Although his time on-screen was shorter than expected, there's much to be learned about Supreme Leader Snoke from Star Wars' sequel trilogy. The original ruler of the First Order, which was formed out of the Imperial Remnant, Snoke took command of the Empire's remains to reclaim control of the galaxy from the New Republic. However, the truth about Snoke and his role in the galaxy was far more complex than even he realized.
Thanks to supplemental Star Wars media beyond the films, Snoke's character has been fleshed out quite a bit since his demise in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Not only does his conception date back to the original trilogy, but his legacy could have continued had it been wished by his true creator in the established Star Wars canon. Here are 10 facts that provide a strong summation of Supreme Leader Snoke.
10 Supreme Leader Snoke Is A Genetic Construct Called A Strandcast
An artificial creation manufactured under the orders of Emperor Palpatine, Snoke is what's known as a strandcast. Unlike typical clones such as those created to serve as the Grand Army of the Republic, strand-casting was a cloning technique involving extensive modifications to the base genetic template. However, the process carried an extremely high mortality rate along with a high likelihood of defects in the genetic makeup. While Palpatine used this process in the hopes of creating Force-sensitive clone bodies, strand-casting did not guarantee a subject's ability to wield the Force (though in the rare case of Snoke, it did).
9 Snoke Clones Were Being Created Before Return Of The Jedi
Foreseeing a potential future in which Darth Vader might betray him, Emperor Palpatine cloning bodies as a contingency for his demise was well underway prior to Return of the Jedi and Vader's redemption as Anakin Skywalker. As seen in Marvel's current Darth Vader comic series, Palpatine already had specimens gestating on his secret Sith world of Exegol following the events of The Empire Strikes Back. This included clone bodies bearing a striking resemblance to Snoke himself, with Luke Skywalker's severed hand among the templates.
8 Snoke Didn't Know He Was Under Palpatine's Control
Despite being a creation of Emperor Palpatine, Star Wars has confirmed that Snoke was unaware of Palpatine's influence over him. Snoke believed his actions were his own and that the Emperor had long since died. In truth, Snoke was only ever a puppet, a proxy used by the resurrected Palpatine as he sought to create a more suitable Force-sensitive body that could sustain his dark spirit without breaking down.
7 Snoke Used The Dark Side, But He Wasn't A Sith
Although Supreme Leader Snoke could harness the power of the Force, he was not a traditional Sith Lord like Palpatine or Darth Vader. Again, he was nothing more than a puppet to be used by Palpatine, though he was able to foresee possible futures while employing a variety of more physical Force abilities such as telekinesis and Force lightning. However, Snoke's power in the Force wasn't enough to prevent his demise as seen in The Last Jedi.
6 Snoke Wore A Ring That Came From Mustafar
Snoke wore a ring that may have key significance to Palpatine as his secret creator. The ring housed an obsidian stone from the Sith cave on Mustafar, the powerful nexus upon which Darth Vader built his fortress. Likewise, the ring has engraved glyphs of the Dwartii, a group of ancient sages with connections to the Sith Empire. Not only did Palpatine have their statues in his Coruscant office, but his Grand Vizier Mas Amedda had a statue of the Sage Sistros on his staff. As such, it's been theorized that this ring might have been how Palpatine was able to influence Snoke while he ruled the First Order.
5 Snoke's Ship, The Supremacy, Was The Largest Capital Ship In History
Rather than ruling from a homeworld, Supreme Leader Snoke's throne room was aboard the Supremacy, the largest known capital ship in the Star Wars galaxy. Massive in scale, Snoke's ship served as the First Order's mobile capital, over 60km wide and making Star Destroyers look minuscule in comparison. However, the ship was decimated by the Resistance's Vice iral Holdo, who jumped to hyperspace aboard the Raddus with a flight path that went straight through the Supremacy, splitting the ship in two.
4 Snoke Corrupted Ben Solo (Because Palpatine Couldn't)
Before the events of the sequel trilogy, Kylo Ren had been groomed by Snoke for years prior to leaving Luke's Jedi Temple. Serving as a secret mentor, Snoke was able to gradually corrupt Ben Solo, something Palpatine would have never been able to do himself given his history with Ben's family. Instead, Palpatine was able to use Snoke to orchestrate the perfect combination of inner conflict within Ben. Upon learning the truth that was hidden from him about his connection to Darth Vader combined with Luke's moment of fear and weakness, Ben ran straight to Snoke, who encouraged his descent into the dark, becoming Kylo Ren.
3 Snoke's Death Came From Sharing Palpatine's Weakness (Overconfidence)
Although Snoke was able to see elements of the future through the Force, his overconfidence proved to be his ultimate weakness (just like Palpatine, as proven by Luke in Return of the Jedi). Although he could clearly see Kylo Ren "killing his true enemy" in The Last Jedi, Snoke assumed he could not be beaten nor betrayed, which is why he believed Ren was going to kill Rey. Instead, he was taken completely by surprise when Kylo Ren used the Force to turn and ignite Rey's lightsaber straight through the Supreme Leader's midsection.
2 Snoke Believed He Created The Bond Between Rey & Kylo Ren - But Was Wrong
Although Supreme Leader Snoke claimed credit for the connection in the Force shared by Rey and Kylo Ren, this was inaccurate. The truth was revealed in The Rise of Skywalker that Rey and Kylo were in fact a Force dyad, a rare pairing of dark and light unseen for generations in the Star Wars galaxy. While Snoke might have helped bring the dyad together as an external factor, he was not solely responsible for creating their bond, nor their shared power in the Force.
1 Palpatine Was Creating More Snokes In Rise Of Skywalker
The Rise of Skywalker also revealed that Palpatine had many more strand-casts on Exegol following Snoke's demise. Several were seen gestating in sinister incubation pods when Kylo Ren first came to Exegol, seemingly ready to be birthed should the former Emperor have need of them. However, the odds are strong that they were destroyed along with Palpatine and his Sith Eternal cult at the end of Star Wars' Skywalker saga.
