Kennedy says they were always working towards Palpatine in IX, even though they didn’t always know exactly how they were going to get there.
https://twitter.com/djkevlar/status/1116837650520997888?s=21
I mean, if that is true (which is possible), why no hints at the very least in TFA and TLJ? Obviously JJ and Rian were given free reign which I appreciate, but small hints, that’s not the kind of thing that would go against that.