Back in August it was announced that former Doctor Who star Matt Smith is heading to the galaxy far, far away for a role in Star Wars: Episode IX, and now we’ve got a rumor which claims that he’s set to portray a classic Star Wars villain.

According to the ‘Hot Scoop or Shot of Poop’ segment of The Weekly Planet Podcast (via ScreenRant), there’s talk that Smith is set to play a young version of Emperor Palpatine in the closing chapter of the Sequel Trilogy.

This isn’t the first time that Palpatine has been rumored for Episode IX, as The Express previously reporting that Ian McDiarmid has been lined up to reprise his role from the Original and Prequel Trilogies, appearing as a projection to Kylo Ren.

It’s probably worth noting at this point that old Sheev has been rumored for every Star Wars movie since Disney’s Lucasfilm acquisition, and so far all of those reports have proven false.

The veracity of these reports aside, it is possible that Episode IX could contain some kind of flashback where we see Smith as a young version of the future Emperor. Or perhaps – and we really hope this isn’t the case – the movie could take a cue from the old EU, and introduce a clone of the Sith Master?

via Flickering Myth