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"Ian McDiarmid is the latest Star Wars veteran rumoured to be returning for JJ Abrams&amp;#039;s Episode VII. The Scottish actor played the Emperor in 1983&amp;#039;s Return of the Jedi and later reprised the role, as Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious, for the prequel trilogy.  According to Star Wars website Jedi News, the actor will be back for the 2015 blockbuster but the nature of his role is unclear. The Emperor was killed at the climax of Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader threw him into the Death Star&amp;#039;s reactor shaft. Speaking to Digital Spy at Star Wars Celebration Europe, McDiarmid said: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s great that Disney are going to take it forward and do it differently - things always have to change - and that George Lucas has released it to be done that way, in fact positively encouraged it.&amp;quot;  Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are all expected to reprise their roles from the original trilogy, while John Williams will score the film after working on all six previous Star Wars films. Star Wars Episode VII will begin shooting in the UK next year and will be released in cinemas in 2015. Photo gallery - Star Wars cast then &amp;amp; now:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/star-wars/news/a506002/star-wars-episode-7-to-bring-back-ian-mcdiarmids-emperor-palpatine/>