Star Wars Sequels’ Snoke was Modeled After Surprising Original Trilogy Villain

Say what you will about Disney's controversial Star Wars sequels but the first installment in the trilogy The Force Awakens gave longtime fans of the saga a glimmer of hope. To be fair, Episode VII turned out to be a hell of a film but there's no denying that everything went downhill after it. One of the best bits about the film is the introduction of Supreme Leader Snoke who was initially thought to be the sequels' big bad.



However, his potential was wasted come Episode VIII and the fandom collectively agrees that the villain could've been something more rather than just a vessel used for Palpatine's eventual return. Now, speaking of Snoke, a lot of people may not be aware of it but the character, voiced by Andy Serkis was apparently modeled after a familiar villain from the original trilogy.

Credit: lucasfilm

Appearing on the Force Material podcast, designer Ivan Manzella revealed that Snoke's appearance actually drew inspiration from original trilogy villain Wilhuff Tarkin, played by the late Peter Cushing, and now that we've actually learned about this interesting bit of trivia, he does share quite the resemblance to the Grand Moff. Manzella explains: "JJ [Abrams] mentioned a Hammer ‘House of Horror' doll. So I based him on Peter Cushing...when I did the maquette, there are elements in the cheekbone and profile. It wasn't meant to be Cushing, but he was my Hammer reference."

Also Read: Star Wars Announces The Force Awakens Prequel

I'm pretty sure Disney and Lucasfilm learned a valuable lesson about the way Snoke was handled and I'm hoping future villains won't suffer the same fate as him. It still bugs me that Snoke never reached his full potential but it is what it is.
Meanwhile, you can get your Star Wars fix, including the Skywalker Saga on Disney+.