One of the last remaining mysteries surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been revealed… and in such a casual fashion!
Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz granted StarWars.com an exclusive interview about the exclusive photos she took on the set of J.J. Abrams’ impending Star Wars sequel. And after sharing a photo she took of Andy Serkis that wasn’t used in the magazine spread, it was revealed that Serkis’ character will be named Supreme Leader Snoke.
As is typical of Andy Serkis, his performance is motion-captured, meaning that he wears the physically daunting apparatus on his facial features and computers capture (and later manipulate) the portrayal into a CGI mask that they want to appear on screen. Serkis, over the years, has become the go-to talent in this field, using mo-cap for movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy and, most recently, the Planet of the Apes reboots.
But after Andy Serkis showed his face in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he played the arms dealer Ulysses Klaw, some wondered if the actor would play a character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens that allowed audiences to see his face. Judging by the photo Annie Leibovitz took of Serkis on the Star Wars set, that will not be the case.
Unfortunately, the name Supreme Leader Snoke carries no weight or recognition in the Star Wars universe, meaning that we know just as much about him as we do newcomers such as Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) or Poe (Oscar Isaac). We’re open to speculation. Supreme Leader seems to signify that Serkis’ character will be in a position of power, possibly in what is left of the Empire … which will now be known as The First Order. Will Serkis be playing an alien character? Or will he be playing a horribly disfigured human being, whose face has to be presented using CGI?
It is believed that Andy Serkis’ voice provided the narration to the first Star Wars teaser trailer, the character who spoke about sensing a disturbance in the Force. That can be Jedi speak. It could be a Sith talking.
We will have all of our questions answered when Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18. Until then, who do you think Supreme Leader Snoke could be? Speculate away in the comments section below!
