For a long time, the identity of Star Wars fans were happy to speculate on. Many names were thrown into the ring and everybody was convinced Kylo Ren's master would turn out to be a villain even more twisted and evil than Emperor Palpatine, the previous antagonist of the saga.
However, with Snoke dying in The Last Jedi, it was then revealed that Palpatine was behind the Supreme Leader this whole time. Here are 10 Snoke theories that actually make a lot more sense than him being the man we all saw die, and combust, many years ago.
Update on May 5th, 2020, by Richard Keller: There wasn't much time between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi to determine who Supreme Leader Snoke truly was. Though it was revealed to be Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker, it left many fans empty. So, here are a few more Snoke theories that make more sense than Palpatine.
He Was A Direct Manifestation of the Dark Side
Obviously, the Force is a powerful manifestation in the universe. If an individual can properly tap into it, their abilities are limitless. So, it's not much of a leap to consider a theory that it created Snoke on its own.
Qui-Gon Jinn believed Anakin Skywalker's conception was due to the infusion of midi-chlorians. If that's true, then Snoke might have been created by midi-chlorians dispersed after a member of the Sith died.
He's Grand Moff Tarkin
When the Death Star exploded at the end of A New Hope, it was assumed all of its occupants were instantly killed. However, since one should never assume anything, perhaps the commander of the mobile space station survived.
It would make sense. He was the smartest and most capable leader on the Death Star. In addition, there's a resemblance between him and Snoke. With the Force, it wouldn't take much time to restore him to life.
He Was A Clone Of Palpatine
It seems the ability to clone isn't illegal in a galaxy far, far away. The Republic created a legion of stormtroopers with it in The Clone Wars, so it's logical Palpatine cloned himself in case something happened.
Since he was already deformed in Revenge of the Sith, the Snoke clone could have "rotted" even further. Think Bizarro Superman in this case. The only thing that wouldn't match is his Force abilities. It seems those powers didn't transfer to clones.
He's Rey's Twin Brother
This is a bit of a stretch for a theory. However, since Rey is the granddaughter of Palpatine, she could and Snoke could have been twins. Similar to Luke and Leia.
How did Rey turn out the way she did while Snoke was deformed? Again, it could be a situation similar to Anakin. He encountered a Jedi when young and ended up with serious injuries. Like we said, it's a bit of a stretch.
He Was A Member Of The Yuuzhan Vong
Those who have read the Star Wars books may know about the battle between the Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong. They were a militaristic race that prepared for decades to invade and destroy the Star Wars galaxy. The series itself is famous for the death of Chewbacca prior to Force Awakens.
Though the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated, there could have been some survivors. It would be logical for them to seek out the First Order. Perhaps their leader, Supreme Overlord Shimrra, was the one who eventually became Snoke with a bit of cosmetic surgery.
He's A New Character
Let's get the most boring theory out of the way first. Snoke could have just been a new character, perhaps somebody who idolized Palpatine and spent his years training to become as powerful as the Sith Lord.
This would have been a safe option but Disney ended up bowing to the fans, determined to make him as interesting as possible. While this worked, it also makes the end of Return of the Jedi somewhat redundant, knowing Palpatine came back from what seemed like certain death.
He's Darth Plageuis
Out of all the theories that emerged, the one about Snoke being Palpatine's old Sith master, Darth Plageuis, certainly had the most backing from within the fandom.
Plageuis had supposedly learned how to conquer death - but Palpatine was convinced he'd killed off his senior many years ago. It would have shown the true power of the Dark side had Plagieus spent years not only lying low and evading his old pupil, but also plotting a way to one-up his prodigy's legacy. Alas, what could have been.
He's Mace Windu
The only similarity, at least physically, is that both Supreme Leader Snoke and Mace Windu don't have a single hair on their head. That means they're the same character, right?
In all seriousness, the theory that Windu survived his fatal fall in Revenge of the Sith sounds awesome. Disney could have justified it by claiming Windu, with no Jedi left, wanted revenge on Anakin Skywalker - and therefore made it his mission to corrupt his grandson as a result. To this day, however, Samuel L. Jackson's character remains dead.
A Luke Skywalker Clone
Cloning is utilized somewhat in The Rise of Skywalker, with it emerging that Palpatine had numerous copies of Snoke other than the one that was sliced in half by Kylo Ren during The Last Jedi.
But we prefer the theory that Snoke is actually a copy of Luke Skywalker, made from the hand the Jedi lost during his showdown with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. His deformities could have been explained by saying that, because he was only created via a small part of Luke, he wasn't the fully-fledged version. It also would have pleased fans of the old EU, with Palpatine himself doing it during the old canon.
Grand Inquisitor
When Snoke's appearance was made public, some fans pointed out that he had a striking resemblance to the Grand Inquisitor, who is a prominent character during cartoon TV show Star Wars: Rebels.
Like Palpatine, he also plummeted down an exploding reactor shaft. The difference is, though, the thing didn't totally explode and that leaves a small window of opportunity where the Inquisitor could actually have survived. Throw in the fact that he's strong, powerful and authoritative and this is a theory that actually made quite a lot of sense.
