Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Who/What is Supreme Leader Snoke?

“There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark Side…and the Light.”

Those fateful words kicked off the very first Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer, and thanks to J.J. Abrams, we know they were uttered by Andy Serkis’ character in the film, Supreme Leader Snoke. Until recently, the rumor was that Serkis was playing a character named Uber, yet StarWars.com blew apart that myth last week, when the site revealed a previously unpublished photo from photographer Annie Leibovitz for the Vanity Fair The Force Awakens shoot.

Now that we know the name of Serkis’ character, the question is, who or what exactly is Supreme Leader Snoke? Serkis is famous for his motion-capture acting in movies like Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Planet of the Apes, so seeing him in the photo, covered in his mocap gear, wasn’t that big of a surprise…but it still doesn’t answer the question of who or what he is.

We know that The Force Awakens will take place some 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and the fall of Emperor Palpatine. There is also the changing of the names of the two major factions from the Star Wars movies, the Rebel Alliance is now called the Resistance, and the Galactic Empire is now called the First Order. So, it would make sense to rename the leader of the First Order…instead of the title of Emperor, perhaps he is now called the Supreme Leader.

Think about Palpatine’s title before he became the Emperor. Before he was handed the keys to the galaxy, Palp’s title was Supreme Chancellor, which is awfully close to Supreme Leader. With this information, I would say that it is safe to assume that Supreme Leader Snoke is the First Order’s figure-head.

There’s also the Sith Rule of Two to consider. “Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it.” This means that if the Rule of Two is still in play, then Kylo Ren is either the Master or Apprentice. Knowing what we know about Kylo Ren, his impulsive behavior, his rage and anger, and his lightsaber, we can deduce that Ren is the Apprentice. This leaves just one question…who is the Master?

I think the answer is simple, and has been right in front of our eyes since the first teaser trailer for The Force Awakens debuted. Supreme Leader Snoke is more than likely a Sith Dark Lord, the Master to kylo Ren’s Apprentice. Why else would he sense the awakening in the Force? What’s more, is Snoke may be a powerful Force user, especially since he can sense both the Dark Side and the Light.

Finally, in a movie where Abrams has gone to great lengths to use real-world sets and actors, instead of massive CGI, having a big named actor use motion-capture for his role, probably means that Snoke is an old and decrepit looking Sith Lord, much like how the Emperor looked after his battle with Mace Windu. I personally think Supreme Leader Snoke is going to be an ancient Sith Lord who has himself awakened, and is now the leader of the First Order. December 18 can’t get here fast enough.

Next: Possible Leaked Synopsis for Star Wars: The Force Awakens