Supreme Leader Snoke was conceived for the first film of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015). Director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan needed a new master villain to serve as the shadowy power behind the First Order and the master of the film's primary antagonist, Kylo Ren. The character's development was shrouded in the secrecy characteristic of Abrams' “mystery box” approach to storytelling.
The visual design of Snoke went through numerous iterations. Early concept art explored a wide range of ideas, including a female character, a more classically elegant figure, and even serpentine, alien forms. The final design, a tall, gaunt, and heavily scarred humanoid, was intended to evoke a sense of ancient damage and profound suffering, hinting at a long and violent history. The scale of the character was also a key consideration; initially depicted as a giant hologram, this choice was made to emphasize his power and make him an intimidating presence, drawing parallels to the Emperor's holographic appearances in The Empire Strikes Back.
The character was brought to life through performance capture by the renowned actor Andy Serkis, famous for his work as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot series. Serkis's performance imbued Snoke with a palpable sense of menace, arrogance, and a deep, resonant voice that conveyed both immense power and deep-seated pain. His involvement was a clear indicator of the character's intended significance in the new trilogy.
The true nature of Snoke's origin was one of the central mysteries of the sequel trilogy, with the final explanation arriving in the concluding chapter. This section distinguishes between his canonical origin and the widespread fan theories that flourished before the official reveal.
As revealed in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
and expanded upon in supplementary materials like The Star Wars Book and the The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, Supreme Leader Snoke was not a natural being who rose to power. He was an artificial life-form, a “strand-cast,” engineered in the cloning labs of the Sith Eternal on the hidden world of Exegol.
Following his apparent death at the Battle of Endor, Darth Sidious's spirit was transferred into a crude, decaying clone body. From his sanctum on Exegol, he began his ultimate contingency plan: the creation of the Final Order. A key part of this plan was the establishment of a proxy state, the First Order, to destabilize the New Republic and prepare the galaxy for his return. To lead this organization, he needed a public face—a powerful figurehead who could command loyalty and inspire fear without revealing the Sith's survival.
Using advanced cloning technology and Sith alchemy, Palpatine's cultists created Snoke. He was not a clone in the traditional sense, but a genetically engineered being infused with the dark side of the Force, designed to be powerful but ultimately subservient. Multiple Snoke bodies were grown in vats on Exegol, serving as disposable vessels. The chosen Snoke was given a manufactured identity and a fabricated backstory to conceal his true nature. He was purposefully designed with free will, but his mind and actions were always susceptible to the influence of his creator.
Snoke's mission had two primary objectives:
For years, Snoke successfully played his part, ruling the First Order from his flagship, the Supremacy, and deepening his hold over Kylo Ren. He remained completely unaware that he was a pawn in a much larger game, a temporary placeholder until his master, Darth Sidious, was ready to reclaim the galaxy.
Before the revelations of The Rise of Skywalker, Snoke's mysterious identity was a source of intense fan speculation, with many theories drawing upon characters and concepts from the old “Legends” continuity (formerly the Expanded Universe). Answering the question “Who is Snoke?” became a central preoccupation for the fandom.
Snoke's character is defined by his formidable dark side abilities, his unique philosophical outlook, and his true, hidden purpose as a tool for a greater power.
Though an artificial being, Snoke was exceptionally powerful in the dark side of the Force, rivaling some of the most formidable Sith Lords in history. His power was a direct result of his engineered creation by Darth Sidious.
Snoke's philosophy was one of brutal pragmatism, arrogance, and a deep appreciation for the aesthetics of power.
The ultimate truth of Snoke's existence reframes his entire character arc. He was not a master but a placeholder.
The relationship between Snoke and Kylo Ren was the central master-apprentice dynamic of the sequel trilogy. It was a relationship built entirely on predation and manipulation. Snoke identified the conflict in young Ben Solo and used it as a wedge, preying on his fear of not living up to his Skywalker legacy and his resentment of his parents and uncle. He presented himself as the only one who understood Ben's true potential. As his master, Snoke was cruel and demanding, constantly testing Kylo's loyalty and berating him for his sentimentality and “childish” connection to the light. Snoke's greatest miscalculation was underestimating the depth of that very conflict he sought to exploit. He believed he had complete control over Kylo, a fatal arrogance that allowed his apprentice to deceive his master's vaunted foresight and assassinate him.
While they never interacted on-screen, the relationship between Snoke and Darth Sidious is that of a puppet and its master. Snoke was an instrument, given life and purpose solely to enact Palpatine's will. He was imbued with immense power and a convincing persona, but he was always a disposable asset. It remains ambiguous just how much Snoke knew of his own origins or of Palpatine's continued existence. His dialogue suggests he believed himself to be his own master, indicating the deception was absolute. He was a pawn who believed he was a king, which made his role all the more effective.
Snoke stood at the apex of the First Order's hierarchy, but his relationship with the military wing was fraught with tension. He held General Armitage Hux in contempt, viewing him as a rabid but useful dog to be kicked and put in his place. Snoke openly mocked Hux's failures and delighted in tormenting him, fostering a bitter rivalry between Hux and Kylo Ren. He saw this internal conflict as a useful tool to keep both of his chief subordinates ambitious and off-balance. He commanded their loyalty through sheer terror, not respect.
Snoke's interest in Rey was purely strategic. When her power manifested, he saw her not as a threat, but as a tool. His plan was to use Rey to complete Kylo Ren's training. He believed that by forcing Kylo to face and destroy a powerful rival who represented the light—his “equal”—it would expunge the last vestiges of Ben Solo and solidify his identity as a true master of the dark side. He engineered the Force bond between them to lure Rey to him, confident that he could either turn her or use her death to forge his perfect apprentice. This, like his confidence in controlling Kylo, was a gross underestimation of both Rey's resilience and the complex bond she shared with his apprentice.
Snoke's on-screen presence was limited to two films, but his impact was felt throughout the entire sequel trilogy.
In his debut, Snoke appears only as a massive, awe-inspiring hologram, addressing Kylo Ren and General Hux from an undisclosed location. He is established as the absolute authority of the First Order. He questions Kylo Ren's ability to handle the “awakening” in the Force and instructs him to retrieve the map to Luke Skywalker. His key moment is ordering the destruction of the Hosnian System with Starkiller Base, a genocidal act that demonstrates his ruthlessness and the immense power at his command. His final act in the film is to order Hux to bring the defeated Kylo Ren to him so he can “complete his training.”
Snoke makes his first and only physical appearance in this film, aboard his Mega-class Star Dreadnought, the Supremacy. After berating Kylo Ren for his failure and weakness—mocking his helmet as childish—he reveals his masterstroke: he himself created the Force bond between Kylo and Rey to lure her into his trap. In the film's climax, he brings Rey to his throne room, where he tortures her and probes her mind with ease. In a moment of supreme arrogance, he commands Kylo Ren to execute Rey, proclaiming he cannot be betrayed and that he can see his apprentice's every intent. In a stunning twist, Kylo uses the Force to rotate the Skywalker lightsaber at Snoke's side, igniting it and slicing the Supreme Leader in half, killing him instantly. Snoke's death explained: It was the ultimate subversion of the master-apprentice trope, a moment where the apprentice outwitted his overconfident master by concealing his true intentions deep within his conflicted heart.
While Snoke himself has only one primary incarnation in the Star Wars canon, the concept of “variants” applies to him in a unique way through his creation process and early development.