| Leader Snoke | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
.png) | |
| First appearance | The Force Awakens (2015) |
| Last appearance | The Last Jedi (2017) |
| Created by | |
| Portrayed by | Andy Serkis |
| Voiced by | Andy Serkis[b] |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Strandcast (artificial being)[1][2] |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Supreme Leader of theFirst Order |
| Affiliation | First Order Sith Eternal |
| Creator | Darth Sidious |
| Apprentice | Kylo Ren |
| Homeworld | Exegol |
Supreme Leader Snoke is a fictional character in theStar Wars franchise. He is an artificial being created by the resurrectedSith Lord,Emperor Palpatine, who is aligned with the dark side ofthe Force. He was introduced inThe Force Awakens (2015) as the Supreme Leader of theFirst Order and the master ofKylo Ren. He subsequently appeared inThe Last Jedi (2017), in which he is killed by Ren. In the films, Snoke is acomputer-generated character performed byAndy Serkis usingmotion capture. Serkis returned to the role and briefly voiced him inThe Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Snoke's appearance changed throughoutprincipal photography andpost-production ofThe Force Awakens.Andy Serkis said, "It's the first time I've been on set not yet knowing what the character's gonna look like. I mean, talk about secrecy!" According to the actor, the character's appearance, voice and movements evolved as he and the film's writer/directorJ. J. Abrams challenged the visual effects team.[3]
According toThe Force Awakens senior sculptor Ivan Manzella, "Snoke almost became a female at one point. J. J. picked out amaquette he liked and then we took it to a full-size version, sculpted inplasteline. J. J. and [creature creative supervisorNeal Scanlan] didn't want him to be old and decrepit, like [Emperor Palpatine]."[4] Manzella later revealed that, influenced by a reference by Abrams toHammer House of Horror, he partially based a maquette of Snoke onPeter Cushing, who portrayedGrand Moff Tarkin in theoriginalStar Wars film.[5]
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While Serkis secretly joined the project in February 2014,[7] his casting inThe Force Awakens was first announced on April 29, 2014.[8][9] When asked about his role in July 2014, he joked, "I'm notYoda."[10] In May 2015, aStarWars.com interview with photographerAnnie Leibovitz about herThe Force Awakens shoot forVanity Fair revealed that Serkis would be playing aCGI character named Supreme Leader Snoke,[11] and featured an image of the actor inmotion capture gear.[12] Serkis had previously played several CGI characters using motion capture technology, including thetitular gorilla in 2005'sKing Kong, andCaesar in thePlanet of the Apes reboot series.[11][13]
In November 2015, Serkis said of the process of creating Snoke:
When we first started working on it, [Abrams] had some rough notions of how Snoke was gonna look, but it really hadn't been fully-formed and it almost came out of discussion and performance ... We shot on set of course, and I was in the scenes I have with other actors, but the beauty of this process is you can go back and reiterate, keep informing and honing beats and moments. So J.J., after we shot last year, we've had a series of sessions where I'd be in London at The Imaginarium, my studio, while he's been directing from L.A., and we've literally been creating further additions and iterations to the character. That's been fascinating. And in the meantime I've been able to see the look and design of the character grow and change as the performances change. So it's been really exciting in that respect.[3]
According to Serkis' costarLupita Nyong'o, who played the CGI characterMaz Kanata inThe Force Awakens, the actor coached her on performance-capture work, telling Nyong'o that "a motion-capture character you develop the same way as any other. You have to understand who the character is and what makes them who they are."[14] Serkis said of filming:
It was quite an unusual situation. I worked specifically withDomhnall Gleeson and withAdam Driver. My first day was basically standing on a 25-foot podium doing Lord Snoke without the faintest idea what he looked like ... or in fact who he was! I was very high up, totally on my own, away from everybody else, but acting with them ... we used sort of a "Kongolizer" method of having sound come out of speakers to give a sense of scale and distance for the character. So it was very challenging and scary, in fact probably one of my most scary film experiences I've ever had.[15]
Costume designerMichael Kaplan had the idea to give Snoke gold robes to contrast from his red and black throne room inThe Last Jedi. DirectorRian Johnson said the red motif was intended to evoke curtains in a nod toThe Wizard of Oz, in whichthe titular character hides behind a curtain. The throne room was designed to look theatrical as opposed to Palpatine's, which was more utilitarian. The conceptual designers of the set were inspired by unused concept art forReturn of the Jedi depicting the Emperor's lava-based lair under the surface ofCoruscant.[16] According toThe Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary (2017), the gold ring Snoke wears is set withobsidian fromDarth Vader's castle onMustafar.[17] The glyphs it is set with are a reference to four philosophers Palpatine had statues of in his office, first seen inStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.[18] Additionally, Palpatine's theme can be heard during the scene in which Snoke torturesRey.[19]
In the context of the story, Snoke is a "genetic strandcast" (a type ofclone) created by Emperor Palpatine to serve as his proxy in power.[20][21] Snoke, whom Abrams called "a powerful figure on the dark side ofthe Force", was introduced as the leader of theFirst Order[22] and master to the sequel trilogy's main villain,Kylo Ren.[23] Serkis described Snoke as "quite an enigmatic character, and strangely vulnerable at the same time as being quite powerful. Obviously he has a huge agenda. He has suffered a lot of damage."[3] Serkis called Snoke "a new character in this universe", adding "I think it'd be fair to say that he is aware of the past to a great degree."[3]
Explaining why CGI was the only way to create Snoke's unique appearance, Serkis said before the film's premiere, "The scale of him, for instance, is one reason. He is large. He appears tall. And also just the facial design—you couldn't have gotten there with prosthetics ... he has a very distinctive, idiosyncratic bone and facial structure."[3] Chief of creature and droid effectsNeal Scanlan said, "This character is much better executed as a CGI character. That's just a practical reality when he's 7-foot-something tall; he's very, very thin."[24] Snoke's "scarred, cavernous face" was not revealed before the release of the film, in which he appears as a "massive, ominous hologram".[25] The character's deep voice was first heard in theteaser trailer released on November 28, 2014.[3][26][27]
Robbie Collin ofThe Telegraph described the disfigured and skeletal Snoke as a "sepulchral horror",[28]Richard Roeper of theChicago Sun-Times called him "hissing and grotesque",[29] and Andrew O'Hehir ofSalon dubbed the character "a spectral demonic figure".[30]Variety'sJustin Chang wrote that Snoke resembled "a plus-sized, more articulate version of his characterGollum",[31] and Chris Nashawaty ofEntertainment Weekly described him as "essentially Emperor Palpatine crossed with one of the aliens fromClose Encounters."[32]Stephanie Zacharek ofTime called the character "a giant, scary, noseless dude who sits placidly in an oversized chair like a dark-lord version of theLincoln Monument."[23]
There were multiple fan theories regarding the origins and identity of Snoke prior to the 2019 filmThe Rise of Skywalker. Such theories included that he wasDarth Plagueis, aSith Lord anecdotally mentioned inStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and the mentor of Palpatine, allegedly possessing the power to prevent death;[33][34][35] Palpatine himself,[36] "the Operator"Gallius Rax, a mysterious First Order manipulator fromChuck Wendig'sAftermath novel trilogy;[37] orEzra Bridger, a main character from the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels.[38][39][40]
In his first appearance in the film,[41] Snoke is introduced as Supreme Leader of the First Order, and master to Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Seduced to thedark side by Snoke, the masked Kylo is really Ben Solo, the son ofHan Solo (Harrison Ford) andLeia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Snoke senses an "awakening" inthe Force, and warns Ren that the limits of his power will be tested when he faces his father in pursuit of the waywarddroidBB-8, which carries a map to the missingLuke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Later, Snoke ordersGeneral Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) to destroy theNew Republic with theStarkiller Base superweapon. He then orders Ren to bringRey (Daisy Ridley) to him after she refuses to disclose the map to Luke. After Ren is defeated in alightsaber duel with Rey, Snoke orders Hux to bring Ren to him to complete his training.[42]
Following the events ofThe Force Awakens, Snoke leads the First Order forces as they pursue the outnumberedResistance. He reprimands Hux for his failings as a military leader, and Kylo Ren for his failure to defeat Rey and find Luke Skywalker. Towards the end of the film, Ren brings Rey to Snoke, who tortures her for information on Luke's location. Snoke reveals that he created a psychic bond between Ren and Rey as part of a plan to destroy Luke. He then orders Ren to kill Rey. Ren, however, kills Snoke by using the Force to cut him in half with a lightsaber.[43] Ren later declares himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, pinning Snoke's death on Rey.[44]
InThe Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren finds severalclones resembling Snoke atEmperor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) lair on theSith worldExegol. Snoke's voice is briefly used by Palpatine when talking to Ren.[45] It is revealed that the Sith Lord had used his creation Snoke as apuppet to lure Ren towards the dark side, and to reclaim the galaxy through the First Order.[21]
Snoke appears in the2015 novelization ofThe Force Awakens byAlan Dean Foster.[46] In the novel, Leia tells Han in more detail how Snoke, aware that their son would be "strong with the Force" and possess "equal potential for good or evil", had long watched Ben and manipulated events to draw him to the dark side.[47] An unplayableLego minifigure version of Snoke appears in cutscenes in the 2016 video gameLego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but became playable inLego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga as a character of the Dark Side class. In the spring of 2018, Snoke was added to themobileMOBAStar Wars: Force Arena as a playable Dark Side squad leader.[48]
Snoke is the focus of the 2019 one-shot comic bookAge of Resistance: Villains – Supreme Leader Snoke, in which he says to Kylo, "If I had your uncle by my side instead of you, the galaxy would have been mine a long time ago."[49]
According toThe Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary (2019), Snoke's physical appearance was purposefully designed by Palpatine to ensure his species remained unidentifiable.[2] Furthermore, Snoke's reluctance to meet in person with his First Order underlings helped conceal the fact that he was an artificial being.[2] General Pryde (Richard E. Grant), a supporting villain inThe Rise of Skywalker, was one of the few characters who knew Snoke was subservient to a higher power.[50]The Star Wars Book (released in 2020 and co-authored by Lucasfilm creativePablo Hidalgo) suggested Snoke may have been unaware of his origins.[20] InThe Rise of Kylo Ren comic book series, Kylo believes that Luke is responsible for Snoke's injuries.[51]
Todd McCarthy ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Supreme Leader Snoke is a larger-than-life, vaguelyHarry Potter-ish hologram voiced with deep gravity byAndy Serkis; the full weight of this character's malignancy and dramatic power will presumably be better assessed in subsequent episodes."[52]Richard Roeper of theChicago Sun-Times called Serkis "the undisputed champion of the performance-capture roles".[29] Though praising the "unobtrusive sophistication" of the visual effects used to portray the character,Variety's Justin Chang said that Serkis is "fine but not galvanizing" in the role.[31] Lindsay Bahr of theAssociated Press deemed Snoke one of the "less memorable" characters inThe Force Awakens.[53] In 2016, Serkis was nominated for anMTV Movie Award for Best Virtual Performance for the role.[54]
Some viewers felt that Snoke'scharacter arc was underdeveloped. Various fan theories about his origins were held so strongly among some viewers that it was difficult for them to accept his demise inThe Last Jedi.[55][56][57][58] Rian Johnson's decision to kill the character without developing him further was criticized by many. Serkis addressed the criticisms by saying producers wanted the character "to have a great deal of mystery", but that he "has been asked to not shed anything should they want to bring him back in any way, whether prequel or whatever".Forbes criticizedThe Force Awakens for not developing Snoke as a character, or exploring his backstory and inexplicable rise to power after the events of the original trilogy, calling the character "a bandage poorly placed over a gaping plot-hole". Serkis acknowledged that some fans found the lack of backstory "incredibly frustrating", but suggested this as an opportunity to layer Snoke in a future story. Despite the criticisms towards the writing,Forbes praised Serkis' performance in both films, and was much more positive towards his appearance inThe Last Jedi, highlighting his death and his relationship with his apprentice, Kylo Ren.[59]
