Star Wars: Andy Serkis Claims He Knows Snoke's Backstory

Ahead of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the conclusion to the nine-movie Skywalker Saga, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi star Andy Serkis says he knows the secret backstory behind the mysterious Snoke. The once Supreme Leader of the First Order was unceremoniously cut down by apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) during a confrontation with Rey (Daisy Ridley) in the Rian Johnson-directed The Last Jedi, which ended with the twisted son of Han (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) taking his murdered master's place. In an interview with People Magazine, Serkis admitted with a laugh he still "can't say anything at all, surprisingly" about Snoke's shadowy past — suggesting some spilled secrets in The Rise of Skywalker.

"I know what his backstory is, but I don't want to reveal it," Serkis told People in its Star Wars: The Essential Guide to The Rise of Skywalker issue. "His traits are born out of injuries from battle and a deep sense of revenge."

Returning writer-director J.J. Abrams — who introduced the stories-tall Snoke in hologram form in The Force Awakens — previously hinted audiences might leave The Rise of Skywalker with a better sense of who the character was, telling Uproxx:

"I will say, without giving anything away, knowing this movie is an ending is, for me infinitely more challenging than a beginning. We knew we needed to provide answers. And while there may be some things that aren't entirely demystified by the end of it, we wanted to make sure people left feeling that they were satisfied. So I hope, on a number of issues, people will leave and feel like that it's a true ending and not an advertising ploy. We really are bringing it to an end."

Replacing Snoke in the throne of big bad is the supposedly slain Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who had to return because of his prominence in both the prequel and original trilogies, according to Abrams.

"Well, when you look at this as nine chapters of a story, perhaps the weirder thing would be if Palpatine didn't return," Abrams said. "You just look at what he talks about, who he is, how important he is, what the story is — strangely, his absence entirely from the third trilogy would be conspicuous. It would be very weird."

Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Kelly Marie Tran, Anthony Daniels, Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Joonas Suotamo, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20.

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