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2. Snoke’s Identity
Another hot topic of fans pertaining to the new sequel trilogy is the identity of the Supreme Leader Snoke. Ever since his appearance in The Force Awakens, fans have been speculating on his true identity. Let’s run through a couple of the popular theories surrounding Snoke.
The Darth Plagueis Theory
Arguably the most prominent theory contends Snoke is actually Darth Plagueis the Wise, the former Sith master of none other than Darth Sideous himself. We learned of the Sith master in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith when Emperor Palpatine tells Anakin a story about a powerful Sith Lord who harnessed the ability to create life. There is speculation that Plagueis was not killed by Darth Sideous as stated in the story, but instead kept himself alive with his power to control midi-chlorians. There is “evidence” to support this theory, such as the musical motif used in certain scenes of the films and the likeness of Snoke compared to race of humanoids Plagueis belonged to, known as the Munn.
This theory seems to have been debunked, however. The main reason is simply that the Legacy Universe and Darth Plagueis are no longer considered canon. If that wasn’t enough, Pablo Hidalgo, the creative executive for the Lucasfilm Story Group, plainly stated on Twitter that Darth Plagueis is indeed dead. Death is a pretty strong argument against Plagueis actually being Snoke.
https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/729448383094489088?s=09
The Grand Inquisitor
Star Wars has introduced a slew of old and new characters into the universe with the help of their animated television shows, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Some of the most intriguing characters are the Inquisitors, a group of Force sensitives recruited by the Galactic Empire to hunt down the Jedi who survived Order 66 and any other Force sensitive children in the galaxy. A few Inquisitors made their appearances in Star Wars Rebels, but it’s the Grand Inquisitor who is the focus of this theory.
There really isn’t a strong amount of evidence to support this idea that the Grand Inquisitor is actually Supreme Leader Snoke. The Inquisitors were not considered full Sith. The Emperor and Darth Vader never trained the Inquisitors to their max potential as to not violate the “Rule of Two.” With that being said, The Grand Inquisitor was technically a Jedi Knight before an Inquisitor, so he may have had more training than the others. The Grand Inquisitor has a slight resemblance to the figure of Snoke in The Force Awakens, but facial features alone do not mean the characters are one in the same.
The Gran Inquisitor is also Pau’an, sometimes known as a Utapaun, a humanoid species from Utapau. The information we have about Snoke’s appearance (roughly 7 feet tall, blue eyes, large facial scar, thin and frail) doesn’t really match the description of the Grand Inquisitor, so its unlikely they’re the same character. Most importantly, after failing his mission to capture rebels on Lothal and having been defeated in a lightsaber battle by Kanan Jarrus, the Grand Inquisitor chose to take his own life rather than meet the wrath of his master. Similar to comics, death in the Star Wars universe isn’t always permanent…
Mace Windu
Thank you again, internet.
Here is another theory that is a bit of a stretch. Essentially, Mace Windu survived his encounter with Emperor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith, even after being Force lightninged and thrown out of a window. This bit of speculation goes on to say that Jedi have been known to fall great distances and survive using the Force, so it’s plausible Master Windu survived that fall. Of course, the Force lightning would explain all the scarring on Supreme Leader Snoke. Windu had a reputation for walking the line between light and dark, so perhaps he finally completed the fall to the dark side? He would have a sizable grudge against the Skywalker clan, if he did indeed survive the attack.
Palpatine Clone
When all else fails, it is almost always a clone. Well maybe…
Another clone theory, but this time stating Snoke is a clone of Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sideous. Now before you denounce this as “just another clone theory” it is important to remember that in the old extended universe (again, now no longer canon) Emperor Palpatine was resurrected via multiple clone bodies in the Dark Empire story line (plenty more on that later). We’ve already seen some of the Legacy Universe adapted to television with Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels, so it is possible Lucasfilm could bring more of that universe back into canon.
New Character
All theories aside, odds are Supreme Leader Snoke is an entirely new character in Star Wars. The best piece of evidence came from back in 2015, when Andy Serkis told EW that Snoke was an entirely new character. “No, he’s a new character in this universe. It is very much a newly-introduced character. He’s aware of what’s gone on, in the respect that he has been around and is aware of prior events. I think it’d be fair to say that he is aware of the past to a great degree.” It would make sense for Disney/Lucasfilm to bring a new adversary into the fold rather than revisit or rework previous ones.
