The narrative of Darth Plagueis the Wise's Tragedy is a "Sith legend," as it's called, that details the killing of Darth Plagueis at the hands of his own apprentice, Darth Sidious. Near the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine shared this story with the troubled Jedi Anakin Skywalker in his private box at the Galaxies Opera House, aiming to entice him towards the dark side of the Force. Palpatine was, in reality, the public face of Darth Sidious. He presented the account of Plagueis' murder as a mere legend to deflect suspicion, concealing the fact that he had only recently committed the act himself.
The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis made its debut in the 2005 movie Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the concluding chapter of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Initially, the plan was for Palpatine to narrate the tale to Anakin Skywalker in his office, but the location was changed to the Galaxies Opera House. During the principal photography phase of Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas, the director, altered the setting of Plagueis' "legend" from the office to the opera house, as he had already filmed several scenes in the former. At Celebration Orlando in 2017, Ian McDiarmid stated that the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis scene was the most evil he had filmed for all of Star Wars.
While shaping the narrative of the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the concluding installment of the sequel trilogy, director J.J. Abrams considered the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis scene, his favorite from the prequels, to be the perfect foundation for bringing back Emperor Palpatine, given the scene's emphasis on Palpatine's obsession with defying death.