So.. If you don't want spoilers leave now.

There, it is said.

So the point of this thread is that Andy Serkis, the master of mocap, has had the name of his character revealed: supreme Leader Snoke. Now, why I mention this is that supreme leader could very well be a First Order Appelation. What is interesting about this is, if his character is non-human, and in charge of the First Order, that is two massive changes to the idea of the empire - female stormtroopers (captain Phasma) and and alien leader. Could the Empire of old be less human centric that we though? What does this mean for the Star Wars universe?

Or is Supreme Leader Snoke a member of the resistance. Working beside A possible Queen Leia?

I just gotta say, THANK YOU for the spoiler tag. I didn't read a word of your post, thanks to your considerate opening. Carry on!

The Empire of Legends proved willing to abandon old prejudices when it became clear they needed more bodies for the frontlines and they were ignoring competent leaders, so I don't see why the Empire of Canon would be any different, especially if it's mutated into whatever the First Order is.

And there is only a little (but some) evidence that the Empire of canon had such prejudices and only slightly more than the Rebels. And even that could be chalked up to the movies being made in the 70s (for the sexism) and film-making limits of that time (for the racism) as much as to draw paralles to the Third Reich (an aknowledged source, to be sure).

The prequels show Palpatine working with aliens as needed, for example. Perhaps '90s George no longer had interest in Nazi analogies and wanted to explore the pitfalls of politics, in general.

As a viewer, I can reconcile this and deduce that Palpatine simply sees everyone as a tool... first aliens against the seemingly omnipresent humans and then later the humans against aliens.

IF (big "if") that was the case, without Palpatine and with very little canon information on the Sith (by comparison) philosophy, there is little reason to expect any racism or sexism to persist as it would not be productive.

IF (big "if") that was the case, without Palpatine and with very little canon information on the Sith (by comparison) philosophy, there is little reason to expect any racism or sexism to persist as it would not be productive.

You're right. It wouldn't be productive but it would be very corruptive, which as a Sith Palpatine would enjoy. From what is shown in the Prequels, Palpatine loved to play and manipulate people and groups against each other for his own benefit. An Imperial Officer who is racist may be more motivated to succeed in subjugating an alien colony or planet.

IF (big "if") that was the case, without Palpatine and with very little canon information on the Sith (by comparison) philosophy, there is little reason to expect any racism or sexism to persist as it would not be productive.

You're right. It wouldn't be productive but it would be very corruptive, which as a Sith Palpatine would enjoy. From what is shown in the Prequels, Palpatine loved to play and manipulate people and groups against each other for his own benefit. An Imperial Officer who is racist may be more motivated to succeed in subjugating an alien colony or planet.

Oh, I agree that it is a very possible read on Palpatine. Exploring the various aspects of how the visual canon can be interpreted... with evidence for and against institutional racism/sexism existing... was my overall goal.

I was just pointing out, in the bit you quoted, that it would not definiately continue without him.

EDIT TO ADD: Basically, there is no stated evidence and the deductive evidence can be seen in a few ways and in both cases, there is no mandate for the sequels to have to follow suit in this area.

I think of the Empire's views on Species as being a cross between the British Empire of the Victorian Age and the Nazi's. Think of Humans as being the British Aristocracy in that they are in nearly all the positions of authority and are generally thought of as the most advanced and deserving to rule with other Europeans (near Human like the Chiss) as being varying levels of not quite the same stature, and so on. Throw in a bit of outright Nazi Aryan bigotry and you have a pretty good idea of what I'm thinking. It's not that the Empire can't be led by a non Human but think of it as how Hitler wasn't a prime example of Aryan and that the British Monarchy was German...

But his name is Snoke. Seriously? SNOKE? Has anyone actually read that aloud without laughing?

But his name is Snoke. Seriously? SNOKE? Has anyone actually read that aloud without laughing?

Dooku. Biggs. Plo, Zam. Han. Lando. Jabba.

I mean, seriously, Jabba?

But his name is Snoke. Seriously? SNOKE? Has anyone actually read that aloud without laughing?

Dooku. Biggs. Plo, Zam. Han. Lando. Jabba.

I mean, seriously, Jabba?

Say it out loud. Snoke just sounds goofier than any of those, save for Dooku.

But his name is Snoke. Seriously? SNOKE? Has anyone actually read that aloud without laughing?

I am... Snooki!!

But his name is Snoke. Seriously? SNOKE? Has anyone actually read that aloud without laughing?

I cringe a bit everytime they say "Snart" (Captain Cold's name) in the Flash TV series.

I don't like it simply because I've always had a hard time pronouncing words beginning with "Sn-"

Regarding Supreme Leader Snoke. I heard a few interesting theories.

• Could the name "Supreme Leader Snoke" just be an Alias? What he uses to Control the First Order.
• Snoke is not just a Sith Lord, but an actual Sith (Race). Reason for the Motion Capture.
• Motion Capture could not just be fore an Alien, but it could before a Human that is severally disfigured. Maybe Large amounts of Cybernetics.
• Snoke might be the new incarnation of Darth Plagueis. (Nothing to really support it. Well it goes into an idea about the Staff Rey was carrying and that it has been reported that it might have significance. Overall, I just thought that idea was interesting.)

As for the name, It sounds like a Star Wars name and I think that is all that should matter. I mean if you think about it. Skywalker, Lando, Han Solo.. Those names would sound ridiculous without the Cultural influence from the Original Trilogy.

So this is how Star Wars dies: to thunderous applase

So this is how Star Wars dies: to thunderous applase

Melodrama much? If the prequels couldn't kill Star Wars, I don't think a character named Snoke will, nor will the chosen actors or director.