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 " " . It is first heard in the scene when Palpatine arrives on the second Death Star , and later is heard in several scenes taking place in the Emperor ' s throne room . It is an incredibly dark vocal piece performed by a foreboding male choir , thematically representing the pure evil that is Palpatine . Portions of it also played when he was torturing Luke Skywalker before meeting his demise at the hands of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker . In " " , " The Emperor ' s Theme " is heard whenever Darth Sidious speaks to Nute Gunray . A variation of the theme in a major key , Symponik Nabooalla , is also heard during the parade scene in Theed . In " " , " The Emperor ' s Theme " is heard in the Lars ' garage scene where Anakin confesses to Padmé about his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders . It is also heard in the scene towards the end when Count Dooku approaches The Works on Coruscant and meets with Sidious . The theme is most prevalent in " " . It is played when Yoda , Mace Windu , and Obi - Wan Kenobi discuss Palpatine ' s intentions prior to Yoda leaving for Kashyyyk ; after Sidious bestows upon Anakin the title of Darth Vader , and when the Emperor rescues Vader from Mustafar . In 1999 , " The Emperor ' s Theme " was the background music for the television commercials for " " . One of the musical pieces in " " , played during several stages , incorporates an up - tempo variation of the Emperor ' s theme as its bridge . The normal version of the theme is included as well and is played on the ' Game Over ' screen . In " " , part of " The Emperor ' s Theme " is played after a mission failure . A more - prominent version of the theme is played throughout the final level of " " , " Yavin – Final Showdown " , and is continuously used in the duel against Desann . A variant of " The Emperor ' s Theme " is the background music for both the main screen and the Korriban areas in " " , it is also the background music onboard the " Ravager " in " " . A segment of " The Emperor ' s Theme " is played whenever the player has gained a dark side point in the latter game . " The Emperor ' s Theme " plays during the mission briefing screens in " " . The theme is played in " " Season 5 Episode 16 " The Lawless " , when Palpatine tells Mas Amedda to prepare his ship , and again when he confronts Darth Maul and Savage Opress on Mandalore . It is also played in the Season 6 Episode 4 " Orders " , when Count Dooku speaks with Palpatine about Order 66 . In the " Star Wars Rebels " Season 4 Episode 12 episode , " Wolves and a Door " , a variation of the theme is heard when Minister Hydan is talking with Emperor Palpatine about the Jedi Temple on Lothal . The theme is heard next in episode 16 when Emperor Palpatine ' s Hologram revels his true appreance to Ezra Bridger . 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 " " In the trailer for Angry Birds Star Wars 2 , " Join the Pork Side " , at the end of the video a short section of the theme is played . In " " , " The Emperor ' s Theme " is heard when Snoke tortures Rey with the Dark side of the Force in his throne room .