Andy Serkis, the star from Star Wars: The Last Jedi has clarified that despite being a dark side user, Supreme Leader Snoke is not a Sith Lord. Throughout the Skywalker saga, the Sith have been the lead villains, and the prequels covered Palpatine’s ascent, and the main trilogy showcased the decline of the Empire. However, the filmmakers chose to move in a different direction for the sequels by bringing in new villains. The disoriented young Kylo Ren is called the “master of the Knights of Ren,” which meant that the Sith were never back to power during the 30 years that followed the Galactic Civil War.
The proliferation of Snoke fan theories convinced a lot of people about him being an ancient Sith Lord. A well-known premise that did the rounds at the time of The Force Awakens was about Supreme Leader Snoke being Darth Plagueis, the former master of Palpatine who somehow managed to avoid death (before his murder by Sheev). That theory was rejected by the management of Lucasfilm before it became too prominent and as is revealed now, Snoke has nothing to do with the Sith.
During an interview with Empire, Serkis discussed things about Snoke’s nature, repeating his earlier remarks about the Supreme Leader’s absolute hatred and weakness. He also formally acknowledged what a lot of people had guessed, Snoke has nothing to do with Sith. Besides the quote, the magazine also revealed an exclusive image which is shared below:
“Snoke is bloody dark; way darker than Palpatine. He’s riddled with this osteoporosis, so his body’s twisted, like a corkscrew. He’s incredibly damaged, so there’s a bizarre vulnerability about him. Beneath that vulnerability, though, is this intense hatred… He’s definitely not a Sith, but he’s certainly at the darker end of the Force. Without giving too much away, that begins to unfold a little in this one.”
Among all the mysteries and plot turns that The Last Jedi is likely to have, this is probably the least shocking. In the Star Wars mythos, the “Darth” title is used by the Sith to call their members and neither Snoke nor Kylo Ren claimed of that title. Therefore, it was suspected for a long time that they were creating a new avenue. Although a lot of fans would have been glad to see Sith return to fight Jedi in the new trilogy, it is supposed to be for the best that J.J. Abrams has brought forward a new idea to canon. For the franchise to stay relevant and profitable in the next decade, the story can’t just keep going on the basis of the well-known legacy elements and by milking nostalgia. Beyond that, it is also logical that the Empire has evolved into something even mightier in order to extend their usage of the Force. Snoke is familiar with Palpatine and Vader’s failure to control the galaxy. Therefore, he won’t be foolish to make the same mistakes.
Among this and Luke Skywalker’s statement about it being time for the end of the Jedi, it is doubtless that Episode VIII director Rian Johnson has been trying to set up some new creative directions in his movie and it seems as if his efforts have paid off well. Earlier in November, the director was given the reigns of the Star Wars Kingdom with the new trilogy’s announcement that he will helm after the end of the Skywalker’s saga. His handling of the material has impressed the bosses, and it must be fascinating to see what the future holds for us.
Source: Empire
