The Emperor's Theme

The Emperor's Theme is a recurring musical theme of the Star Wars movies. It was composed by John Williams and first appeared in the film Return of the Jedi.

It is first heard in the scene when the Emperor arrives on the Death Star, and later is heard in several scenes taking place in the Emperor's Throne Room.

In The Phantom Menace, the Emperor's Theme is heard when Darth Sidious first speaks to Nute Gunray. Additionally, the ending music (Augie's Great Municipal Band) is based on the Emperor's Theme.

In Attack of the Clones, the song is played at the scene near the end when Count Dooku meets with Sidious on Coruscant.

The song is most prevalent in Revenge of the Sith. It is played when Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker discuss the Sith at the theater; when Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-wan Kenobi discuss Palpatine's intentions prior to Yoda leaving for Kashyyk; and when the Emperor rescues Vader from Mustafar.

Prior to the DVD re-release of the movies in 2004, there was speculation that the Emperor's Theme would be included in Palpatine's scene in The Empire Strikes Back