Did the Star Wars sequel trilogy give us one Big Bad for the price of two?
With the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker imminent, the rumor mill is working
overtime - and the latest nugget has to do with the late Supreme Leader Snoke, Emperor
Palpatine, and the relationship between the two characters.
The rumor comes from fan site Making Star Wars, which has been a fairly reliable source
of inside information - so be warned that potential spoilers for Rise of Skywalker are
ahead.
Ever since his first appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the identity of Snoke has
been shrouded in mystery.
Where did he come from, how did he come to assume control of the First Order after the
fall of the Empire, and what is his interest in Kylo Ren?
Rise of Skywalker will presumably answer all of those questions, but Making Star Wars might
have answered one of them for us just a little bit early.
The website's alleged spoiler has to do with a scene that supposedly takes place on the
dead planet of Exogol, where Emperor Palpatine has been in hiding.
"Wait," you say, stroking your chin.
"I thought he died!"
"No!
NO!
YOU will die!"
Geez, grandpa - take a chill pill.
But yeah, no, we still have no explanation as to just how ol' Palps has returned.
For the purposes of this rumor, however, it's neither here nor there.
The Emperor is confronted by Kylo Ren, whom we assume has located the old dude with the
help of one of those heavily rumored "Wayfinder" devices that are said to be central to the
flick's plot.
Ren is skeptical that Palpatine even is who he says he is, but he's shaken to discover
that the Emperor is keeping several clones of Snoke in vats in his lair.
Their conversation becomes more and more confrontational, with Ren's anger starting to bubble to the
surface, and Palpatine becoming more and more annoyed that this young upstart doesn't grasp
the enormity of what's going on here.
When Ren finally invokes Snoke by name, Palpatine makes a startling proclamation: "I am Snoke!"
Well, we didn't see that coming... okay, maybe we sort of saw it coming, but we were never
exactly sure.
The question that remains, though - assuming that this rumor is accurate, and that this
scene actually exists - is whether or not Palpatine is speaking literally.
Could it be that Palpatine has actually found a way to transfer his consciousness into the
body of another being?
This might explain why Snoke was so keen to groom Ren; perhaps the young guy was actually
being prepped to become Palpatine's next vessel.
Hey, if we were trapped inside that horrifying bag of bones that was Snoke, we'd be keen
to hook ourselves up with a younger, far more aesthetically pleasing - and broad-shouldered
- body, too.
However, don't forget that Palpatine has employed this phrasing before, during the events of
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
While still holding the title of Supreme Chancellor, and before his transformation into a walking,
breathing jump scare, Palpatine was confronted by Jedi Master Mace Windu over having concealed
his identity as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.
Attempting to place Palpatine under arrest, Windu informs him that "the Senate will decide
[his] fate," whereupon Palpatine coolly replies, "I am the Senate."
Obviously, Palpatine is prone to speaking in such metaphorical terms, and it's pretty
likely that in revealing his relationship to Snoke, he's doing so again.
Rather than admitting to having physical control over the Supreme Leader, he's instead simply
stating that Snoke was his puppet - a puppet which he happens to have several copies of,
laying around in vats, which Ren can plainly see.
Of course, it must be reiterated that this report should be taken not with a grain of
salt, but with several heaping tablespoons.
Making Star Wars' sources are as anonymous as sources get, and while their description
of this scene is pretty darn detailed, that still doesn't preclude the possibility that
someone pulled it wholesale straight out of their keisters.
If it is accurate, though, it may help to explain a few things - such as the degenerated,
unsettlingly melt-y look of Snoke, and why the heck the Supreme Leader was so easily
and unceremoniously killed halfway through The Last Jedi.
We find it pretty easy to believe that that old puppetmaster Palpatine has been laying
low, pulling strings throughout the sequel films - so we're going to go ahead and rate
this rumor "Seems Pretty Legit."
Fortunately, we don't have too long to wait to find out whether we're right: Star Wars:
The Rise of Skywalker, the conclusion to the nine-film Skywalker Saga, finally hits the
big screen on December 20.
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