Somehow, Palpatine Returned in a New Hot Toys Figure

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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Palpatine reveals Sith secrets to Anakin Skywalker

Few people get the chance to play a character for as long as Ian McDiarmid has played Emperor Palpatine, and now one of his most underrated iterations has been immortalized. The official Hot Toys Instagram has unveiled a new figure of McDiarmid based on his portrayal of Sheev Palpatine in Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars. In the canonical Star Wars timeline, this is the last time audiences have the chance to see Palpatine before the attack on his life, as he puts it, leaves him scarred and deformed. The figure comes with a newly developed head sculpt with incredible likeness, a separate rolling eyeballs system, a finely tailored outfit, dual red lightsabers, and even sculpted hands to bring his signature Force lightning powers to life.

Hot Toys has teamed up with Star Wars twice recently; one for Chopper based on the droid's appearance in the beloved animated series, Star Wars Rebels, and another based on the terrifying Sith apprentice, Savage Opress, who Darth Maul takes under his wing in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These two figures came not long after Hot Toys aligned with Marvel for two new Tony Stark figures, one based on his appearance falling from Stark Tower in The Avengers, and another of his second Iron Man suit design from the original Iron Man film. Star Wars also worked with Hot Toys to pay tribute to one of its most beloved characters of the last few years, Baylan Skoll, who was commemorated with a figure from his appearance in Ahsoka, allowing the late Ray Stevenson’s mysterious Force user to live on forever.

Will Ian McDiarmid Play Emperor Palpatine Again?

Ian McDiarmid has been playing Palpatine for more than 40 years, with his first official appearance credited in Return of the Jedi (1983) and his most recent coming in Star Wars: The Bad Batch earlier this year. It has yet to be confirmed if he will reprise his role as The Emperor in a future Star Wars project, but many Star Wars fans feel strongly that the franchise would be best served to leave this chapter of characters behind so that, somehow, they won’t return. Palpatine may have passed in the timeline, but there are plenty of gaps for prequel projects to fill that could potentially see him return.

The Emperor Palpatine Hot Toys figure is not yet available for pre-order. Check out the first-look images of the figure above and stay tuned to Collider for future updates on all the latest toys and collectibles.