After Abercrombie passed away, the role was taken over by Tim Curry, superstar of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue, and It. In the early seasons of The Clone Wars animated series, The Wizards of Waverly Place's Ian Abercrombie voiced Emperor Palpatine.

George Lucas replaced the Eaton-Revill-ape hybrid with new footage featuring McDiarmid for the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back, but a few other actors took on Palpatine after that, too. Palpatine's eerie yellow eyes, meanwhile, weren't human at all: They belonged to a chimp and were superimposed over Eaton's during post-production. Clive Revill, an accomplished actor and friend of Empire director Irvin Kershner, provided his voice.

Actress Marjorie Eaton provided the Emperor's face for the final movie, while makeup artist Rick Baker tested Eaton's prosthetics on his wife, Elaine. For the Emperor's brief appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, Palpatine was actually played by one man, two women, and one wild animal. But McDiarmid wasn't the first person to portray Palpatine on-screen.

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