5 Theories on Who Snoke Is and Where He Came From

Hello Star Wars fans. With the end of the cinema screening of the Rogue One movie, many fans are now looking towards the The Last Jedi and as the release date draws ever so near, one question continues to plague everyone's minds and that is "Who is Snoke?" Theories have ranged from Darth Plagueis to the Sith Emperor Vitiate but today let's discuss the most prominent five on the Internet. As the theory that he is a new character is not something that can be discussed further due to it being self-explanatory, it won't come up. I'm also not discussing the Mace Windu one because it has been clarified to be nonsense. But yes, there are high indications of the new character thing from the official production people so take all this with a grain of salt...

1) Snoke is Plagueis.

Tell me what you regard as your greatest strength, so I will know how best to undermine you; tell me of your greatest fear, so I will know which I must force you to face; tell me what you cherish most, so I will know what to take from you; and tell me what you crave, so that I might deny you.

This is the theory that came to the mind of every Star Wars fan upon seeing the Force Awakens. Clearly the hints have been there. The use of the term, the Supreme Leader is "very wise" is interesting because the full Sith name that Sidious tells is Darth Plaugeis the Wise. Plus, in the now non-cannon novel by James Laceno, Sidious tells Plagueis:

“Sidious bowed his head in deference. “In the annals of Sith history, you will be known as Plagueis the Wise.” Plagueis quirked a cunning smile. “You flatter me.”

Then we see Sidious tell his story in the opera house on Coruscant to young Anakin Skywalker. If Plagueis truly had learned the secret to survive death, it would not be beyond the possibility that he learned to bide his time, wait for the opportune moment. There is also the music and themes for both, which people do say are similar but to be honest, I don't see it. Plus supposedly the scars could be from a duel between Sidious and Plagueis where Sidious assumed he killed him(the poison in his drink is non-cannon). Now there are roadblocks here. Plagueis' species is Muun, which is not at all what Snoke looks like. However, the establishment of the species took place in the novel which is now non cannon. Andy Serkis has said that he is not Plagueis but red herrings like John Harrison and Khan are not uncommon in the realm of sci-fi. Plagueis remains the most credible theory of all as it is a way of linking the prequel and sequel universe together. Being a scientist, he would be able to create great monstrosities of biology and technology, which is basically what Starkiller base is.

2) Vitiate.

My life spans millennia. Legions have risen to test me. […] My ascendance is inevitable. A day, a year, a millennium—it matters not. I hold the patience of stone and the will of stars. Your striving is insignificant. Let your death be the same.

For those of you who are not players of Star Wars The Old Republic, Vitate is the Sith Emperor, who not only makes the founder of the Sith Empire, but also the founder of the Eternal Empire. In the novels Aftermath, we are told that Sidious sends scientists and researchers to find out about the source of his dark side energy. They developed stations there and that is where the remnants of the empire went to reform and emerge as the First Order. This is all very interesting but where does Vitiate fit in? Well, Vitiate established the original Sith Empire in the Unknown regions and the Eternal Empire in Wild Space, both of which could be the Unknown regions in the movie universe. Second, Vitiate achieved immortality by host bodies, therefore it is not outside the realm of possibility he lived for thousands of years as Snoke did. He could have been in the Unknown Regions, biding his time till the opportune moment came to strike. Also, Sidious hears some call from there in the novels, that Vader cannot hear nor understand. This could be Sidious becoming the Emperor's Voice, an ability that Vitiate used in the old days to talk to people through his appointed Sith Lords. There are, however roadblocks to this theory as well. The whole Old Republic universe is alternative cannon, meaning that it is not part of the universe Star Wars is in nor Legends even. Second, Vitiate would never take such a weak host body as Snoke displays. Plus the emperor was cocky to the extreme, why would he fear Luke Skywalker. And as a Sith, he had no respect for the light, something Snoke clearly has. Also, it is said that he was once very handsome and the emperor would be described as such in his prime.

3) Snoke is the Last Jedi.

This is interesting actually. Snoke says that the map will lead them to the Last Jedi and then if Luke Skywalker is found , the new Jedi will rise. Now it could also be possible that the last Jedi is not Luke as is commonly believed. The theory goes that Snoke is the last Jedi. To understand this concept, one must understand the Legends origin of the Sith. The dark Jedi that disagreed with the teachings of the order were expelled and left for Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith species. Interbreeding eventually led to the formation of the Sith Order itself. Snoke could be one of the earlier Jedi that left the order, and the last Jedi being a reference to himself as the last of the old order, with the new ones being false Jedi. This is a bit far fetched, but could tie in nicely with the title of the next movie and explain the respect for Skywalker and the light. However, of all the theories this seems to me to be mostly unlikely. The order spans millennia, not just thousands of years. Plus such a large presence could not have hid from the Jedi so easily as it would also be a light side presence.

4) Snoke is the Son.

"He is just so selfish and was taking too long to die, so I decided to move things along."

The Son is a Force Wielder, beings that have great power in the Force and are also the embodiment of it. He is the embodiment of the dark side of the force. The Son appeared in the third season of the Clone Wars CGI series. The three episode story arc holds significance because it was created by George Lucas. The Son is similar to Snoke in terms of looks. When the Father takes away his immortality, the Son is killed by Anakin's lightsaber. However, there is a slightly interesting twist. The Son can only be killed by the Dagger of Mortis. By his own sacrifice, the Father took away the Son's immortality but the focal point is he was not killed by the dagger. So...it is not beyond the realm of possibility the Son survived. He would have a healthy respect for the light and also would be the source of the dark side power spoken of in Aftermath which Sidious is looking for and the Imperial remnants find. Maybe, the Son took this time to recuperate, the respect he has for Anakin Skywalker is also a good point in this favor. However, to be fair, the Son would be too large of a character for any movie, being far too powerful for any normal knight or master to take on, much less Luke. Plus as the Son, Snoke again would have no need for Ren or his order.

5) Snoke is a parasite.

Recently, a few youtube channels such as Star Wars Theory have come up with a new, somewhat unbelievable theory that I believe should be discussed even though I do have my doubts about it. There is no evidence particular or leaks that would increase the veracity of this theory but it does offer an interesting view of Snoke and does provide some linkage to the prequels, sequels and the new trilogy. And it is similar to the Vitiate theory as well.The theory goes in this way that the Rule of Two does ends with Plagueis and Sidious. Focusing on the powers of life and death, upon his death at the hands of Sidious, Plagueis takes over Sidious' body and becomes a true plague (cool wordplay here) when Sidious attempts to kill him. The evidence for this is the voice change that takes place during the Sith christening of Vader when Palpatine says good:

And the blue wave released at the death of palpatine:

Now the theory goes, the spirit is the one that makes sure Anakin becomes his apprentice in order to get a great host body to survive, similar to what we see in the Dark Empire comics. With Luke throwing a wrench into that plan, Plagueis is forced to enter Vader's body, and after the burning, walk off. This would account for the scar similarities between Snoke and Vader and how Kylo Ren got the charred helmet.

To be very honest, I find this theory full of holes. For starters, why would Snoke wait so long to build up the First Order to take over the galaxy when he could just command the Imperial forces. Second, the First Order came from the Unknown Regions of space, as I explained before so it is unlikely that Snoke, who is also supposed to be thousands of years old, by the way, went there in this theory. So highly doubtful. Lastly, Snoke would have possessed Kylo Ren the minute he got his hands on him and not respected both the light and the dark nor fear Luke Skywalker.