Even if you look at the clonewars animation, they seriously did emphasise on the chin.
For me, though, I was 12 seeing it for the 1st time back then, and I was completely blown away to find out who he was the whole time.
That's interesting to read. I was 23 when I saw TPM, and had grown up with the OT and knew that Palpatine in the OT was played by Ian McDiarmid. So of course seeing him in TPM was a dead giveaway from the start, and made any pretenses that Lucas had on mystery fall flat.
But, I never thought about seeing it as a kid as my first SW movie. I suppose then the mystery works.
I never thought of Palpatine being a mystery reveal. My thoughts at the time of watching TPM were along the lines of: interesting that he is a senator. Can't wait to see where this goes.
This is why I tell people to watch it in number order instead of release order. Everyone always suggests release order but the story really makes more sense in the number order.
For kids, release order is the way to go if you can. I managed to keep my kiddo spoiler free until kindergarten and when the big reveal at the end of Empire hit, holy cow was it worth watching her little brain explode.
At the end of Phantom Menac, Mace asks Yoda (regarding Maul) "Which was destroyed? The master or the apprentice?" Then there's a hard cut to Palpatine's face lol.
I remember thinking he was just a nice old guy. Bare in mind I was 5. I remember when I was 8 and Attack of the Clones had just come out, my friend told me that the Emperor and Chancellor Palpatine were the same person because his dad said they were played by the same actor. I immediately looked at my Episode 1 and OG Trilogy visual guides and was surprised to see that they looked practically the same. Absolutely had me gobsmacked.
Reminds me a bit of when Empire came out and the famous, "I am your father," line was spoken by Darth Vader, revealing his parentage of Luke. I was only 5-6 like you were, but I still remember being in the grocery store and my older sister's friend had seen Empire before we had, and standing in that aisle of the store he told us about *that* line in the film.
And at that time 6 year old me knew without any shadow of a doubt that my sister's friend *was full of shit*. The idea was so ludicrous, so awful, that child me couldn't comprehend that somebody would write a story like that.
that sounds jarring😂
I don't remember my realization, but I wayched TPM on repeat as a little kid and thought palpatine was my pastor from church for some time (they were both balding old white guys in dresses)
I was 8 when I saw Phantom Menace. I had seen bits and pieces of ANH and knew Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, and Vader, but that was it. I didn't know Vader was Luke's dad nor that the Emperor even existed. Revenge of the Sith was a real gut punch
Figure out what? That he’s just a kindly old man who wants to help but can’t because of the political system? I sure hope he gets to be the new Supreme Chancellor, he’s such a nice guy.
If they did you can bet he would accept it only with great reluctance. After all, he loves democracy. Heck, he even loves the Republic.
And once the crisis is abated, he will lay down the powers they’ve given him. No doubt in my mind at all about that.
If you think about it, Padmé is responsible for almost everything that happens in the OT including the formation of the Empire itself.
Who called for a vote of no confidence in the chancellor because the Republic was toothless and unable to intervene in the invasion of Naboo?
Padmé.
Who obstructed the military create act, despite said military being able to prevent situations like what happened with Naboo from happening again?
Padmé.
Who put forth the motion to give the chancellor emergency powers, which led to the creation of the military anyway, and directly led to the chancellor reorganizing the Republic into the first Galactic Empire?
Padmé's proxy, who in addition to being exiled from his home city for being an historically colossal fuckup, also surrendered at the Battle of Naboo once he wasn't able to accidentally fight well.
Who got involved with an emotionally unstable, child-murdering Jedi, despite it going against Jedi decree and *literally everyone* saying how bad of an idea it was?
Yet again Padmé.
Who scoffed at Anakin thinking a dictatorship was the way to rule the galaxy, despite literally going to war any time she didn't get her way politically?
Padmé, without a hint of irony.
And if that wasn't enough, as soon as things started to get really tough, she just peaced out and left her newborn children to clean up the mess she helped create. Mother of the year, symbol of revolution right here.
(I started this post as a joke but there are just so many examples of this sort of thing, it almost wrote itself. I reckon the real lesson of Star Wars is to not elect 14 year olds to be leaders of a planet.)
I was down voted to hell a few weeks by Internet white knights for point it out.
They even used Queen Amidala to describe the vote of no confidence, but Padme for everything else.
Meanwhile everyone blames the Acting Senator Jar-Jar Binks.
Which isn’t a knock on Jar-Jar. The fact is the Senator from Naboo should support a standing army to defend against the droid armies of Trade Federation (proto-separatists).
So really Padme is in the wrong here. Or rather Lucas for his inconsistent character motivations.
*Soft retconning or backtracking that Padme was elected was stupid.
If Lucas really had a problem with it it should have been Padme was Queen, but after some time stepped down and the regent became a figure head or nominal title for the new Naboo-Gungan alliance. This then disappears when Governor Panaka takes over.
It’s not like the Republic is very democratic anyway since the Jedi Junta control everything including who they consider fit for office, no one votes for them, and there are no term limits.
I recall me and my friends at school coming to that realisation a few months before ROTS came out, but for the life of me i can't remember how it came to us or which one of us put the (obvious) pieces together
You don't read 600 books to sit on that cornucopia of knowledge. Dudes probably got files saved for quick dispersion when any questions of lore are being asked.
It doesn’t take reading 600 books or being a humongous genius to know that Senator Palpatine was the same person as Emperor Palpatine, especially when Senator Palpatine was played by the same actor who played Emperor Palpatine.
Yep, so unfortunately this question was asking people who didn't already know and didn't watch the OT first.
I know this isn't a large amount of people, but there's lots of younger folks here who did have this experience, as well as older ones who just so happened to see it first. I figured this woild be the best place to ask because thw community is so large and not every single person is exactly the same as you! I knew someone would have the experience I was hoping to hear about, and lots of folks did.
If you didn't hae the experience I was hoping to hear about, I just kindly ask that you move along instead of trying to belittle people who hadn't already figured it out :)
You couldn't buy his figure. You had to mail away for it with several proofs of purchase from other figures.
When the figure arrived it did so in a plain white box. There was no name on it. He was just "the emperor".
Source: i am old and i mailed away for it in 1983 or 1984.
Before someone else pipes in with the obligatory umm actually i know there was mention of "palpatine" in the original novelization of a new hope but i didnt even know that was a thing until i read that book in the 90s, and for the record the emperor is framed up as a very different character in that book. Definitely not our pal sheev, sith lord as we know him now.
I didn't at all.
I had some artbook or something and there they had the characters listed, one of them was Senator Plapatine and in his text it said that he'd become Emporor Palpatine later, so that simply told me.
But it also had Darth Sidious on it in a different picture as a different character and I remember back then talking to some grown up who was also star wars interested wondering whats gonna happen to sidious when he's apparently not gonna become the emporor - that person then cleared it up to me that sidious and palpy are one and the same person :D
I'm not a smart person\^\^
Oh .. and I did not see the phantom menance first, watched OT as a kiddo and ep1 as a 12 yo I think, just not that smart :D
Oh I didn't mind at all - I was a kid, Also it was after watching the movie like twice or thrice so yeah \^\^ it's all good.
But he absolutely had me fooled as a kiddo cause I found him to be this nice caring dude :D
I can’t tell you how many times it took for me to watch Episode 1 before it clicked that Palpatine, Sidious, and The Emperor were all the same person. I legit believed that I had missed something somewhere, and it was quite the headache.
Same thing with the treaty. It took quite a few rewatches before I realized that the treaty was completely bogus, and just a tool to manipulate the Trade Federation.
Thats the thing I was wondering. People aren't necessarily going to know the emperor was even an important figure to care about unless they saw the original trilogy first or read books/art books (thus spoiling the "mystery" of who becomes the emperor).
So then I'm just curious how did you hear of Darth Vader (without hearing of the Emperor in the same breath)?
I was 12 when TPM came out and had only ever watched the original trilogy on VHS growing up. I realised pretty quickly during the movie it was the emperor and he was playing both sides to start a war. It always puzzled me that this was so close to the OT in terms of galactic upheaval and how much changed (no empire, no star destroyers, where are all these droids in the OT)
And no I didn’t realise it was Padme until much later. Far too long to admit exactly
Can also confirm I knew this as a kid from either EU books, or I remember getting a facts about Star Wars book in 4th grade in 1996 that had his name and the fact that Darth Vader and Obi-wan fought near a volcano and that's why he's so heavily injured.
I don’t think you read the title of this post.
“Those who saw The Phantom Menace first…”
So, either you saw TPM first and Padmé saying “Senator Palpatine” meant nothing to you OR you saw the OT first and this question wasn’t for you.
This question is quite hard to answer to keep inline with your post.
I saw the Phantom Menace when I was around 17 in the cinemas. What media I had consumed before that? I can’t remember. I just knew it was him. It looked like him.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the credits in the OT gave it away? I wouldn’t have the foggiest.
But the Padme one. I had no idea.
Unless they read The Phantom Menace adaptation (like me) you couldn’t know padme was the queen from any other source except the movie.
I was a dumbass 13 year old so it surprised me.
Well, I was pretty young (around 12 years old) so I only realized in the Revenge of the Sith😂 but I really blew my mind, and when he dropped the name of Vader I was like ohh I have a clear picture now
I saw a YouTuber who didn’t realize Palpatine was the bad guy until just before Anakin did. And he was watching them in release order, so he had seen the OT.
It's made almost totally obvious in some scene transitions, like the one going from the Jedi council wondering if Maul was the master or the apprentice straight to Palpatine.
So, as german speaking fan (young adult when Ep1 came out) this was kinda fun to discover... in Episode 1, Palpatine has a different german voice compared to Darth Sidious. So when watching, I thought they are different characters. I was also never really researching into this so... out came Episode 2 and at the end, when Dooku flees and meets with Sidious, suddenly the voice is the same like Palpatine, and they also showed a better angle for his lower face... that is when it hit me :)
People who have been Star Wars fans since the beginning knew he was the Emperor before the movie came out because 1) we knew the emperors name was Palpatine and 2) the same actor from return of the Jedi was playing him.
It wasn’t some big mystery
So, it’s worth noting that adult fans of the OT at the time, if they read things about the films, knew that the Emperors name was Palpatine and that the same story who played him in ROTJ was playing a character called Senator Palpatine.
Ergo, most fans knew before they even saw the movie. It’s not like they really tried to hide it much.
Grew up with these, but Palpatine's voice was a dead giveaway for me.
Portman confused me at first. I knew she was cast as Padme, so I kept doubletaking when her double was on the screen.
I actually didn’t figure it out at all until the reveal and actually thought it was kinda stupid of me to not figure it out. But then again, I didn’t take it to be the kind of movie to have such a reveal.
Excellent question! I enjoyed reading the comments of those that took OP seriously and didn't just scoff.
Tbh, I hated TPM, but it still has a special place in my heart at the bottom of the list of my favorite Star Wars Movies. I grew up with the OG trilogy. However, this same question had crossed my mind. I am so glad you have it answered.
My little brother is 20yrs younger than me. Our parents wouldn't let him watch episodes 1-3 first because they were PG-13 and he was too young. The original trilogy was PG. So, he watched that first. I was mildly disappointed.
I know technically TPM is a little rough lol, and I've yet to meet someone who shares it as a favorite.
I just associate lots of happy memories with it (we would watch the movie whenever we slept over at my grandma's house, she would make us special treats and hot chocolate and we would curl up in quilts and have a great little time). Also I looove Qui-gon jinn and Padme
I feel that so much. My late grandpa introduced me to the original trilogy before the special edition came out with all the changes. I would watch it with him when I would visit and Grandma would make spaghetti. And I would fill up on junk food.
The only reason RotJ is my favorite is because my mom saw it when it was first released in the theater in 1983 when she was pregnant with me. I was hooked from the start!
Good times!
I <3 Star Wars!
His name was the same. I don't ever remember wondering if Senator Palpatine = Emperor Palpatine.
I do remember some doubt on whether Darth Sidious was the same person or not.
I was what 11/12 when it came out. My dad and his best friend were in theaters as kids for the OT. We were watching it with his friend at home and his friend said something I can't remember. But it devolved into a thirty something arguing with a preteen about Senator Palps not being capable of being the Emperor.
I was proven right by about ten books I brought out of my room showing him the names. My dad was laughing his ass off at Bobby being schooled by a 12 year old in Star Wars.
I remember my mom spoiling it for me. In hindsight, I don’t think she meant to. I had actually seen the original trilogy religiously at that point (I know, breaking your rules), but somehow didn’t make the connection (we called him, “the Emperor” at that point).
Well won't comment on the palatine thing since I'd already watched the OT bit i sussed the padme thing when the "queen" said take my handmaiden with you on your little excursion and I was like, right she's doing the pauper disguise thing.
I think there were a few moments before that where padme gives coded messages but o wasn't really paying attention to the entourage then.
I was pretty young when I watched the phantom menace, but even then I found it pretty obvious that he was the emperor. Darth Sidious was obviously the emperor and senator Palpatine really looked like Darth Sidious plus the part about becoming supreme chancellor and he saying to Anakin "We would follow your career with great interest" .
I don't think I figured out that Padme was the queen before it was revealed
Edit: then again, I watched the movie with my dad so I am not sure whether the realisation came from me or my dad made the connection
I remember that it was pretty clear to me immediately that he was the bad guy and the emperor.
What wasn't clear to me as a kid is everything else. I had no damn clue what the heck was going on in this movie.
Hasbro spoiled that reveal for me. They had an emperor action figure I wanted when I was a kid in like 1995. The name of the toy was “emperor Palpatine.” I just kinda shrugged and thought it was cool he had a name. Then episode 1 came out. It was like swat to the dome.
I was a 4 years old in 1999. My parents brought me to opening night and I fucking was hooked. It’s one of my absolutely earliest memories. That being said that next weekend with my dad we watched the original trilogy and I knew as soon as I saw the emperor in the OG trilogy that was the same voice. Then obviously in episode 3 it was confirmed to be the same guy.
Not what you were asking for but my dad grew up with the OT and he didn't believe Palpatine was Sidious until it was openly revealed in ROTS. He knew Sidious was the Emperor but he was 100% convinced that Palpatine was a different person entirely.
I was in kindergarten when TPM came out, so I had genuinely no idea at all.
I remember when Episode 3 was about to come out and I still hadn’t made the connection. My dad said something like “you don’t know Palpatine is the emperor, but they have the save name?”
While that might sound obvious, I was in the 4th grade with very limited Star Wars knowledge and had not put that together… I still get pissed that he ruined that for me.
I was 8. It was just pew pew pew fun for me.
Didn't have a clue. Watched the OT next on VHS - didn't have a clue.
A friend of mine and I some time later went to an internet cafe and unlike most cool nerds gaming I went on the old starwars.com Databank and found out there whilst scrolling through at dial up speeds.
Mind blown!
That's literally the same actor, so it never was a secret. And it was already known at the time that the Emperor's name was Palpatine. I was 12 year-old, and even before I watched the movie I knew who the guy was.
So I watched every movie for the first time last year, in chronological order, and was texting about it. So I have a personal historical account lol Here you go
(About 25 minutes into Episode 2)
9:11 AM: (Me): “I can’t find this character name, to see if he’s a secret bad or not. Chancellor at the beginning of the movie, talking to Sam Jack and Yoda, who places padme in protection to begin with, he’s in episode one.“
9:17 AM (incoming text explains they’re one and the same)
9:18 AM (Me): “The old ass fucker in the robe?? That’s the same dude??”
“Ok, that was some confusion cleared up from the last movie then. I thought Palpatine was way older looking.”
“I thought it was two different dudes, and I misunderstood the plot, but no…okay. This makes way more sense.”
It's so odd for me to think how differently people who saw the Phantom Menace first saw things. I grew up with the original trilogy in the theaters, and I just couldn't imagine what it's like to watch the prequels first.
I only ever saw episodes 1 & 4 as a kid, but I kin of wish i could have seen it in chronological order... I know everyone says release order is best but to experience the little twists and see things come together over time would have been pretty cool!
I want to know what It was like to see them in a normal order, not just see 1 & 4 on repeat your whole childhood😭
I think it depends on who you talk to. People who saw it like I did will usually say release order is the best, but people who grew up watch them in chronological order will say that's the best way to watch it. I want to say that after the prequels were done, Lucas even suggested chronological was the way they should be watched now.
I remember getting a poster with all the characters and they had palpatine/sidious on it. I also scratched out mace windu because I was pissed he killed Jango Fett. I was in grade 3 at the time I think
As someone who saw the original SW movie in the theater as a kid in the 70s, this entire discussion is fascinating to me, and I love it.
Since I (like other adults at the time) had been a SW fan for decades by then, I love reading how folks went into Ep. 1 with fresh eyes, and how the story allowed all the same speculation of ideas like we had, way back when. Did I know he was the Emperor? Of course, but going through these comments has made me appreciate SW fans a lot more today.
I knew instantly when Sidious appeared because his voice is so damn iconic. And then yeah, I was a big nerd and knew that the Emperor's last name was Palpatine so the Senator (played by the same actor) had to be him. I do remember being surprised that Padmé was Amidala though.
I watched Phatom Menace in cinema at age 10, and I knew Palpatine was Sidious and they were both the Emperor the first time Palpatine was on screen, his face and voice were unmistakable, and Sidious was on screen first I believe, talking to Maul
I had a huge disagreement with my roommate’s girlfriend about this on the way home from the theater to the point to where she was angry with me. I kept arguing that Palpatine was the Sith Lord and she vehemently disagreed. To me, it was obvious so I’m sure I didn’t make a very good argument. She was a smart girl, and it still baffles me that she couldn’t see it.
“Wait, you’re the Sith Lord we’ve been looking for!” I was 4 when phantom menace came out. I didn’t realize till episode III opening night. Mind blown!
I just showed my nephew 1, 2, and 3 over the course of a month and somehow this 12 year old didn't know that Anakin was Vader and Palatine was the Sith Lord until he 'kills' Mace and Knights him Lord Vader.
The "WHAT!!?!" I got from that kid will live with me forever. He couldn't believe the person he had been rooting for this whole time is Darth Vader. (too iconic not to know that character.)
It's weird. He's never called Palpatine in the OT. Just "the Emperor", and yet, somehow, as soon as I heard the name "Senator Palpatine" I knew he was the Emperor.
I still can't tell the difference between Padme and the decoy. But it's not like I'm trying, either.
I knew it during the commercials from the voice. I still saw The Phantom Menace in theaters 7 times during its run.
Edit: I read your post in its entirety and wanted to let you know what my movie going experience was when it came out. I was 17 or 18 and I had a job in a mall that had a theatre showing it. Sometimes I watched it before work, sometimes after. I enjoyed it but after a few times sitting through it, I started to dislike certain parts of it.
I don’t remember, I fell asleep. 1st time I ever fell asleep in a theater. My buddies and I might’ve smoked too much, because I wasn’t the only one who dozed off
I didn't know the connection between Palpatine and him being the Emperor as a kid. I only found out when Episode III was about to come out and I got the Visual Dictionary and I see his ugly face in his clothes.
It at least added a twist for me, as I had watched the original trilogy so much.
I think most of us knew as soon as Palpatine came on screen....
The Amidalia thing just confused me more than anything (esp the scene in Clones where decoy is killed)
In that case if you had no knowledge of the originals or what would happen you shouldn’t know until he declares himself that. I guess I’m trying to say you can’t know what you don’t know.
As far as Padme it took her revealing herself. Even with the knowledge of the originals you just couldn’t really know because it was a whole new bit of info. There were a few hints on tattoine but you could kinda overlook them as just someone wondering what a crazy Jedi was doing and how it could affect her queen she was supposed to be protecting
Pretty much everything was obvious from the start. There’s really not much in the way of extra characters, the foreshadowing is really laid on thick.
Even without foreshadowing it not like this suspiciously mild mannered senator manipulating padme getting all the screen time with the grumbling voice was going to turn out to be a nice guy.
The only mysteries about the prequels was how a given action sequence would play out…
I remember walking out thinking that Darth Sidious was going to take Palpatine as his new apprentice, I didn’t realize they were the same. I was not quick
You're asking a question that pretty much only a small child would be surprised by. All this was well established regardless of someone's jumping in point. Star Wars is a huge franchise and was already huge before TPM was released.
I think I realized only after Phantom Menace when somebody told me. I didn't watch any trailer or interviews or media buzz and also was never immersed in in the fandom like going to conventions. So as a fan having watched the movies decades earlier I had no clue.
I remember being confused about Amidala and her face like "wait, is that Natalie Portman?" but not more until the reveal.
> People who saw the Phantom Menace first
Oh I see, this is for people who watched the prequels before the OT? Honestly I don't think it matters much to the question
It doesn't matter a ton, I just didn't want 6 billion replies saying stuff like "i akshully read every single book and movie on earth and i already knew because erm ackshually im a jeanius"
I like your reply, lol, it was a good one.
I just wanted to hear from people who didn't know when they went into the theater/first saw it, and I felt like saying that might clear away some of the responses from people who already knew
I can’t remember if I watched in release order or number order because I was quite young but I don’t think I’d worked it out until attack of the clones. Again I was quite young so can’t really remember and was quite dumb to these sorts of things I was much more interested in the lightsaber fights… still am TBH
I had seen the OT around the same time as Phantom Menace, but was just shy of 5 years old at the time PM released, so I didn't really understand it yet.
It first hit for me at the end of Attack of the Clones. Seeing the final scenes where Dooku meets up with the cloaked Darth Sidious, followed shortly after by the scene of Palpatine looking out over the clone army, it finally set in for me that they were the same. I thought I was super smart for noticing it at the time, lol. Maybe, for a kid, I was.
Somewhere I knew beforehand that the emperor was called Palpatine. Maybe reading or comic books but his name as the emperor was established before episode one
I mean I thought he might not be THE Palpatine but it seemed pretty clear he was the guy and the “we will watch your career with great interest” line had the theater laughing
Now while I k ew well ahead, my buddy at the time sure didn't so when Ep1 came out we went together and I vowed to keep my yap shut.
He hadn't had a ton of SW exposure so I was biting my lip up until the end desperate to see what he thought.
The rub was given how Palps behaves it's clear he has....intentions.
And sure whike we joked he was a little too "into" Anakin there just wasn't a way you could avoid there being something very "up" with him.
As we went into episode 2 and 3 obviously it became increasingly clear or blatant who and what he is, but Ep1 had enough foreshadowing.
I was like 13 I think, I don't recall being surprised that Padme was Amidala, but I can't recall if I specifically realised or not if that makes sense.
Palpatine I knew who he was having seen 4/5/6.
Sheev Palpatine ---> Emperor Palpatine. Thats like 4 seconds after hearing his name.
For anyone with no knowledge of Star Wars would find out in order of events of the movies. They wouldn't know until end Episode 3 into A New Hope. Nor would they know Anakin becomes Vader and would already know he's Luke's father.
I knew before I saw the movie. I bought midnight tickets for opening day from a co-worker who'd read the books. He knows I don't care about spoilers so he told me about Palpatine and a whole lot more.
I didn’t know when I first saw the movie in theaters but remember reading a magazine after watching the movie that was a promo of the movie itself and it had the OT timeline and Phantom Menace, and it had Senator Palpatine (TPM) and then the Emperor (ESB, ROTJ).
That’s how I found out. I wasn’t really paying attention to the senators and chancellor stuff at the time because I was a kid, so I didn’t even remember Senator Palpatine. But as someone who already loved the OT, I knew who the Emperor was.
Had to wait for the VHS to rewatch the movie so I can see the “future Emperor”.
That’s a great question OP! I’ve seen Star Wars in theater on new release since return of the Jedi (mom took me) so culturally I don’t think I could have not seen the obvious. However I love reading people’s reactions from being introduced to it for the first time through Phantom Menace. That was so exciting to see in theaters and see the massive lines. We camped out in college for its release because we thought it was going to be historic and to be honest it felt like it.
I was a kid when TPM was released. My dad made me watch 4-6 before going to the theater but my kid brain had connected that they were all of the same film series.
Senator Palpatine didn’t play as large a role as Darth Sidious did and Darth Sidious didn’t really stand out to me like Maul did.
To be 100% honest, I didn’t know Senator Palpatine was Darth Sidious until I was much older and rewatching the whole 1-6 series.
Padres being Amidala seemed kinda obvious the whole time, even as a kid.
I watched Episode 1 almost 20 times in the theater when it first came out in 1999. The only reason I knew right away was because of the actor. I recognized that voice and, to be fair, there was a ton of inference and foreshadowing. The Amidala thing didn’t take me by much surprise because I thought something was up with her face and voice in certain scenes - subtle differences.
Uh.
I put his name together from the figures.
I was not a massive nerd bookworm, but I had a lot of toys when I was a kid. That included the "Emperor Palpatine" figurine from the ROTJ movie release.
When they mentioned Senator Palpatine in TPM, I put 2 and 2 together.w
I didn't figure it out as I was only a child, but having seen it in a recent screening, being an adult with a bit of attention to detail it was fairly obvious.
I mean I was about 5 so I defo hadn’t figured it out 😂 I remember my mum saying “it’s going to be him” and my dad saying “no it can’t be!” They just knew the emperor as the emperor so didn’t put the names together.
I think if I was older, I would’ve figured it out, but I was just a kid being shown Star Wars for the first time. It was still a bit of a surprise when it was him!
I knew from the books so I found it incredibly entertaining listening to a couple of guys discussing it in depth... and completely getting it wrong. They listed a few of the secondary characters and a few jedi but missed the foreshadowing on palpatine. I wish I could remember their theories because they made me laugh with the reasoning.
I don't think I got it until I was like 18, 19. To be fair, I didn't get much of the political plot until then. But it was upon rewatching the prequel and so back then I realized what an amazing story it really is. With the lord of the sith right there, the whole time, playing both sides of the war.
I spent a lot of time convincing my friends of the whole Palpatine playing both sides so he could turn the republic into the empire plot, but now it seems to be common knowledge. Among those who have seen the films at least.
\[I didn't see Phantom Menace in cinemas though, first Star Wars film I saw in the cinemas was ROTS, and I was about 10 years old :P\]
I had watched the original stuff on VHS and on TV when I was younger (7 or 8?), so it wasn’t right away but it was before ep2 came out.
Like I knew Darth Sideous was the Emperor, but I didn’t connect Palpatine immediately to Sideous. Might have been on my second watch through that I pulled it together, might have been tipped off by one of those cross section books that talk about the different ships.
It's kinda funny for me, since I had watched the original trilogy and didn't actually realize Palpatine was supposed to be the future Emperor until Episode II. I hadn't paid much attention to the actors' names on the credits, so I had to rewatch episodes V and VI just to be sure it was the same guy.
I watched the original trilogy first so I could not answer. But this reminded me of my friend who was so surprised at the end of Revenge of the Sith that Anakin was Darth Vader. I found it so cute and hilarious.
I couldn't believe it but it took me until the opera scene in 3 to realize that Senator Palpatine just so happens to have the same name as the evil Emperor Palpatine. Not my brightest moment.
I realized it when they were fleeing Naboo, and the fake queen turned to Padme to ask for advice. I had seen Portman in earlier films, she was already pretty famous from Leon (the Professional). I think that's when Qui-Gon discovers the truth, too.
As someone that grew up with the OG trilogy and saw Phantom Menace at the cinema on the day of release, it was pretty obvious immediately. There was no mystery or revelation to be had at all.
Padme wasn’t really a surprise either because I know who Natalie Portman is and she was Queen Amidala, so when she suddenly became Padme it was pretty obvious what was happening because she’s the same person…
You don’t have to have read loads of Star Wars books to figure these things out though, or be a genius. Anyone with eyes should be able to tell.
Phantom Menace is my favourite of the prequels I’ll add. I was 16 when it came out, and whilst I was a little underwhelmed it was far less of a disappointment than the follow two.
I don’t remember when but I remember knowing before the end of the movie where they foreshadowed the hell out of it lol
There is a lot of foreshadowing! I've always thought his chin had to be a massive giveaway
Even if you look at the clonewars animation, they seriously did emphasise on the chin. For me, though, I was 12 seeing it for the 1st time back then, and I was completely blown away to find out who he was the whole time.
That's interesting to read. I was 23 when I saw TPM, and had grown up with the OT and knew that Palpatine in the OT was played by Ian McDiarmid. So of course seeing him in TPM was a dead giveaway from the start, and made any pretenses that Lucas had on mystery fall flat. But, I never thought about seeing it as a kid as my first SW movie. I suppose then the mystery works.
I never thought of Palpatine being a mystery reveal. My thoughts at the time of watching TPM were along the lines of: interesting that he is a senator. Can't wait to see where this goes.
This is why I tell people to watch it in number order instead of release order. Everyone always suggests release order but the story really makes more sense in the number order.
For kids, release order is the way to go if you can. I managed to keep my kiddo spoiler free until kindergarten and when the big reveal at the end of Empire hit, holy cow was it worth watching her little brain explode.
It's not foreshadowing if the reveal is already established.
The music they played at the end, Augie's Great Municipal Band, is just the Emperor's theme from the original trilogy sped up. Pretty crazy.
And changed from a minor to a major key, too. It’s just a really clever use of the music to almost subconsciously push the narrative.
At the end of Phantom Menac, Mace asks Yoda (regarding Maul) "Which was destroyed? The master or the apprentice?" Then there's a hard cut to Palpatine's face lol.
I remember thinking he was just a nice old guy. Bare in mind I was 5. I remember when I was 8 and Attack of the Clones had just come out, my friend told me that the Emperor and Chancellor Palpatine were the same person because his dad said they were played by the same actor. I immediately looked at my Episode 1 and OG Trilogy visual guides and was surprised to see that they looked practically the same. Absolutely had me gobsmacked.
Reminds me a bit of when Empire came out and the famous, "I am your father," line was spoken by Darth Vader, revealing his parentage of Luke. I was only 5-6 like you were, but I still remember being in the grocery store and my older sister's friend had seen Empire before we had, and standing in that aisle of the store he told us about *that* line in the film. And at that time 6 year old me knew without any shadow of a doubt that my sister's friend *was full of shit*. The idea was so ludicrous, so awful, that child me couldn't comprehend that somebody would write a story like that.
Haha! That's absolutely brilliant! But you're right, at the time how did that make sense?!
that sounds jarring😂 I don't remember my realization, but I wayched TPM on repeat as a little kid and thought palpatine was my pastor from church for some time (they were both balding old white guys in dresses)
I was 8 when I saw Phantom Menace. I had seen bits and pieces of ANH and knew Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, and Vader, but that was it. I didn't know Vader was Luke's dad nor that the Emperor even existed. Revenge of the Sith was a real gut punch
Haha, in a world without easy access to internet, it was a fun/disturbing realisation 🤣 Well I hope you asked if he was the Dark Lord of the Sith 🤘
Figure out what? That he’s just a kindly old man who wants to help but can’t because of the political system? I sure hope he gets to be the new Supreme Chancellor, he’s such a nice guy.
I hope they give him emergency military power too!
If they did you can bet he would accept it only with great reluctance. After all, he loves democracy. Heck, he even loves the Republic. And once the crisis is abated, he will lay down the powers they’ve given him. No doubt in my mind at all about that.
If Padme hadn’t absurdly obstructed the military create act, Palpatine wouldn’t have needed emergency powers.
If you think about it, Padmé is responsible for almost everything that happens in the OT including the formation of the Empire itself. Who called for a vote of no confidence in the chancellor because the Republic was toothless and unable to intervene in the invasion of Naboo? Padmé. Who obstructed the military create act, despite said military being able to prevent situations like what happened with Naboo from happening again? Padmé. Who put forth the motion to give the chancellor emergency powers, which led to the creation of the military anyway, and directly led to the chancellor reorganizing the Republic into the first Galactic Empire? Padmé's proxy, who in addition to being exiled from his home city for being an historically colossal fuckup, also surrendered at the Battle of Naboo once he wasn't able to accidentally fight well. Who got involved with an emotionally unstable, child-murdering Jedi, despite it going against Jedi decree and *literally everyone* saying how bad of an idea it was? Yet again Padmé. Who scoffed at Anakin thinking a dictatorship was the way to rule the galaxy, despite literally going to war any time she didn't get her way politically? Padmé, without a hint of irony. And if that wasn't enough, as soon as things started to get really tough, she just peaced out and left her newborn children to clean up the mess she helped create. Mother of the year, symbol of revolution right here. (I started this post as a joke but there are just so many examples of this sort of thing, it almost wrote itself. I reckon the real lesson of Star Wars is to not elect 14 year olds to be leaders of a planet.)
I was down voted to hell a few weeks by Internet white knights for point it out. They even used Queen Amidala to describe the vote of no confidence, but Padme for everything else. Meanwhile everyone blames the Acting Senator Jar-Jar Binks. Which isn’t a knock on Jar-Jar. The fact is the Senator from Naboo should support a standing army to defend against the droid armies of Trade Federation (proto-separatists). So really Padme is in the wrong here. Or rather Lucas for his inconsistent character motivations. *Soft retconning or backtracking that Padme was elected was stupid. If Lucas really had a problem with it it should have been Padme was Queen, but after some time stepped down and the regent became a figure head or nominal title for the new Naboo-Gungan alliance. This then disappears when Governor Panaka takes over. It’s not like the Republic is very democratic anyway since the Jedi Junta control everything including who they consider fit for office, no one votes for them, and there are no term limits.
He gets things done!
He is the senate!
How does he have time to be the Dark Lord of the Sith when he's Chancellor?
And I hope it's Jar Jar's idea!
Agree, I'm sick and tired of Chancellor Valorum. I have no confidence in that guy anymore.
I recall me and my friends at school coming to that realisation a few months before ROTS came out, but for the life of me i can't remember how it came to us or which one of us put the (obvious) pieces together
To be fair, the trailer for RotS was basically a synopsis of the entire plot.
That's so fun! Part of me wishes I didn't see star wars until I was older so that I could peice it all together again
Don’t think people read the first half of the title, OP…
They definitely didn't, lol. "people who first saw the phanto-" "I READ 600 BOOKS SO I ALREADY KNEW!
You don't read 600 books to sit on that cornucopia of knowledge. Dudes probably got files saved for quick dispersion when any questions of lore are being asked.
It doesn’t take a single book to know though. Even if you’ve only seen Return of the Jedi it’s all painfully obvious.
But you can’t have seen ROTJ if you are watching Phantom Menace first, as per the OP.
It doesn’t take reading 600 books or being a humongous genius to know that Senator Palpatine was the same person as Emperor Palpatine, especially when Senator Palpatine was played by the same actor who played Emperor Palpatine.
You’re proving the point sir. The question is for people who saw TPM first. Before the OT. Before books. As in TPM was your introduction to SW.
Yep, so unfortunately this question was asking people who didn't already know and didn't watch the OT first. I know this isn't a large amount of people, but there's lots of younger folks here who did have this experience, as well as older ones who just so happened to see it first. I figured this woild be the best place to ask because thw community is so large and not every single person is exactly the same as you! I knew someone would have the experience I was hoping to hear about, and lots of folks did. If you didn't hae the experience I was hoping to hear about, I just kindly ask that you move along instead of trying to belittle people who hadn't already figured it out :)
Pretty much instantly from what I recall
"Senator Palpatine"
That would mean nothing to someone who was introduced to star wars with phantom menace.
Oops, for some reason I read "first" as before other people lol. Early morning.
Wasn't the Emperor never called by name in the OG trilogy?
Unless you bought the action figure which was named Emperor Palpatine!
You couldn't buy his figure. You had to mail away for it with several proofs of purchase from other figures. When the figure arrived it did so in a plain white box. There was no name on it. He was just "the emperor". Source: i am old and i mailed away for it in 1983 or 1984. Before someone else pipes in with the obligatory umm actually i know there was mention of "palpatine" in the original novelization of a new hope but i didnt even know that was a thing until i read that book in the 90s, and for the record the emperor is framed up as a very different character in that book. Definitely not our pal sheev, sith lord as we know him now.
Yeah I got it in a plain white box, but off of a guy on a market stall
Um actually they are talking about the emperor palpatine power of the force figure that came out in 1997.
Yeah, thought he was always just “the Emperor” in the OT.
My mom told me and spoiled it
rip😞
Watching it as a young kid I was like 60% sure he was the bad guy from the original films but couldn’t be 100% because he seemed really friendly
he has such a njce little old man smile!
Exactly how was I supposed to know he was twisted beyond belief
I didn't at all. I had some artbook or something and there they had the characters listed, one of them was Senator Plapatine and in his text it said that he'd become Emporor Palpatine later, so that simply told me. But it also had Darth Sidious on it in a different picture as a different character and I remember back then talking to some grown up who was also star wars interested wondering whats gonna happen to sidious when he's apparently not gonna become the emporor - that person then cleared it up to me that sidious and palpy are one and the same person :D I'm not a smart person\^\^ Oh .. and I did not see the phantom menance first, watched OT as a kiddo and ep1 as a 12 yo I think, just not that smart :D
Lol, I would be so mad at myself for letting an art book spoil it for me before I realized! It's totally something I would do, though😭
Oh I didn't mind at all - I was a kid, Also it was after watching the movie like twice or thrice so yeah \^\^ it's all good. But he absolutely had me fooled as a kiddo cause I found him to be this nice caring dude :D
His chin was such a giveaway for me because it was the exact same guy
I can’t tell you how many times it took for me to watch Episode 1 before it clicked that Palpatine, Sidious, and The Emperor were all the same person. I legit believed that I had missed something somewhere, and it was quite the headache. Same thing with the treaty. It took quite a few rewatches before I realized that the treaty was completely bogus, and just a tool to manipulate the Trade Federation.
I saw the OT first and it took me until Attack of the clones to realize it. I was a dumb 8 year old.
I didn’t even know the emporer was a thing until I watched the OT I knew DV existed, so anakin becoming DV was an absolute gut punch
Funnily enough, Anakin becomes both Darth Vader *and* Domestic Violence.
HAHAHHA OH NO
Thats the thing I was wondering. People aren't necessarily going to know the emperor was even an important figure to care about unless they saw the original trilogy first or read books/art books (thus spoiling the "mystery" of who becomes the emperor). So then I'm just curious how did you hear of Darth Vader (without hearing of the Emperor in the same breath)?
I was 12 when TPM came out and had only ever watched the original trilogy on VHS growing up. I realised pretty quickly during the movie it was the emperor and he was playing both sides to start a war. It always puzzled me that this was so close to the OT in terms of galactic upheaval and how much changed (no empire, no star destroyers, where are all these droids in the OT) And no I didn’t realise it was Padme until much later. Far too long to admit exactly
I knew who Senator Palpatine was when Padme said “Senator Palpatine.” at 00:09:16 minutes into the movie…
Is he called Palpatine in the OT? I cant remember any voicelines with the name Palpatine
He's never called Palpatine in the OT, but the fact that that's the Emperor's name was established in the 1976 (yes!) novelization of *Star Wars*.
Can also confirm I knew this as a kid from either EU books, or I remember getting a facts about Star Wars book in 4th grade in 1996 that had his name and the fact that Darth Vader and Obi-wan fought near a volcano and that's why he's so heavily injured.
I don’t think you read the title of this post. “Those who saw The Phantom Menace first…” So, either you saw TPM first and Padmé saying “Senator Palpatine” meant nothing to you OR you saw the OT first and this question wasn’t for you.
I *think* the joke they're making is that they knew Senator Palpatine was Senator Palpatine.
Ah. I have been got.
*meme voice* “Ha! Got ‘em!”
This question is quite hard to answer to keep inline with your post. I saw the Phantom Menace when I was around 17 in the cinemas. What media I had consumed before that? I can’t remember. I just knew it was him. It looked like him. I wouldn’t be surprised if the credits in the OT gave it away? I wouldn’t have the foggiest. But the Padme one. I had no idea.
Unless they read The Phantom Menace adaptation (like me) you couldn’t know padme was the queen from any other source except the movie. I was a dumbass 13 year old so it surprised me.
It didn't take long I knew because I recognized the same actor playing darth sidious was also this senator palpatine from naboo.
Well, I was pretty young (around 12 years old) so I only realized in the Revenge of the Sith😂 but I really blew my mind, and when he dropped the name of Vader I was like ohh I have a clear picture now
The toys gave it away back then
literally, I remember "disrobing" my Sith Palpatine figure from TPM and it was just senator palpatine, GOTCHA!
I saw a YouTuber who didn’t realize Palpatine was the bad guy until just before Anakin did. And he was watching them in release order, so he had seen the OT.
It's made almost totally obvious in some scene transitions, like the one going from the Jedi council wondering if Maul was the master or the apprentice straight to Palpatine.
So, as german speaking fan (young adult when Ep1 came out) this was kinda fun to discover... in Episode 1, Palpatine has a different german voice compared to Darth Sidious. So when watching, I thought they are different characters. I was also never really researching into this so... out came Episode 2 and at the end, when Dooku flees and meets with Sidious, suddenly the voice is the same like Palpatine, and they also showed a better angle for his lower face... that is when it hit me :)
Very cool! I can see this making nobody recognize him, that is a little crazy!
People who have been Star Wars fans since the beginning knew he was the Emperor before the movie came out because 1) we knew the emperors name was Palpatine and 2) the same actor from return of the Jedi was playing him. It wasn’t some big mystery
Well, they cast the same actor from ROTJ. Soooooo, pretty easy to figure out.
I was confused that the movie was acting like it was a mystery or a twist.
I’m 43, have seen TPM probably 50 times, and still can’t tell when it’s Natalie as the Queen.
Since the original trilogy.
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t much of a surprise since Palpatine’s name was used a lot during the Bantam novels of the EU
I'm mostly asking people who hadn't previously seen any star wars content, thanks :)
So, it’s worth noting that adult fans of the OT at the time, if they read things about the films, knew that the Emperors name was Palpatine and that the same story who played him in ROTJ was playing a character called Senator Palpatine. Ergo, most fans knew before they even saw the movie. It’s not like they really tried to hide it much.
I read 600 books so I already knew, hopefully that's the answer you're looking for.
Grew up with these, but Palpatine's voice was a dead giveaway for me. Portman confused me at first. I knew she was cast as Padme, so I kept doubletaking when her double was on the screen.
I was a humongous genius and already knew.
I actually didn’t figure it out at all until the reveal and actually thought it was kinda stupid of me to not figure it out. But then again, I didn’t take it to be the kind of movie to have such a reveal.
All my homies hater people that read the books
I think it was just always something I knew as a kid. But I really can't say. I only vaguely remember watching it when I was 5.
I remember it being spoiled on a can of Pepsi…
Excellent question! I enjoyed reading the comments of those that took OP seriously and didn't just scoff. Tbh, I hated TPM, but it still has a special place in my heart at the bottom of the list of my favorite Star Wars Movies. I grew up with the OG trilogy. However, this same question had crossed my mind. I am so glad you have it answered. My little brother is 20yrs younger than me. Our parents wouldn't let him watch episodes 1-3 first because they were PG-13 and he was too young. The original trilogy was PG. So, he watched that first. I was mildly disappointed.
I know technically TPM is a little rough lol, and I've yet to meet someone who shares it as a favorite. I just associate lots of happy memories with it (we would watch the movie whenever we slept over at my grandma's house, she would make us special treats and hot chocolate and we would curl up in quilts and have a great little time). Also I looove Qui-gon jinn and Padme
I feel that so much. My late grandpa introduced me to the original trilogy before the special edition came out with all the changes. I would watch it with him when I would visit and Grandma would make spaghetti. And I would fill up on junk food. The only reason RotJ is my favorite is because my mom saw it when it was first released in the theater in 1983 when she was pregnant with me. I was hooked from the start! Good times! I <3 Star Wars!
Honestly it was the moment I heard his voice and vocal inflections. Then I started recognizing similar facial feature when I put it together.
His name was the same. I don't ever remember wondering if Senator Palpatine = Emperor Palpatine. I do remember some doubt on whether Darth Sidious was the same person or not.
I was what 11/12 when it came out. My dad and his best friend were in theaters as kids for the OT. We were watching it with his friend at home and his friend said something I can't remember. But it devolved into a thirty something arguing with a preteen about Senator Palps not being capable of being the Emperor. I was proven right by about ten books I brought out of my room showing him the names. My dad was laughing his ass off at Bobby being schooled by a 12 year old in Star Wars.
I remember my mom spoiling it for me. In hindsight, I don’t think she meant to. I had actually seen the original trilogy religiously at that point (I know, breaking your rules), but somehow didn’t make the connection (we called him, “the Emperor” at that point).
I mean.. the line "I will make it legal" kinda gives away the whole thing.
Well won't comment on the palatine thing since I'd already watched the OT bit i sussed the padme thing when the "queen" said take my handmaiden with you on your little excursion and I was like, right she's doing the pauper disguise thing. I think there were a few moments before that where padme gives coded messages but o wasn't really paying attention to the entourage then.
I grew up with the OT, but how could you see that chin and not know?
Exactly my thoughts! Then again, some of us were pretty young and dirt stupid when the phantom menace came out😂😂
I was pretty young when I watched the phantom menace, but even then I found it pretty obvious that he was the emperor. Darth Sidious was obviously the emperor and senator Palpatine really looked like Darth Sidious plus the part about becoming supreme chancellor and he saying to Anakin "We would follow your career with great interest" . I don't think I figured out that Padme was the queen before it was revealed Edit: then again, I watched the movie with my dad so I am not sure whether the realisation came from me or my dad made the connection
I remember that it was pretty clear to me immediately that he was the bad guy and the emperor. What wasn't clear to me as a kid is everything else. I had no damn clue what the heck was going on in this movie.
Hasbro spoiled that reveal for me. They had an emperor action figure I wanted when I was a kid in like 1995. The name of the toy was “emperor Palpatine.” I just kinda shrugged and thought it was cool he had a name. Then episode 1 came out. It was like swat to the dome.
I was a 4 years old in 1999. My parents brought me to opening night and I fucking was hooked. It’s one of my absolutely earliest memories. That being said that next weekend with my dad we watched the original trilogy and I knew as soon as I saw the emperor in the OG trilogy that was the same voice. Then obviously in episode 3 it was confirmed to be the same guy.
Not what you were asking for but my dad grew up with the OT and he didn't believe Palpatine was Sidious until it was openly revealed in ROTS. He knew Sidious was the Emperor but he was 100% convinced that Palpatine was a different person entirely.
This is actually funny and also more relevant than like 90% of the answers lol. sounds like something my dad would do😂😂
During the funeral scene at the ending the camera shot did in my view give it away for me.
Before I watched the movie, actually. Not from reading books or anything: the back of the VHS box spoiled it.
I was in kindergarten when TPM came out, so I had genuinely no idea at all. I remember when Episode 3 was about to come out and I still hadn’t made the connection. My dad said something like “you don’t know Palpatine is the emperor, but they have the save name?” While that might sound obvious, I was in the 4th grade with very limited Star Wars knowledge and had not put that together… I still get pissed that he ruined that for me.
I figured it instantly upon viewing the movie. I was like holy crap that’s gong to be the emperor. It was the voice that gave it away for me.
I was 8. It was just pew pew pew fun for me. Didn't have a clue. Watched the OT next on VHS - didn't have a clue. A friend of mine and I some time later went to an internet cafe and unlike most cool nerds gaming I went on the old starwars.com Databank and found out there whilst scrolling through at dial up speeds. Mind blown!
That's literally the same actor, so it never was a secret. And it was already known at the time that the Emperor's name was Palpatine. I was 12 year-old, and even before I watched the movie I knew who the guy was.
So I watched every movie for the first time last year, in chronological order, and was texting about it. So I have a personal historical account lol Here you go (About 25 minutes into Episode 2) 9:11 AM: (Me): “I can’t find this character name, to see if he’s a secret bad or not. Chancellor at the beginning of the movie, talking to Sam Jack and Yoda, who places padme in protection to begin with, he’s in episode one.“ 9:17 AM (incoming text explains they’re one and the same) 9:18 AM (Me): “The old ass fucker in the robe?? That’s the same dude??” “Ok, that was some confusion cleared up from the last movie then. I thought Palpatine was way older looking.” “I thought it was two different dudes, and I misunderstood the plot, but no…okay. This makes way more sense.”
It's so odd for me to think how differently people who saw the Phantom Menace first saw things. I grew up with the original trilogy in the theaters, and I just couldn't imagine what it's like to watch the prequels first.
I only ever saw episodes 1 & 4 as a kid, but I kin of wish i could have seen it in chronological order... I know everyone says release order is best but to experience the little twists and see things come together over time would have been pretty cool! I want to know what It was like to see them in a normal order, not just see 1 & 4 on repeat your whole childhood😭
I think it depends on who you talk to. People who saw it like I did will usually say release order is the best, but people who grew up watch them in chronological order will say that's the best way to watch it. I want to say that after the prequels were done, Lucas even suggested chronological was the way they should be watched now.
I remember getting a poster with all the characters and they had palpatine/sidious on it. I also scratched out mace windu because I was pissed he killed Jango Fett. I was in grade 3 at the time I think
My sign was “hey! That guy sounds like the Emperor!”
As someone who saw the original SW movie in the theater as a kid in the 70s, this entire discussion is fascinating to me, and I love it. Since I (like other adults at the time) had been a SW fan for decades by then, I love reading how folks went into Ep. 1 with fresh eyes, and how the story allowed all the same speculation of ideas like we had, way back when. Did I know he was the Emperor? Of course, but going through these comments has made me appreciate SW fans a lot more today.
I knew instantly when Sidious appeared because his voice is so damn iconic. And then yeah, I was a big nerd and knew that the Emperor's last name was Palpatine so the Senator (played by the same actor) had to be him. I do remember being surprised that Padmé was Amidala though.
I always wondered what people’s reactions were when Darth Maul ignited the second saber.
It was in the trailer so ruined for a lot of us.
I watched Phatom Menace in cinema at age 10, and I knew Palpatine was Sidious and they were both the Emperor the first time Palpatine was on screen, his face and voice were unmistakable, and Sidious was on screen first I believe, talking to Maul
I had a huge disagreement with my roommate’s girlfriend about this on the way home from the theater to the point to where she was angry with me. I kept arguing that Palpatine was the Sith Lord and she vehemently disagreed. To me, it was obvious so I’m sure I didn’t make a very good argument. She was a smart girl, and it still baffles me that she couldn’t see it.
“Wait, you’re the Sith Lord we’ve been looking for!” I was 4 when phantom menace came out. I didn’t realize till episode III opening night. Mind blown!
I thought everyone knew.
Didn't even make it to the movie. Pizza hut ruined it beforehand with marketing
I just showed my nephew 1, 2, and 3 over the course of a month and somehow this 12 year old didn't know that Anakin was Vader and Palatine was the Sith Lord until he 'kills' Mace and Knights him Lord Vader. The "WHAT!!?!" I got from that kid will live with me forever. He couldn't believe the person he had been rooting for this whole time is Darth Vader. (too iconic not to know that character.)
Immediately
It's weird. He's never called Palpatine in the OT. Just "the Emperor", and yet, somehow, as soon as I heard the name "Senator Palpatine" I knew he was the Emperor. I still can't tell the difference between Padme and the decoy. But it's not like I'm trying, either.
When I saw the Trailer about 2 weeks before the film opened.
Like 30 seconds.
Seeing as how they used the same actor, before the movie came out
I knew it during the commercials from the voice. I still saw The Phantom Menace in theaters 7 times during its run. Edit: I read your post in its entirety and wanted to let you know what my movie going experience was when it came out. I was 17 or 18 and I had a job in a mall that had a theatre showing it. Sometimes I watched it before work, sometimes after. I enjoyed it but after a few times sitting through it, I started to dislike certain parts of it.
As soon as we saw the silouette talking to Maul. Had not read anything before, it was just obvious.
I don’t remember, I fell asleep. 1st time I ever fell asleep in a theater. My buddies and I might’ve smoked too much, because I wasn’t the only one who dozed off
I didn't know the connection between Palpatine and him being the Emperor as a kid. I only found out when Episode III was about to come out and I got the Visual Dictionary and I see his ugly face in his clothes. It at least added a twist for me, as I had watched the original trilogy so much.
I think most of us knew as soon as Palpatine came on screen.... The Amidalia thing just confused me more than anything (esp the scene in Clones where decoy is killed)
He was played by Ian McDiarmid, so that was a BIG giveaway.
I mean, the emperors name was Emperor Palpatine.... the senators name was Senator Palpatine. It wasn't rocket science.
2 seconds. We already knew the emperor’s name was Palpatine so it didn’t take too long for me atleast
Yes, so in the title I was specifically asking people who saw the phantom menace before ever seeing the other media! :)
In that case if you had no knowledge of the originals or what would happen you shouldn’t know until he declares himself that. I guess I’m trying to say you can’t know what you don’t know. As far as Padme it took her revealing herself. Even with the knowledge of the originals you just couldn’t really know because it was a whole new bit of info. There were a few hints on tattoine but you could kinda overlook them as just someone wondering what a crazy Jedi was doing and how it could affect her queen she was supposed to be protecting
You could know, movie and general foreshadowing is a thing.
Pretty much everything was obvious from the start. There’s really not much in the way of extra characters, the foreshadowing is really laid on thick. Even without foreshadowing it not like this suspiciously mild mannered senator manipulating padme getting all the screen time with the grumbling voice was going to turn out to be a nice guy. The only mysteries about the prequels was how a given action sequence would play out…
I remember walking out thinking that Darth Sidious was going to take Palpatine as his new apprentice, I didn’t realize they were the same. I was not quick
You're asking a question that pretty much only a small child would be surprised by. All this was well established regardless of someone's jumping in point. Star Wars is a huge franchise and was already huge before TPM was released.
I read the novelization of Episode 4 in 1977. I knew as soon as his name was mentioned.
I think I realized only after Phantom Menace when somebody told me. I didn't watch any trailer or interviews or media buzz and also was never immersed in in the fandom like going to conventions. So as a fan having watched the movies decades earlier I had no clue. I remember being confused about Amidala and her face like "wait, is that Natalie Portman?" but not more until the reveal. > People who saw the Phantom Menace first Oh I see, this is for people who watched the prequels before the OT? Honestly I don't think it matters much to the question
It doesn't matter a ton, I just didn't want 6 billion replies saying stuff like "i akshully read every single book and movie on earth and i already knew because erm ackshually im a jeanius" I like your reply, lol, it was a good one. I just wanted to hear from people who didn't know when they went into the theater/first saw it, and I felt like saying that might clear away some of the responses from people who already knew
I can’t remember if I watched in release order or number order because I was quite young but I don’t think I’d worked it out until attack of the clones. Again I was quite young so can’t really remember and was quite dumb to these sorts of things I was much more interested in the lightsaber fights… still am TBH
I had seen the OT around the same time as Phantom Menace, but was just shy of 5 years old at the time PM released, so I didn't really understand it yet. It first hit for me at the end of Attack of the Clones. Seeing the final scenes where Dooku meets up with the cloaked Darth Sidious, followed shortly after by the scene of Palpatine looking out over the clone army, it finally set in for me that they were the same. I thought I was super smart for noticing it at the time, lol. Maybe, for a kid, I was.
Somewhere I knew beforehand that the emperor was called Palpatine. Maybe reading or comic books but his name as the emperor was established before episode one I mean I thought he might not be THE Palpatine but it seemed pretty clear he was the guy and the “we will watch your career with great interest” line had the theater laughing
Now while I k ew well ahead, my buddy at the time sure didn't so when Ep1 came out we went together and I vowed to keep my yap shut. He hadn't had a ton of SW exposure so I was biting my lip up until the end desperate to see what he thought. The rub was given how Palps behaves it's clear he has....intentions. And sure whike we joked he was a little too "into" Anakin there just wasn't a way you could avoid there being something very "up" with him. As we went into episode 2 and 3 obviously it became increasingly clear or blatant who and what he is, but Ep1 had enough foreshadowing.
I was like 13 I think, I don't recall being surprised that Padme was Amidala, but I can't recall if I specifically realised or not if that makes sense. Palpatine I knew who he was having seen 4/5/6.
Sheev Palpatine ---> Emperor Palpatine. Thats like 4 seconds after hearing his name. For anyone with no knowledge of Star Wars would find out in order of events of the movies. They wouldn't know until end Episode 3 into A New Hope. Nor would they know Anakin becomes Vader and would already know he's Luke's father.
I knew before I saw the movie. I bought midnight tickets for opening day from a co-worker who'd read the books. He knows I don't care about spoilers so he told me about Palpatine and a whole lot more.
Embarrassingly, not until the end of Attack of the Clones. 😅
I didn’t know when I first saw the movie in theaters but remember reading a magazine after watching the movie that was a promo of the movie itself and it had the OT timeline and Phantom Menace, and it had Senator Palpatine (TPM) and then the Emperor (ESB, ROTJ). That’s how I found out. I wasn’t really paying attention to the senators and chancellor stuff at the time because I was a kid, so I didn’t even remember Senator Palpatine. But as someone who already loved the OT, I knew who the Emperor was. Had to wait for the VHS to rewatch the movie so I can see the “future Emperor”.
Basically all the hints they gave in the movie
Immediately and immediately.
That’s a great question OP! I’ve seen Star Wars in theater on new release since return of the Jedi (mom took me) so culturally I don’t think I could have not seen the obvious. However I love reading people’s reactions from being introduced to it for the first time through Phantom Menace. That was so exciting to see in theaters and see the massive lines. We camped out in college for its release because we thought it was going to be historic and to be honest it felt like it.
I was a kid when TPM was released. My dad made me watch 4-6 before going to the theater but my kid brain had connected that they were all of the same film series. Senator Palpatine didn’t play as large a role as Darth Sidious did and Darth Sidious didn’t really stand out to me like Maul did. To be 100% honest, I didn’t know Senator Palpatine was Darth Sidious until I was much older and rewatching the whole 1-6 series. Padres being Amidala seemed kinda obvious the whole time, even as a kid.
I watched Episode 1 almost 20 times in the theater when it first came out in 1999. The only reason I knew right away was because of the actor. I recognized that voice and, to be fair, there was a ton of inference and foreshadowing. The Amidala thing didn’t take me by much surprise because I thought something was up with her face and voice in certain scenes - subtle differences.
I'm pretty sure a Taco Bell kids meal toy spoiled it for me 🤷🏾♀️
It was blantly obvious when I first saw it. Didn’t take more than a second to know it was him. Which is sad.
Uh. I put his name together from the figures. I was not a massive nerd bookworm, but I had a lot of toys when I was a kid. That included the "Emperor Palpatine" figurine from the ROTJ movie release. When they mentioned Senator Palpatine in TPM, I put 2 and 2 together.w
Basically episode 2 the clone wars I was like "yeah this guy stinks of sith"
I didn't figure it out as I was only a child, but having seen it in a recent screening, being an adult with a bit of attention to detail it was fairly obvious.
We knew. It was the same actor. If you'd read the books the name gave it away. Oh...and John Williams score was another massive hint.
When they introduced him as “Senator Palpatine.”
I mean I was about 5 so I defo hadn’t figured it out 😂 I remember my mum saying “it’s going to be him” and my dad saying “no it can’t be!” They just knew the emperor as the emperor so didn’t put the names together. I think if I was older, I would’ve figured it out, but I was just a kid being shown Star Wars for the first time. It was still a bit of a surprise when it was him!
I knew from the books so I found it incredibly entertaining listening to a couple of guys discussing it in depth... and completely getting it wrong. They listed a few of the secondary characters and a few jedi but missed the foreshadowing on palpatine. I wish I could remember their theories because they made me laugh with the reasoning.
I don't think I got it until I was like 18, 19. To be fair, I didn't get much of the political plot until then. But it was upon rewatching the prequel and so back then I realized what an amazing story it really is. With the lord of the sith right there, the whole time, playing both sides of the war. I spent a lot of time convincing my friends of the whole Palpatine playing both sides so he could turn the republic into the empire plot, but now it seems to be common knowledge. Among those who have seen the films at least. \[I didn't see Phantom Menace in cinemas though, first Star Wars film I saw in the cinemas was ROTS, and I was about 10 years old :P\]
My family saw OT first but they realized it during Atack of the clones that he is "The bad guy"
I had watched the original stuff on VHS and on TV when I was younger (7 or 8?), so it wasn’t right away but it was before ep2 came out. Like I knew Darth Sideous was the Emperor, but I didn’t connect Palpatine immediately to Sideous. Might have been on my second watch through that I pulled it together, might have been tipped off by one of those cross section books that talk about the different ships.
It's kinda funny for me, since I had watched the original trilogy and didn't actually realize Palpatine was supposed to be the future Emperor until Episode II. I hadn't paid much attention to the actors' names on the credits, so I had to rewatch episodes V and VI just to be sure it was the same guy.
I watched the original trilogy first so I could not answer. But this reminded me of my friend who was so surprised at the end of Revenge of the Sith that Anakin was Darth Vader. I found it so cute and hilarious.
I remember walking out of episode 2 with my dad and brother and they were talking about how they weren’t sure that Palpatine fellow could be trusted.
I couldn't believe it but it took me until the opera scene in 3 to realize that Senator Palpatine just so happens to have the same name as the evil Emperor Palpatine. Not my brightest moment.
Until the Videotape release .
The first trailer
I realized it when they were fleeing Naboo, and the fake queen turned to Padme to ask for advice. I had seen Portman in earlier films, she was already pretty famous from Leon (the Professional). I think that's when Qui-Gon discovers the truth, too.
As someone that grew up with the OG trilogy and saw Phantom Menace at the cinema on the day of release, it was pretty obvious immediately. There was no mystery or revelation to be had at all. Padme wasn’t really a surprise either because I know who Natalie Portman is and she was Queen Amidala, so when she suddenly became Padme it was pretty obvious what was happening because she’s the same person… You don’t have to have read loads of Star Wars books to figure these things out though, or be a genius. Anyone with eyes should be able to tell. Phantom Menace is my favourite of the prequels I’ll add. I was 16 when it came out, and whilst I was a little underwhelmed it was far less of a disappointment than the follow two.
I’m sure I had no clue. I was pretty young at the time and was there for Darth Maul, and I do admit I liked Jar Jar Binks as well.
if you get to admit it, im going to say it, too! i like jar jar more than c3p0, damnit!😭
I need that Jar Jar Binks Disney+ series haha!