order to free the galaxy.

 

In Star Wars there are Force Powers where you can become Immortal Transfer Essence is an example Palpatine was revived in the Sequels and Dark Empire with using Transfer Essence thats why Palpatine was not worried about being old just like Dooku the Sith used more these type of Force Powers while the Jedi became Force Ghosts in Star Wars there are Powers Cloning and Magic is not Realistic that is why something like Immortality may be possible

 

Right, but that has nothing to do with Lucas. His intention was that the Sith have to die and that they do.

 

Yep I'd agree with that, when the original films were made things were left much more open in terms of what the force actually was and the powers it gave. As you say the Emperor in ROTJ isnt really presented as physical decrepit and I thin as you say its possible to infer that his force abilities may make him very long lived. You look at Yoda for example and I would argue back then it was easy to infer that his great age may have been in part due to his force ability.

You are always going to be dealing with more subjective takes in the OT era due to its nature but for me I always felt there was some sense as well that the force itself was an active player in events. In this case perhaps that its really "the darkside" itself which is really the enemy moreso than just the Emperor, could be that his calls on Luke to "strike him down" were in part genuine, if Luke did genuinely turn to the darkside it would be happy to use him as a vessel instead to rule the Empire.

 

Everyone dies. It is the way of things, the way of the Force. Sith might find a way to use the dark side to prolong their "natural" lives, but the Force will not be denied. If Sith refuse to die naturally, the Force will see to it that the cheaters get chucked down a reactor shaft.

 

Only because Disney Lucasfilm backed themselves into a corner and took the chicken **** way out.

 

That is an interesting question...
I think the Emperor dying is necessary to the plot, in particular the Redemption of Darth Vader. So from that angle, its an absolute necessity for a story driven direction.
However, in a universe where the Emperor doesn't die.. I really only see two outcomes
1. He is ever to prolong his life (perhaps eternally) through the use of the Dark Side. Which both Disney and the old EU have examples of this.
or
2. There is an Heir to the Empire (from a Darkside standpoint) that takes his place.

For the Alliance to win, the destruction of the Emperor is necessary for the Empire to collapse. I think both Disney and the Old EU show that as being a necessity.
I am uncertain "dying of old age" is a trait common among the Sith? though I am not as well versed in that lore. They die amazingly, or live long enough to be killed by their pupil.

 

I do agree with that, it was one of the many choices of the Sequel Trilogy that felt very out of place. Has Disney even explained this yet? Or is it still an open ended issue?

 

In the Original Trilogy, Emperor Palpatine's death was primarily a storytelling device that enabled Darth Vader's redemption. While important, it wasn't the narrative's central focus - Vader's arc was. The Emperor served as a powerful but somewhat mysterious antagonist whose death, while satisfying, wasn't laden with deeper mythological significance.

However, the Prequel Trilogy fundamentally changed this by:

1. Establishing Palpatine as the master architect behind the galaxy's fall
2. Revealing his identity as a Sith Lord and explaining the Sith's significance
3. Adding the prophecy of the Chosen One and Anakin's destiny to bring balance to the Force
4. Expanding Force lore and the philosophical conflict between Jedi and Sith

These additions retroactively transformed Palpatine's death in Return of the Jedi from simply a dramatic moment into the fulfillment of a generations-long prophecy. It became the culmination of not just Vader's personal redemption, but of an ancient cosmic prediction about restoring balance to the Force.

Similarly, while the Force was presented more simply and mystically in the Original Trilogy, the Prequels added extensive lore, rules, and religious structure around it through the Jedi Order and its teachings. This changed how viewers understood the Force's role in the saga's conclusion, adding layers of meaning that weren't present in 1983.


The return of Emperor Palpatine in the Sequel Trilogy created a fascinating tension in how it relates to the Prequel Trilogy's expanded mythology, and is largely dependent on pov:

His resurrection possibly invalidates the Chosen One prophecy and Sith's destruction that the Prequels established, undermining the deeper meaning they added to his original death.

Alternatively, his return perfectly reinforces the Prequel's portrayal of Palpatine as the galaxy's ultimate manipulator - his contingency plans for cheating death demonstrate the same calculated foresight that made him such a compelling villain.

 

Lucy Wilson stated that Lucas didn't approve of the story, which resulted in his being more involved later on. He also said in 2008 that if he made more films, he would not bring him back. That's why the earlier versions of Episode VII had Maul as the main threat.

 

Nope cos he'd already created clones of himself...the clues were there from obi wand first mention of the clone wars..my head canon anyway.. why the films work for me...I never believed Jedi/ep6 was the end

 

Good point. But it's under dispute as to whether or not Lucas came up with certain ideas in Dark Empire, and the author passed away in Vermont due to the pandemic. All we know is that Lucas approved of the idea of Palpatine returning, that he shot down the idea of a Vader imposter, and so on.

But I defend Dark Empire. I went from liking it for years, to briefly disliking it, and then after The Rise of Skywalker came out, I was like, "Yeah. The bar has been lowered. Now, Dark Empire looks pretty good now." I think that that EU story captures how selfish Sidious is. He would totally transfer his soul into clone bodies to stay alive. That's how villains like that operate.

But since this is a CT thread, let's ignore the old EU for a moment. I don't want to get fan-fiction-y. But if I were writing the story, I would depict Palpatine obtaining some type of ancient Sith artifact to make himself immortal. I'd keep the story the same. I don't have any problem with Luke's arc or those of anyone else in the story. If Palpatine is going to be the primary antagonist of all of Star Wars, a story like this centering on his megalomania is totally necessary.

To answer the question, the Empire was the Empire because of Palpatine. Whether you look at it from the perspective of films-only, old EU, or the new canon, this Imperial order was built with Sidious as its dark foundation. Some people like to say that the Empire could exist without Palpatine. While that's true, Palpatine would never permit that. He's one of the best written archetypal villains in fiction for a reason. Therefore, the logical answer is this: Yes, the Empire could have existed longer without Palpatine. But Sidious Palpatine wanted to rule eternally and he wanted to spread the dark side. That was his undoing. If he had expanded the Empire only with technology, he would have had a shot at conquering other galaxies. But because he wanted to spread his dark side order and abolish the Rule of Two, that was his doom. And his doom was named Luke and Leia.