‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’: Details of Snoke’s Tragic Past Revealed

As the enigmatic leader of the First Order, Supreme Leader Snoke guides his legion of Stormtroopers to spread terror across the galaxy. And with the new Star Wars movie just weeks away from premiering, we’re starting to learn why.

Actor Andy Serkis spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the mysterious villain in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, calling him ” a cruel master, a 9-foot-tall alien humanoid who disparages and dominates” Kylo Ren and General Hux.

Serkis said the character is constantly in pain, and wants to reflect his agony on the entire galaxy. He’s a lot like Emperor Palpatine in that he craves power, is strong with the dark side, and loves to manipulate his protégés until they’re of no more use.

“His training of Kylo Ren is not yielding what he wants,” said Serkis. “Therefore his anger towards Kylo Ren is intensified because he can’t bear weakness in others. Part of the manipulation is goading him with Hux and playing them off against each other.”

Serkis revealed some intriguing backstory about Snoke, saying that he has a personal vendetta against the Resistance and the Republic.

“The thing about Snoke is that he is extremely strong with the Force, the dark side of the Force. He’s terribly powerful, of course. But he is also a very vulnerable and wounded character,” Serkis said. “He has suffered and he has suffered injury. The way that his malevolence comes out is in reaction to that. His hatred of the Resistance is fueled by what’s happened to him personally.”

Snoke’s strength is match by the might of the First Order, and people will realize just how powerful the villains are in The Last Jedi.

“Despite the fact that the Starkiller Base has been destroyed and the Resistance has been putting up a fight, we will discover that the First Order has limitless resources in this one,” Serkis said.

Though his disappointment in Kylo Ren continues to grow, he might be satisfied with a potential replacement in Rey.

Snoke only appeared as a hologram in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but he is given much more to do in the new movie.

“This time you get to see him, as in his real presence,” said Serkis. “In the previous movie we saw him as this huge hologram and tele-presence, and you get to meet him in the flesh this time.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi premieres December 15.