Star Wars' evil emperor will take control of the the annual Steel City Comic Con.

Ian McDiarmid, cast by George Lucas in "Return of the Jedi" as villianous Emperor Palpatine, will be at the event April 13-15 at Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville.

New Guest Announcement! - Yep, this is BIG!

Ian McDiarmid will be attending @Steelcitycon - ALL 3 DAYS! Ian is most famous for his roles in Star Wars as “Emperor Palpatine,” “Sith Lord Darth Sidious” and “Senator Palpatine.”https://t.co/LisAU0riuS #steelcitycon pic.twitter.com/xXWOEu1540

— Steel City Con (@Steelcitycon) January 23, 2018

Sixteen years after appearing in "Return of the Jedi," he reprised the role as the character's younger incarnation of Senator Palpatine and Sith Lord Darth Sidious in the prequel films: "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith."

The prequels had him play two faces to his character — he re-created his diabolical interpretation of Palpatine from "Return of the Jedi," when playing Darth Sidious, the chancellor's evil alter ego, but created a pleasant, charming character in Palpatine's public persona.

In the 2004 re-release of "The Empire Strikes Back," a brief scene between Darth Vader and a hologram of Emperor Palpatine was updated to include McDiarmid. He also worked with the Star Wars expanded universe as the voice of Palpatine in the video game adaptations of "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi," "Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," and "Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi."

He will be available for autographs.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 13-14 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 15.

Tickets are $23-$35.

Details: steelcitycon.com

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-853-5062 or jharrop@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Jharrop_Trib.

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