Supreme Leader Snoke is a dark, scary force.
He’s the master puppeteer pulling the strings behind the First Order – the modern incarnation of the Galactic Empire, essentially – and prefers to command his troops from afar. That’s a strategy we saw unfold in The Force Awakens, when Snoke relayed instructions via a floor-to-ceiling hologram. Turns out Andy Serkis’ strangely humanoid and bloody well unsightly alien has been housed up in his Mega Star Destroyer, the Supremacy, all along, but all involved have assured fans that Snoke will have a much more prominent role to play in Star Wars: The Last Jedi come December.
Perhaps we’ll see that fabled duel between Snoke and Luke Skywalker? Granted, such a climactic showdown will likely be reserved for the untitled Episode IX. But closer to home, Rian Johnson recently spoke to Empire about all things Star Wars, after the outlet crowned The Last Jedi to be its cover star for the soon-to-be-released October issue.
On the topic of Snoke, though, Rian Johnson once again stressed that The Last Jedi will shed some light on Snoke’s backstory, but it won’t reveal everything – lest it ruin the sense of mystery and intrigue swirling around the First Order’s Supreme Leader.
We got the whole story of Palpatine’s rise to power in the prequels, but in the original films he’s exactly what he needs to be, which is just ‘The Emperor’. He’s a dark force: the scary thing behind the thing. That was entirely how I approached Snoke. I wasn’t interested in explaining where he came from or telling his history, except where it serves this story.
Johnson has drawn parallels between The Last Jedi and the original Star Wars trilogy in the past, particularly when talking about how his sequel shares some connective tissue with Empire. Word is that there’s also a clear connection between the Rebel Alliance and the Resistance, after the latter occupies a far-flung outpost aboard Crait that was originally used during the height of the rebellion.
Expect more information on Snoke and indeed Crait to emerge before Star Wars: The Last Jedi makes a beeline for theaters on December 15th.