Malus Palpatine

Malus Palpatine
Biographical information
Born	60 BBY
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	1.83 meters
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Blue
Chronological and political information
Affiliation	Galactic Republic House of Arcadia
Real-world information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era
Portrayed by	Callum Blue

[Source]

"Our only hope may be for the Senate to side with us. Senator Palpatine will need your help."

—Governor Sio Bibble encourages Queen Sabé Arcadia Arcadia to flee Utapau for Coruscant^[src]

Malus Palpatine was the Senator of Utapau during the Invasion of Utapau. As Senator, Palpatine was involved in the failed plasma mining and refining contract between Utapau and the Trade Federation that led to the assassination of King Veruna Arcadia in 24 BBY.

Along with the king's successor, Veruna's daughter Sabé Arcadia, Palpatine was instrumental in the passing of the Republic Anti-Slavery Law. The passage of the law in 23 BBY ultimately led to the Federation blockading and invading Utapau one year later in the hopes of forcing the Republic to overturn the law. From Coruscant, Palpatine attempted to negotiate the end of the blockade, but all negotiation efforts failed.

Biography

Early life

Malus Palpatine was born in 60 BBY. In the years that followed, he was elected to the Galactic Senate as the representative of Utapau.

Senatorial career

Plasma contract

In 24 BBY, high grade veins of plasma were discovered beneath the streets of Ogana, the capital city of Utapau. Palpatine and King Veruna Arcadia, Utapau's ruling monarch at the time, chose to build a plasma mining and refining center in the center of the city. They also decided to make a deal with the Trade Federation that would allow the shipping cartel to purchase the plasma at a fix cost and sell it on behalf of Utapau, as the planet's citizens were not fond of trade.

Utapau soon realized that the Federation was cheating it out of profits by reselling the plasma at marked up prices, therefore earning more money than Utapau felt the Federation was entitled to under their contract. Palpatine and Arcadia decided to end the contract with the Federation; Arcadia feared a military response from the Trade Federation Droid Army, so the king built up the planet's paramilitary forces in the event that a retaliation came. Arcadia was assassinated by a disgruntled citizen who believed the king was instituting a police state.

Republic Anti-Slavery Law

Arcadia was succeeded by his daughter, Sabé Arcadia, who took the throne as queen after her father's death. Queen Arcadia considered Senator Palpatine a mentor, as he helped her through the difficult parts of her rule as queen and aided her in the making of difficult decisions.

In 23 BBY, Palpatine participated in discussions in the Galactic Senate over the proposed Republic Anti-Slavery Law. The intent of the bill was to outlaw Galactic Republic corporations from using slave workers while operating in the Outer Rim Territories. One such corporation was the Trade Federation, which used slave workers in the Outer Rim and, therefore, strongly opposed the measure in the Senate.

At the behest of Senator Palpatine, Queen Arcadia—and, by default, Utapau—became one of the principal supporters of the legislation, advocating for its successful passage into law. The bill ultimately passed through the Senate and was signed into law by Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum.

Invasion of Utapau

The Trade Federation was outraged over the passage of the bill; because the Federation used slave workers in the Outer Rim, their profits were reduced after the legislation was signed into law. In an attempt to force the Republic into overturning the measure, and in retaliation for the planet's support of its passage, the Federation blocked Utapau in 22 BBY.

Along with Chancellor Valorum, Senator Palpatine worked from Coruscant to help the queen negotiate with the Trade Federation to end the blockade. All negotiation efforts failed, however, and the Federation invaded the planet. The queen escaped from Federation custody and fled the planet for Coruscant, where she aimed to help Palpatine to convince the Senate to help stop the occupation of Utapau once she arrived.

Personality and traits

Palpatine had the trust of Queen Arcadia during her rule. She saw Palpatine as a rare type of Galactic Senator, one who had not been corrupted by the political lifestyle. The senator served as a mentor for her, feeling it was an obligation to help and counsel her during the difficult parts of her reign as queen.

Behind the scenes

Malus Palpatine is based on the canon Palpatine, who appeared as the last Supreme Chancellor of the Old Republic in the prequel trilogy, as well as the first Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the original trilogy; the canon character was portrayed by actor Ian McDiarmid.

When developing Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One, author Brandon Rhea originally portrayed Malus Palpatine similarly to how he was portrayed in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace; in the first draft of the novel, Palpatine appeared via hologram in front of the queen and, later, on Coruscant with Chancellor Valorum. In the second draft, Palpatine again appeared via hologram in front of the queen. Both drafts used Ian McDiarmid as the character's likeness.

On July 8, 2010, when discussing changes he would be making in the final version of Part 1 of The Chosen One, Rhea announced that Ian McDiarmid would no longer portray Palpatine. Instead, Rhea chose to make the character twenty-five to thirty years younger and portrayed by actor Callum Blue. This was done because Rhea's intention for the Clone Wars era of the Alternative Saga is to have a brotherhood theme, and he felt Palpatine needed to be younger in order to be included in that.

Although the canon version of Palpatine was also Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Rhea has not confirmed if Malus Palpatine is meant to be the Alternative Saga's Dark Lord. According to Rhea, because the Alternative Saga is "an alternate universe story, the Sith Lord could be anyone."

Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One (First appearance)
• The Chosen One: The Animated Movie (Canceled)
• Star Wars: Trials of War