Star Wars 'Transformative' Palpatine Prequel Teased

A “transformative” Star Wars story detail regarding Palpatine has been unearthed following a new casting announcement, and fans are torn on what we missed out on.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Doctor Who alum Matt Smith would be joining the Star Wars universe by playing a villain role in the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter.

Although plot details are light, the film is set to release in 2027 and will feature Smith playing a villain opposite Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth.

However, this isn’t the first time the The Crown actor was attached to a Star Wars project. He was previously cast in The Rise of Skywalker, before his role was cut early in development.

“It was a really groovy part and concept. It was a big thing, a big story detail," Smith told Josh Horowitz back in 2022 while promoting Last Night in Soho.

"A transformative Star Wars story detail. But it never quite got over the line. It was a big shift in the history of the franchise.”

It’s rumoured that Smith was playing a younger version of Palpatine, or his son, or clone, or something to that effect. However, Smith said the role became “obsolete”, leading to his role being cut from the film before they shot any scenes.

From the sounds of it, if Smith was indeed playing a young Palpatine, it sounds like he was cast just in case Ian McDiarmid couldn’t come on board. Since he did, however, the role of young Palpatine was cut.

“For what it’s worth, I still want to see that,” wrote one Star Wars fan on X (formerly Twitter).

“They should absolutely do a Palpatine prequel movie/show of him becoming a Sith, I'd say Matt Smith should star,” wrote another fan. “But he now has a different role, unless Matt is playing a Palpy clone or something.”

Part of me thinks that Lucasfilm won’t explore Palpatine again in any future Star Wars films. That aspect of The Rise of Skywalker’s plot was heavily criticised, and the character probably won’t appear again.