JJ himself admitted Palpatine was not the intended outcome of the Disney trilogy and they just kinda winged it.
He did? Then why was Kennedy saying at the convention that they “always intended Palpatine to return?”
Apologies, Trevorrow made the comment before the release of ROS, not JJ, my bad: “Bringing back the Emperor was an idea JJ brought to the table when he came on board. It’s honestly something I never considered. I commend him for it. This was a tough story to unlock, and he found the key.”
As for Kennedy’s contradictory comments, PR. You’re not exactly going to get up on stage and admit you winged a 4 billion dollar property. And NuLucasfilm isn’t exactly known for their great track record when it comes to being on the same page as each other.