At this point I hope the tail doesn’t wag the dog; I hope they craft a fitting end to the trilogy as it is by this point, rather than moving away from their trajectory in paranoid reaction to perceived backlash.
I do wonder to what degree Palpatine is the sincere (potentially planned all along) conclusion of the story that’s developed, or corporate decision in reaction to what was done with TLJ.
Well considering the return of Palpatine would have been the ultimate cliffhanger for TLJ, and the first hint for his return was in a trailer for this film, which clearly indicates, they don’t consider it some big reveal in TROS, I would say it wasn’t planned at all.