Though not directly related to Palpatine’s eventual resurrection, Operation: Cinder is another crucial part of the Emperor’s plan to ensure that his legacy lived on. It also serves as an attempt to make it more difficult for a new government to form in place of the Empire.

Again, this isn’t something that was explored in the Skywalker Saga. Rather, it was laid out in various other projects, including author Chuck Wendig’s “Aftermath” trilogy, which helps explain what happened between “Return of the Jedi” and “Star Wars: Episode VII — Force Awakens.” The operation was also included in the comic “Shattered Empire,” as well as the video game “Battlefront II,” which allowed players to experience it first hand. It was even mentioned by name in “The Mandalorian.”

Operation: Cinder, in other words, is a pretty big deal, even though, again, it’s not mentioned by name in the central “Star Wars” movies. But what is it, precisely? A 2021 article on StarWars.com broke down the specifics of the project. Basically, it was a major part of Emperor Palpatine’s evil contingency plan, which he laid the groundwork for years before his unexpected demise at the hands of his former apprentice. Per the website:

“In the event of the Emperor’s death, a series of red-robed messenger droids were to go out to designated members of the Empire and deliver his final orders. Those orders? To burn away the ideals of resistance, rebellion, and defiance through attacks that would scour a planet such as Palpatine’s own homeworld of Naboo. The logistics of Operation: Cinder involved using climate disruption arrays to alter the weather around the planet in order to create catastrophic storms that would wreak havoc on key inhabited worlds. These attacks were supplemented by the Imperial Fleet participating in orbital bombardments.”

The Empire’s Admiral Garrick Versio believed these attacks were “a calculated campaign of fear to reclaim control.” The idea being that, even with the Emperor gone and the second Death Star destroyed, if the Empire demonstrated that it still had enough power, people would quit on the New Republic.

In the end, the whole exercise was devastating, wiping out entire planets. However, it also firmed up allegiances within the New Republic, with a great many Imperials defecting. Imperials defecting is nothing new, with rebel hero Wedge Antilles famously leaving the Empire to join the Rebellion. In any event, Palpatine’s presence was needed a bit more directly.