Does Emperor Palpatine Have Sex In Star Wars? Ian McDiarmid Has An Idea (And It's Gross)
Sheev Palpatine: galactic emperor, supreme Sith ruler ... ladies' man? Ian McDiarmid, the actor behind Darth Sidious since 1983's "Return of the Jedi," has entered the chat to pontificate about his iconic villain's potential nighttime proclivities — a darker topic than anything Palpatine actually does in the Skywalker Saga.
In an interview with Empire for the 25th anniversary of "The Phantom Menace" and the start of the prequel trilogy, McDiarmid briefly addressed the idea of Palpatine's personal life. After Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) was revealed to the emperor's granddaughter in "The Rise of Skywalker," questions began flying furiously in the fandom about how exactly Sidious progenated.
"Please don't pursue that line too vigorously," McDiarmid told Empire. "But yes, he does [have sex]. It's a horrible idea to think of Palpatine having sex in any shape or form. But then, of course, perhaps he didn't." Canonically speaking, there's no explicit proof that Palpatine sired any offspring in, well, human ways. Rather, his genetic line continued through a confusing series of mystical powers and sci-fi experiments — something McDiarmid hits close to in his Empire interview. "Maybe it's all to do with midi-chlorians," the actor speculated, referencing the infamous micro-organisms that dwell in "Star Wars" lifeforms and convey Force powers. "And don't ask me what those are."
Palpatine reproduced through cloning, not sex
In the canonical Star Wars novel "Shadow of the Sith," written by Adam Christopher and published in June 2022, Palaptine's various cloning experiments are explored in detail. Rey's father wasn't a natural-born son of the Sith lord, but rather a strand-cast clone of him.
In essence, strand-cast cloning is a process in which the base genetic template of a chosen subject is blended with external genetic information to create a new, artificial being tied to the progenitor but notably different. Snoke, the Palpatine stand-in sent to lead the First Order and train Kylo Ren in the dark side, is also a strand-cast creation. During his decades-long exile on Exegol, Palpatine clung desperately to life through a series of clone bodies, most of which quickly failed. His "son," Rey's father, was yet another attempt to create a long-term vessel for the dark lord.
All that means is that no, there is no hard proof that Palaptine has ever done the deed. And yet, the question remains. He was the leader of the galaxy for more than 30 years, after all, and as any fan of "The Incredibles" will know, power is an attractive quality.
What about Palpatine's role in Anakin's birth?
Ian McDiarmid's off-hand reference to Palpatine possibly multiplying through midi-chlorian manipulation is actually a well-worn Star Wars theory. Most famously, the canonical comic book issue "Darth Vader" #25 includes a montage of Force-induced visions that Vader wades through deliriously. One of the images he sees is Palpatine swirling dark side energy around Shmi Skywalker's belly, captioned by the single word "unnatural."
Fans immediately assumed this confirmed a popular theory: Palpatine used the dark side to create Anakin, thus ensuring the fall of the Jedi. This would also explain Anakin's virgin birth. However, Charles Soule, the writer of the comic, quickly came out and denied these claims, saying that the image was meant to be vague and didn't confirm any such theories in hard canon.
Of course, the basic idea still fits, and various versions of the theory remain active in the "Star Wars" fandom. In truth, it's more pleasant to think about dark Force abominations than it is to envision Sheev Palpatine getting in the mood.