How Andy Serkis Really Feels About Snoke's Death In Star Wars: The Last Jedi

If you asked a million people what they think about "Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi," you might end up getting a million different answers. Rian Johnson's unexpectedly complex sequel to "The Force Awakens" blew the doors open on what a "Star Wars" movie could be and proved to be a lightning rod for the most toxic members of the "Star Wars" fandom. The film's approach to what came before it is in keeping with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' own ethos, and its defenders continue to uphold "The Last Jedi" as the most exciting entry in the franchise to come out of the Disney era.

That division even carries over to the film's cast, as the movie's actors have begun to share their own complicated thoughts and feelings about "The Last Jedi" candidly over the years. John Boyega, whose defecting former stormtrooper Finn was unfortunately sidelined as the sequel trilogy went on, has even said he feels "The Last Jedi" is, "in the most respectful way," his worst "Star Wars" film.

Elsewhere, as the director of the other two entries in the sequel trilogy, J.J. Abrams has admitted to being surprised by Johnson's unexpected take on Luke Skywalker in "The Last Jedi." Similarly, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, has spoken openly about his own struggles with Luke's depiction in the movie, even going so far as to craft a decidedly dark backstory for the character to explain what happened to him. And then there's Frank Oz, who was "so pleased" by "The Last Jedi" (especially the scene where he reprises the enigmatic Yoda to teach Luke a valuable lesson about failure).

But of all the characters in the film, few were changed by Johnson's radical take on the property as Supreme Leader Snoke. Played with a devilish scenery-chewing intensity by motion capture superstar Andy Serkis, Snoke was positioned in "Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens" as a new generation's Emperor Palpatine, and Serkis was excited by that opportunity. Then he read Johnson's script for "The Last Jedi" and realized it was doing something completely different.

Snoke spends much of "The Last Jedi" believing he has his volatile apprentice, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), wrapped around his finger and manipulating him to turn the fledgling Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley) to the dark side so the two can become weapons of mass destruction for the First Order ... well, up until Kylo kills him, anyway. In a 2023 interview with GQ, Serkis talked about this and explained exactly what went through his mind as he read Johnson's "Last Jedi" script and got to that turn of events:

"Let me just phrase it like this. When I went in to read 'The Last Jedi,' [I spent] the first 30 pages thinking, 'This is the most incredible character.' Then I turned the page: 'And then Snoke gets sliced in half.' And I was gutted. Gutted."

It's not hard to see why Serkis was so shocked. His performance as Snoke is one of his all time best, imbuing the character with a menace that perfectly complements his opulent and twisted appearance. For his part, Johnson agrees and included a raw, uncut look at Serkis portraying Snoke during his incredible confrontation with Rey in the special features for "The Last Jedi" on home media. It's little wonder this sequence captured Serkis' imagination when he read the film's script (again, in the lead-up to Snoke's death, that is).

While it appears Snoke may be permanently dead (for now, anyway), Serkis has since returned to the "Star Wars" universe to play the prisoner Kino Loy on "Andor." So far as consolation prizes go, that's a pretty dang good one.