Who is Supreme Leader Snoke?

The Son

If you aren’t familiar with The Son, I wouldn’t blame you since he’s a relatively recent addition to the lore. Around the end of The Clone Wars’ third season, there was a segment of three episodes revolving around the planet of Mortis. The world was home to three powerful force wielders and existed outside of the material world, serving as a conduit of The Force itself. The force wielders were known simply as The Father, The Daughter and The Son. The Daughter was the embodiment of the Light Side, The Son the embodiment of the Dark while the Father struggled to keep the two in balance.

When the Father realized he was dying, he sent out a 2,000 year old Jedi distress signal to lure The Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, to his planet with the intention of having Anakin take his place. Initially, Anakin rejects the offer, but after The Son kidnaps his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, Anakin is forced to stay and confront the situation. Eventually, Anakin confronts The Son in an area of the planet called The Well of the Dark Side, a place where all of the universal energies of the Dark Side flowed (sound familiar?). After being given a glimpse of his dark future, Anakin joins The Son, who promises that the events of the vision will not come to pass, and that together they will restore peace and order to the galaxy if he helps him escape back into the material world. However, before the two can escape, The Father is able to wipe Anakin’s mind of the vision and the two band together to kill The Son.

Why could Snoke be The Son?

Remember Yupe Tasho’s quote from Aftermath about finding the “wellspring of the Dark Side”? The Well of the Dark Side on Mortis seems to fit that description perfectly. We also might be looking for a character that doesn’t identify themselves as “Sith”, which The Son does when we first meet him. The force wielders of Mortis simply embody aspects of the Force, rather than ally themselves with specific groups of people. If J.J. Abrams is making it clear that neither Kylo Ren nor Snoke are Sith Lords, than The Son would fit that requirement as well.

From an abilities perspective, if The Son is the embodiment of the Dark Side, couldn’t he also have Plagueis’ power of sustaining life? In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine explicitly states that the ability can’t be learned from a Jedi, that the Dark Side “is a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be unnatural” (like cheating death), so there shouldn’t be any question that the power can only be used by Dark Side users.

The Son also conveys a desire to Anakin about ruling the Galaxy, which ends up being the sales pitch that gets Anakin to join him, meaning he has a sense (albeit a twisted one) about what it takes to rule.

The Son also has a lot of experience being exposed to the idea of Balance in the Force from The Father, which could explain why Snoke chooses Ben Solo, who supposedly holds both sides of the Force in him, as his apprentice and Leader of The Knights of Ren. Not only that, it is described that Snoke develops a fascination for the Skywalker family, which would make sense especially if he’s met one before.

You could also make the case that Snoke and The Son share a very similar physical appearance. Both are tall, thin and bald humanoids with pale skin, slightly pointed ears and even dress in similar dark robes with tall collars.

What works against The Son theory?

As far we know, The Son is dead, skewered by Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, and Mortis was crumbling into oblivion as the heroes fleed the planet.  So if The Son were to come back from the dead, he’d have had to do it really quickly and then use some sort of vessel to escape Mortis, which there wasn’t since that was The Son’s biggest reason for needing Anakin in the first place.

Snoke’s facial wounds also aren’t consistent with the way in which The Son died, who suffered no damage above the neck. Again, one could make the argument that coming back from the dead could have various physical repercussions, but Snoke’s injuries likely indicate a larger back story that should be explained in future episodes; especially considering Andy Serkis’ remarks about Snoke being “strangely vulnerable” and “damaged”. However, we don’t know exactly what that entails.

In the end, there is no fool-proof theory about Snoke’s true identity, if he even has one. All of this could very well be for naught, and Snoke might really be “just Snoke”. But that’s not fun to think about. Any one of these character could work very well in what is likely (hopefully) the final big bad guy of the Star Wars saga, if Disney doesn’t milk the franchise too hard. But I think we can all agree that Snoke will have a much larger part to play in shaping the events of a galaxy far, far away then we have seen to date.

Darth Bane

After Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars brand, many feared that Darth Bane would be among the “Legends” casualties. Fortunately, The Clone Wars TV show made sure that didn’t happen during the final episodes of the series, revealing the specter (and the official existence) of the ancient Sith Lord known as Darth Bane.

For those of you who don’t know, Darth Bane existed a thousand years before the Clone Wars, when Sith Lords numbered in the thousands, just as the Jedi did. As we know, Sith Lords have a tendency to try and undermine and kill each other and Bane felt that this would ultimately weaken the Sith’s stance in their war against the Jedi. And he was right. The Jedi were able to exterminate almost every Sith Lord with Bane being the only survivor.

In order to keep the ways of the Sith alive, Bane instituted the Rule of Two, dictating that there can only be a Master to embody power and an Apprentice to crave it, keeping them hidden from the Jedi until they were ready to reveal themselves to exact revenge. Eventually, the Jedi discovered Bane’s existence and were able to kill him, and it was then that the Jedi believed that the Sith were extinct (as referenced by Ki-Adi Mundi in Episode 1).  Unfortunately, Bane had already taken an apprentice that would carry on his work and the Sith would continue to operate in the shadows for many generations until Darth Sidious revealed their presence to the Jedi by sending Darth Maul after the Queen of Naboo. According to the non-canonical Star Wars, he is also the architect behind the idea of a Sith controlled Empire, an idea that he knew would not be achieved in many lifetimes, so it has been the duty every Sith lord since to continue Bane’s work.

Why could Snoke be Darth Bane?

Well despite much of his backstory being kicked into the Legends Zone, Disney has stayed pretty close to Bane’s role in the Star Wars timeline, at least in terms of his creation of the Rule of Two. Currently, it’s not confirmed whether the same goes for the Sith-controlled Empire, but if Snoke were to be Bane, it would explain why The First Order and Palpatine’s Galactic Empire are so similar. It would also fit in line with the logic that Snoke is attempting to right the wrongs of the past. If he’s been watching descendants of his attempt to carry on his work all these years, who better to get it right than the guy that created the plan in the first place?  Not only that, Darth Bane is already established at having a strong perspective on how to rule and has experience in altering and correcting the course of entire collectives (Sith Lords), so taking the reigns of The First Order would be nothing new for him.

In many ways Darth Bane is the beginning of the Sith as we know them, so for J.J. Abrams to call back upon him would do well to make the story come full circle. Bane was very popular amongst Star Wars enthusiasts for many years due to his ruthless nature and calculative mind so he would make for a very strong (and scary) final villain.

What works against the Darth Bane theory?

Darth Bane is ancient. He existed about a thousand years before The Clone Wars and according to his Wookiepedia page, he is human, so he can’t naturally live for a millennium. The Clone Wars TV show established his presence as a specter, so he is able to exist in some fashion.

If he is able to return from the dead, that would also mean that he must have the same life-prolonging ability that Darth Plagueis has. But if that were the case, why wouldn’t Palpatine have told a “Sith Legend” about Darth Bane creating life to lure Anakin instead of Plagueis? Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that Bane probably did not have the power (at least in life), but if he can exist in a way similar to how Obi-Wan and Yoda could as ghosts after death, could he not have continued his training in the ways of the dark side post-mortem?

Another problem is that neither Snoke nor Kylo Ren have officially been given the designation of “Sith”. In fact, J.J. Abrams has gone so far as to declare that Kylo Ren is not a Sith at all and refers to Snoke as simply “a powerful figure in the Dark Side of the Force”. That said, if Snoke were to be Plagueis or Bane, what reason could he possibly have to distance himself from the Sith legacy? Neither really had good reason to think that the ways of the Sith were inferior, mainly since one is the creator of those very ways.

So if Snoke is not a Sith lord, who or what could he be? The novel, Star Wars: Aftermath might just be pointing us in the right direction. The book describes Yupe Tashu, a former advisor to Emperor Palpatine and a historian and believer in the Dark Side who thought that the way to rebuild the Empire’s power was to retreat to the outer edges of the galaxy to hunt down the “wellspring” of the Dark Side.

“We must instead move toward the Dark Side. Palpatine felt that the universe beyond the edges of our maps was where his power came from. Over the many years he, with our aid, sent men and woman beyond known space. They built labs and communication stations on distant moons, asteroids, out there in the wilds. We must follow them. Retreat from the galaxy. Go out beyond the veil of stars. We must seek the source of the Dark Side like a man looking for a wellspring of water.”

“Supreme Leader” is an awfully reverent title, almost cult-like in nature, and Snoke is not present at all during the events of Star Wars: Aftermath. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that Snoke comes to power sometime after the book. And for an organization like the Empire that emphasized rank as much as they did, for someone (or something) to just come in and assume absolute authority, they must be widely seen as pretty important and/or powerful. Throw in the fact that we know Snoke is a “powerful figure in the Dark Side”, it would stand to reason that Snoke is somehow connected to the “wellspring” that Tashu was referring to.

So if the Empire/First Order was seeking out a wellspring of the Dark Side, that would seem to indicate a conduit of some kind. There is one character who is now canon that seems to fit this description. For this, we turn to The Clone Wars TV show.

Darth Plagueis

Probably the most popular theory that’s circulating right now is that Snoke is Palpatine’s old master, Darth Plagueis. This makes sense for a multitude of reasons. For one, as mentioned above, we know that Snoke is old, just not exactly how old. During Anakin’s gradual seduction to the Dark Side, Palpatine recounts a story he describes as “a Sith Legend” about Darth Plagueis, a powerful Sith Lord who could use the Force to create life, keeping the people he loved from dying. This is the hook that gets the saga’s most iconic villain to start his journey towards the Dark Side and in many respects is the thing that is responsible for the current state of affairs across the original trilogy and when we open Episode VII. According to Palpatine (who has already lied once by calling it “a Sith Legend”), Plagueis was killed by his apprentice who supposedly had nothing left to learn from him.

Why could Snoke be Darth Plagueis?

Obviously, it’s not a stretch to think that if Plagueis could keep the ones he loved from dying, he could certainly do it to himself as a failsafe in case his apprentice were to turn on him; a practice very common amongst Sith Lords. He is referred to as Darth Plagueis the Wise by Palpatine, so you have to think that he was at least smart enough to know that it was a possibility.  What we don’t know and haven’t seen is how exactly a Sith Lord uses this power and/or if there are any ill side effects.

Because of this, there are pathways the story can go to explain Snoke/Plageuis’ non-action during the events of the original and prequel trilogies. Perhaps Snoke had to rebuild his power over time before he felt like he could step forward again (a possible side effect of coming back from the dead). If that’s the case, it’s easy to assume he’d probably want revenge on his old apprentice, who has a pretty powerful and loyal student of his own in Vader, making it tougher to get to him. Since it’s confirmed that Snoke seems to know the intimate details regarding Sidious and Vader’s demise, could he not have forseen them as well? Why put himself at risk when the Skywalkers can do it for him? Is there not some poetic justice in his traitorous apprentice being undone by his own champion (Vader)? With both Sith Lords out of the way, Snoke would certainly be free to start over with his own apprentice molded in his image.

Consider this quote from the novelization of The Force Awakens by Snoke:

“The finest sculptor cannot fashion a masterpiece from poor materials. He must have something pure, something strong, something unbreakable, with which to work.”

Could this be an allusion to Sidious and/or Vader? The word “unbreakable” sure sounds like it could be a small jab at Vader. The man who broke his Jedi vows for the woman he loved, or how he became a broken man, after his defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan. Some of the books, which are no longer canon, often depict Vader’s relationship with the Emperor as one of a teacher perpetually disappointed in his student because was never able to surpass Sidious after his injuries (though he was still very strong). Keep in mind that just because something is no longer canon, doesn’t mean that it couldn’t serve as an inspiration or framework for future story beats.

Snoke already considers the Empire to be a failure, and in many respects The First Order is his way of correcting the wrongs of the past. Would that not explain why the two are so similar? Even right down to his version of the Death Star in Starkiller Base? Hell, he even has his own Skywalker (Solo) to carry out the heavy lifting.

What works against the Darth Plagueis theory?

Well for one, Andy Serkis, the actor who depicts Snoke, recently debunked the theory that Snoke is Plagueis, citing the character as “a new addition to the storyline.” Seeing as how Plagueis’ name has been mentioned in the films already, that wouldn’t appear to qualify as a new character. Another thing is that Plagueis is also of the Muun race, who have made an official appearance in Attack of the Clones, so there isn’t much room for debating what one could look like. Muuns have a much more elongated face than what Snoke appears to have and the Darth Plagueis book that released back in 2011 shows this as well, though some have referenced his color and size to be similar to that of Snoke’s.

But if he’s not Plagueis, there is one other popular and feared Sith lord that would make sense.

Here's what we know.

Supreme Leader Snoke is the leader of The First Order at the beginning of Episode VII. As a powerful user of the Dark Side of the Force, Snoke has trained Kylo Ren and at least one other apprentice in the ways of the Dark Side. According to the novelization of The Force Awakens, Snoke saw the rise and fall of Palpatine’s Galactic Empire from afar, saying the following in an exchange with Kylo Ren not seen in the film.

“Kylo Ren, I watched the Galactic Empire rise, and then fall. The gullible prattle on about the triumph of truth and justice, of individualism and free will. As if such things were solid and real instead of simple subjective judgments. The historians have it all wrong. It was neither poor strategy nor arrogance that brought down the Empire. You know too well what did.”

Ren nodded once. “Sentiment.”

“Yes. Such a simple thing. Such a foolish error of judgment. A momentary lapse in an otherwise exemplary life. Had Lord Vader not succumbed to emotion at the crucial moment—had the father killed the son—the Empire would have prevailed. And there would be no threat of Skywalker’s return today.”

This exchange gives us a few important insights. For one, Snoke is old. The Galactic Empire (like we say about Rome) wasn’t built in a day, but across decades of careful planning and manipulation. That means everything from Palpatine’s rise to the office of the Chancellor, the Clone Wars, Darth Vader’s conversion to the Dark Side, the Fall of the Jedi right up until Vader relents and saves his only son from death.

That’s several decades in which Snoke has sat back and watched everything unfold. That means from Episode I onward, he is at least a full grown adult that has a concept for what it is to rule an entire galaxy, since he appears to have some pretty in-depth insights as to where Palpatine and Vader went wrong.

The curious thing about that is that Vader’s and Palpatine’s deaths were not made available to the public according to the novel, Star Wars: Aftermath. They were instead covered up by the remnants of the Empire via propaganda as they struggled to keep the fight alive against the rebels.

Knowing this, Snoke’s insights seem to be so in-depth, you would almost think he was there at the moment Vader tossed the Emperor down the shaft. Here’s a guy that knows that not only are Vader and Palpatine dead (though you can probably chalk that up to 30 years passing with no Emperor/Vader and everyone figuring it out), but that the moment came down to Vader saving Luke in a room where there were no witnesses. In other words, intimate details in what was a private affair.

So from that, we can presume that Snoke knows what went down between Luke, Palpatine and Vader on that fateful day because he likely saw it through the Force. In which case, it further reinforces that Snoke is a very powerful force wielder. But that raises more questions. If Snoke was so powerful, why didn’t he reveal himself? Why couldn’t he just usurp control from Palpatine if he is the big bad he’s likely going to be?

The answers appear to lie in who Snoke is and where he came from. Using what we know about the entire Star Wars saga and anything that is now considered official canon, I will try and come up with a few logical choices about characters who could have been Snoke, as well as the things that work against the theory. With that said, here they are.

Now that just about everyone has seen The Force Awakens, theories on the future of the new trilogy have been in full swing. Some are pretty out there, like Kylo Ren secretly working for the Resistance as an undercover agent, awaiting the “awakening” of Rey so that the two can fulfill the prophecy once laid down to Anakin Skywalker, and defeat the big evil (Snoke) to ultimately bring balance to the Force. I’m not sure Abrams is daring enough to secretly make Kylo Ren a “good guy”, but there’s no denying that Supreme Leader Snoke appears to be the big bad guy going forward.

While we don’t know much about him at this point, it’s safe to assume is that Snoke is going to be an imposing figure on the events of the rest of the trilogy. Star Wars has a history of creating captivating villains who, while they are evil in most respects, have motivations that aren’t terribly difficult to understand or even empathize with. The best part about them, is that they have a past where they were once a completely different person and certain events that transpired shaped them into the villain we see in the films. Darth Vader was the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Darth Sidious, the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, Kylo Ren, the fallen protege of Luke Skywalker and even Count Dooku was the Sith lord Darth Tyrannus and a noble on his home planet of Serrano. Therefore, it’s logical to conclude that Snoke could very well follow that trend.

The thing is we know virtually nothing about Snoke outside of a few brief moments from the movie and some vague details from J.J. Abrams and the cast. Star Wars fans have been theorizing over the new trilogy, and for good reason. It's a lot of fun. I'm by no means saying that the following theories are 100% correct, they just seem to make sense based on the limited information available.

So we'll start with the big question. Who is Snoke?