I Really Don’t Understand. Can Someone Explain to Me How Palpatine Survived This?

Palpatine’s fall at the end of Return of the Jedi felt like the perfect conclusion to his reign of terror—a dramatic defeat for one of the most sinister villains in cinema. 

So when The Rise of Skywalker revealed Palpatine’s return, it raised more questions than answers.

How could he come back after being thrown into the Death Star’s reactor shaft? Was his death ever real, or was it all part of some greater scheme?

Interestingly, Palpatine himself has confirmed that he truly died—and here’s how he explained it.

Without further ado… 

Palpatine Confirms His Own Death in The Rise of Skywalker

We need to be clear on one thing—the Emperor we saw in Return of the Jedi truly died. When Anakin threw Palpatine down that reactor shaft, followed by an explosive finale, that was the end of Palpatine as we knew him. His life officially ended in Return of the Jedi.

But The Rise of Skywalker gives us a twist. Early in the movie, when Kylo Ren finds Exegol, he encounters Palpatine—or some form of him. 

When Kylo confronts him, confidently saying, “I killed Snoke, I’ll kill you,” Palpatine doesn’t miss a beat. He introduces Kylo to the First Order fleet and tempts him with promises of a “new Empire,” aiming to bring Kylo over to his side. But Kylo isn’t convinced, replying sharply, “You’ll die first.”

This is when Palpatine reveals a key line: “I have died before.” With that, he’s confirming that his original self perished back on the Death Star. 

This line makes it clear that The Rise of Skywalker version of Palpatine isn’t the same as the one Anakin killed. 

It’s a new body, a resurrected version sustained by Sith alchemy or cloning science. The implication? He didn’t survive the reactor fall—he returned through dark, unnatural methods.

But How Did Palpatine Return?

Why did Palpatine make that chilling statement to Kylo Ren about having “died before”?

It’s not just an empty threat—it’s a reminder of his plan to return from the grave again and again.

Palpatine had a backup plan, a twisted method of resurrection designed to cheat death itself.

This ties back to something we’ve seen hinted at in The Bad Batch series, a secret initiative known as “Project Necromancer.” If you’ve been following the show, you might remember Doctor Hemlock, who’s been conducting experiments under Palpatine’s orders. 

His mission was to capture Force-sensitive children and experiment on clone troopers to harness midi-chlorian-rich blood for cloning.

Palpatine needed this blood to create clones capable of sustaining the dark powers he’d need to return.

The experiments we see in The Bad Batch show us that Palpatine’s goal with Project Necromancer was to create clones that could hold onto Force powers and even handle essence transfer. 

He was searching for a vessel that could handle his dark essence and keep him anchored to life, ready to rise whenever he needed. 

When we see Palpatine back on Exegol in The Rise of Skywalker, he’s really showing us that he’s mastered the dark side’s ability to dodge death itself

At the climax, we see Rey using her lightsabers to deflect Palpatine’s lightning, ultimately turning his own power against him. If you look closely, you’ll notice that Palpatine and the Sith Eternal seem to be completely annihilated.

So, Will Palpatine Returns Again?

Given everything we’ve seen—the cloning, the essence transfer, and his obsession with cheating death—it’s tempting to think he might have left a backup plan somewhere in the galaxy. 

After all, Palpatine has always been one to plan for every possible outcome. 

But this time, with the destruction of Exegol and the Sith Eternal, it feels like the Dark Lord’s story has finally reached its end… or has it?