UPDATE: TLJ EW Coverage Day 4: Rian Johnson and Andy Serkis Talk Snoke’s Motivations, and More on Porgs!

As promised, Anthony Breznican of Entertainment Weekly continues to bring us even more insight into Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In his first article today, he talks to actor Andy Serkis and the film’s director Rian Johnson about Snoke’s past and his motivations against the Republic.

 

EW’s article confirms some things that we already know about the Supreme Leader of the First Order. We know he is freakishly tall, and now we finally have a number to attach to that height. Breznican points out that Snoke is 9-feet tall. He goes on to talk about his relationship with his lieutenants Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson.)

“He’s a predator who identifies weakness and exploits it, drawing the young and promising to his side with promises of power, then using and discarding his protégés when they are no longer of use.”

 

One of the things that drives Snoke is his unquenchable rage against the Republic. He is an extremely powerful Force user, as we will witness in the film, who is only inhibited by his physicality and his vulnerabilities as a wounded individual. As Breznican points out, there are two kinds of people that deal with immense pain. One turns that pain to helping others avoid it themselves. The other magnifies that pain by inflicting it on others. Snoke is the latter.

“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 says. “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.”

 

We don’t know exactly what things Snoke has suffered to bring him to where he is, but it’s something that The Last Jedi will at least explore in part. The movie may not connect all of the dots with the character’s backstory, but we should be able to discount some theories and bring new life to others after the movie comes out.

“Similar to with Rey’s parentage, Snoke is here to serve a function in the story,” writer-director Rian Johnson says. “And, you know, a story is not a Wikipedia page.”

“For example, in the original trilogy, we didn’t know anything about the Emperor except exactly what we needed to know, which is what Luke knew about him, that he’s the evil guy behind Vader,” Johnson says. “But then in the prequels, you knew everything about Palpatine because that his rise to power was the story. We’ll learn exactly as much about Snoke as we need to. But the really exciting for me is we will see more of him, and Andy Serkis will get to do much more in this film than he did in the last one, and that guy is just a force of nature.”

Supreme Leader Snoke

 

In The Last Jedi, we will be seeing Snoke in the flesh for the first time, and it is in this movie that viewers can finally take in the full scope of his deformity.

“You witness his physicality,” Serkis says. “His body is kind of twisted up like a corkscrew, and so he has limited movement. His aggression and his anger is contained and restricted by that physicality.”

 

Serkis revealed a neat little trick he used during performance capture to make his face movements match Snoke’s features naturally.

“The only thing I did use was across his jaw,” Serkis says. “His jaw is completely mangled and the left side of his face is mauled. So I had a way of taping down the lefthand side of my mouth to restrict the lip movement on that side.”

 

Serkis also revealed the chilling real-world inspiration behind Snoke’s appearance.

“His deformity is very much based on injuries from the First World War, from the trenches,” Serkis says.

 

Revenge is only part of his motivation. Greed is another underlying factor – a greed that can be easily seen in his overt opulence. Perhaps due to his great suffering, Snoke indulges in the galaxy’s finer things (as witnessed by his shiny gold robe), a trait that contrasts him against the former Emperor.

“Oh, absolutely. He’s slightly oligarch,” Serkis says. “You know, he’s not afraid of showing his fineries. There is a luxury that’s native to him.”

“The way that his court is presented, he’s very totalitarian in that way and flamboyant,” Serkis says. “He enjoys that theatricality, I think.”

 

 

For the full article click HERE. More to come on everyone’s favorite Ahch-To residents later today!

 

 

UPDATE!

 

PORGS!!!

Porg’s have dominated the merchandising push for The Last Jedi, capturing the hearts of people of all ages with their undeniable cuteness. But as John Boyega explains, it can be touch and go with porgs depending on how many you’re dealing with:

“I just remember doing some stuff and seeing a lot of porgs around,” John Boyega tells EW. “And they are interesting, but for me, I had a love/hate relationship with them. They’re very, very cute, but when you put them in a bunch, in holes, on the Millennium Falcon, that’s when they start to become really, really freaky. They’ve got real big eyes, all bunched together,” Boyega says. “There were, like, little tiny ones and little big ones that would just…yeah, it looks like a rash.”

 

 

Porgs sound like they kind of do what they want, and like any species, are protective of one another, but ultimately how protective can they be? We have a feeling they will learn to warm up to certain characters in The Last Jedi, perhaps a certain wookiee who recently lost his best friend.

 

 

Breznican closes out his coverage with a throwback to Gremlins, a very appropriate reference:

But they are cute. No question. So were Mogwai.

 

You can find Breznican’s full piece on his porg investigation at EW. 

 

 

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Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

Jordan Pate (Hard Case)

Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

40 thoughts on “UPDATE: TLJ EW Coverage Day 4: Rian Johnson and Andy Serkis Talk Snoke’s Motivations, and More on Porgs!

    • November 22, 2017 at 9:49 pm
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      A little more meat on her bones in this one. Not a complaint tho.

    • November 23, 2017 at 5:45 am
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      First time I see this moment… 🙂

  • November 22, 2017 at 8:15 pm
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    the way RJ keeps talking about Palpatine in the prequels and his lack of backstory in the OT really makes me believe his new trilogy will be all about Snoke’s backstory.

    • November 22, 2017 at 10:59 pm
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      I don’t think this will be the case. I think they really mean new with the next trilogy. Agree that there seems to not be enough time to explain his background. If Vader was so powerful, Palpatine being his master. No mention of Snoke in the previous 7 films, but the Sith have a long history that doesn’t mention Snoke. If something doesn’t add up after this trilogy, there’s going to be a problem.

  • November 22, 2017 at 8:15 pm
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    Ok, do yourself a favor and don’t Google image search, “World War 1 trench injuries.”

  • November 22, 2017 at 8:43 pm
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    Someone this powerful got jacked up that bad. Hoping it was Luke that fucked him up. Then maybe we can finally get some good books that take place before TFA.

    • November 22, 2017 at 8:48 pm
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      It would also explain his obvious fear of Skywalker and his desperation to get to him in TFA.

      • November 22, 2017 at 8:52 pm
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        Could have been a secret mentor to Ben. Luke finds out and whoops that ass . Would definitely mirror Jacens fall in the EU.

        • November 22, 2017 at 11:42 pm
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          I’m sure they’re allr ading and revisiting the EU, even if they don’t say so. Of course Pablo (and maybe the others at the Story team) know a lot about the EU. I hope to see some of the best stuff from there incorporated respectfully into the new canon…

    • November 30, 2017 at 4:42 pm
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      Bloodline was excellent.

  • November 22, 2017 at 8:48 pm
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    Is it just me or does Snoke look like an old version of Lieutenant Barnes from the movie Platoon ? The only thing that can kill Barnes is Barnes !!

  • November 22, 2017 at 9:19 pm
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    The word may be over-used but… interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing him more and witnessing Andrew’s performance.

  • November 22, 2017 at 9:25 pm
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    Snoke = Ancient enemy of the First Jedi. Defeated and fled to Unknown Regions.

  • November 22, 2017 at 9:37 pm
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    The mention of how and how much he channels and uses his pain is reminding me in a good way of Darth Sion (from Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords).

  • November 22, 2017 at 10:55 pm
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    “For example, in the original trilogy, we didn’t know anything about the Emperor except exactly what we needed to know, which is what Luke knew about him, that he’s the evil guy behind Vader,” Johnson says.

    Problem is we need to know a lot more about Snoke than we did Palpatine because, why was this coward not around or did nothing during the rise and fall of the empire. There is a reason he isn’t anywhere but the problem is, everyone seems to know who he is now. Something changed. I’m very skeptical about Snoke. They better have a good story for him or his character will sink this trilogy.

  • November 22, 2017 at 11:12 pm
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    Re: Multiple Porgs causing problems on the Falcon

    I see this as perfect opportunity for an episode of the new live-action TV show:
    “Trouble with Porgles”

    • November 25, 2017 at 7:45 am
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      Who would win in a fight: Porgs or Tribbles?

  • November 22, 2017 at 11:57 pm
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    Only 21 days until I finally see The Last Jedi 😀

    • November 23, 2017 at 1:42 am
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      21 days and 1 hour (plus probably 30 minutes of ads!) for me!

    • November 23, 2017 at 5:23 am
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      19 days here! 😀

      • November 23, 2017 at 1:38 pm
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        19 Days for me too.

  • November 23, 2017 at 12:24 am
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    this movie hasn’t excited me this year.. Im a star wars fan since the 80’s and after disliking TFA i hold grave fears for this movie.. it just doesn’t have anything new about it..

    • November 23, 2017 at 1:43 am
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      I became rather cynical too after TFA, but I remain cautiously optimistic (still) until I see what they’ve done with Luke. Being a 150 minute movie I think there’s room for him to shake it up and come back. If not, then I am, too, done with it.

      • November 23, 2017 at 3:03 am
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        Does that mean you would stop coming here to post!

        My hope for your disappointment in the movie has grown exponentially.

        • November 23, 2017 at 3:59 am
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          i hope is better i really do but im not excited.. ok a few new planets and people but the Skywalker story is old and boring… I’ve played so many SW games and read so many books and there is so much they COULD do but they don’t.. they need a new timeline EG Old Republic.. give up on this story…

          • November 23, 2017 at 5:40 am
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            Perhaps that’s why they’ve given Rian Johnson a whole new trilogy….. 🙂

          • November 23, 2017 at 8:38 am
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            I just really don’t like the poster who typed this up. It’s fine if you don’t think the new movie will be cool and you’re not excited. I don’t care. It’s an emotional reaction and opinion you get to keep to yourself.

            Blueberry up there likes to tout the Prequels as fine cinema but rag on VII and potentially VIII.

            I find this hilarious to no one end.

      • November 23, 2017 at 5:22 am
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        I became rather cynical too, but after TPM.

      • November 23, 2017 at 3:57 pm
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        Pretty much how I feel about the sequel(s) so far. Going to give TLJ a chance but if they don’t do better than TFA (which to me was a dissapointment), then I’m out.

        I’ll always have my OT and I’ll just believe whatever I want in regards to what happend before and after it.

    • November 24, 2017 at 9:21 pm
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      OMG, that reminds me!!! “DISASTER ARTIST” in like, TWO WEEKS!!!!!

  • November 23, 2017 at 5:57 am
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    Gold cloak, flamboyant, fineries… so it is confirmed, Snoke is BA Baracus.

  • November 23, 2017 at 8:20 am
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    First World War injuries followed by… porgs. What a twist!

  • November 23, 2017 at 6:47 pm
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    I haven’t seen one EPIC shot in the trailers yet that excites me. I mean the Blade Runner 2049 trailers were unbelievably beautiful and epic, and the Rogue Ones trailers too but the TLJ ones are just above “meh”. I really hope the film blows me away and they are holding back a tonne of epic shots and surprises, but NOW is the time that you can’t just be relying on the Star Wars brandname to put bums on seats.

    • November 24, 2017 at 6:59 am
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      I’ve seen movies with “epic” shots that were godawful. Movies are good when the story is compelling and the characters are engaging. No amount of impressive shots fixes a terrible script or an unlikable cast of characters.

      • November 24, 2017 at 9:21 pm
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        So let’s not talk about the photography in this movie? That’s a strange tack to take. I for one would actually like to see some nice cinematography in this new trilogy, and I don’t see anything wrong with someone saying the same.

        • November 25, 2017 at 12:23 am
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          Nothing was ever said about cinematography. We were talking about “epic” shots, which can either be photographed or completely digitally rendered. The point I was trying to make was that the “epicness” of shots in a movie doesn’t make it good, nor does the lack of them make it bad.

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