Andy Serkis says that his Star Wars character, Supreme Leader Snoke, is more powerful than both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious. Serkis briefly appeared as Snoke in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, via hologram, but he will be seen in his full form in Rian Johnson’s upcoming sequel, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, as is evidenced by the numerous photos released thus far as well as the film’s trailers.


Snoke’s “real” identity and his past are among the biggest mysteries to stem from Lucasfilm’s sequel Star Wars trilogy, and audiences are looking forward to finally getting some answers from Johnson’s The Last Jedi. While details on the film and the character remain closely guarded, some information has already come to light. For instance, audiences already knew Kylo Ren wasn’t a Sith, but it was recently confirmed that Snoke isn’t a Sith either, yet he does harness the power of the dark side of the Force, thus making him comparable to past Star Wars villains. But how powerful is he, really?


In an interview with an unidentified magazine spotted by Reddit user greatjorb88, Serkis shed some light on just how powerful his character actually is. When asked if his character is more powerful than Darth Vader and the Emperor, Serkis said: “Oh, without question. He has limitless resources, let’s put it that way.” The actor’s comments, though, can be interpreted as Snoke either having more resources at his dispense and is, therefore, more powerful in that regard, or that he’s more powerful in the Force – which would be intriguing in and of itself.


The motion-capture legend refrained from specifying in which way his character is more powerful, but he did elaborate on Snoke’s wickedness by saying, “There’s a frailty and a damage to Snoke. His face is cleaved in, scars across his mouth, contorted body. But without giving too much away, he is strong. He is the dark end of the Force. He’s the leader of the First Order, but he has his own agenda. He’s a cruel manipulator.” Of course, Snoke managed to turn Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, to the Dark Side, so it will be interesting to see that manipulation first hand when The Last Jedi hits theaters later this month.


Snoke not being a Sith isn’t that surprising, but Serkis saying that his character is more powerful than the original trilogy’s titular villains certainly is unexpected. But considering that Abrams and co. chose to one-up the Death Star with their star-harvesting Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens, it shouldn’t be too shocking to see the dark side also becoming more powerful and ominous in the sequel trilogy.