Star Wars VR Game Teases Snoke's Return in 'The Rise of Skywalker' (Update)

Supreme Leader Snoke was sliced in half in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of him. In a newly revealed scene from the new Oculus video game Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series, the Supreme Leader seemingly appears alongside Darth Vader and, obviously, fans have begun to speculate about what it might mean. While Snoke’s appearance in the VR game could mean anything (or nothing), an exciting new theory posits that Snoke will appear in flashbacks in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Correction: ILMxLAB, the studio behind Vader Immortal, reached out to Inverse to clarify that the character in the new game is not Snoke. He’s actually an original character named the Black Bishop, and voiced by David Sobolov. We regret the error. Original story continues below.

In the cutscene, a shadowy character is heard telling Vader, “vengeance is within your grasp,” which sounds eerily similar to what Snoke says to General Hux in The Force Awakens. The video game scene brings to mind that, while the supreme leader is obviously a “corrupting force of evil,” we don’t actually know that much about his rise to power or his past. While redditor u/JediH24 posted the scene and brought attention to Snoke’s presence, it’s u/A_Massive_Mistake who theorizes that Snoke might show up in The Rise of Skywalker, but only during flashbacks.

A_Massive_Mistake writes:

“What if in Episode 9 we see a flashback of Luke confronting Snoke AFTER the Jedi Temple has fallen. He has realized that Snoke is not a benevolent force user, but rather a corrupting force of evil.”

The idea is that Luke figures out Snoke is evil and must be defeated, leading to an epic battle between the two. The only reason Luke doesn’t kill Snoke right then is because Kylo Ren intervenes to save his Sith master.

This theory would certainly help to explain some of Snoke’s backstory in the Star Wars franchise. How did Snoke gets all those face scars? Was it from a battle with Luke? These questions might be answered during a potential flashbacks, and the Vader Immortal scene only seems to confirm that the Supreme Leader has been around even longer than we thought.

There’s obviously more story to tell with regards to Snoke, and even his death doesn’t mean his arc is over. After all, he’s influenced Kylo for years and yet, we’ve never gotten to see as much of that relationship aside from a few brief scenes in Last Jedi.

There’s also the fact that Kylo believes he’s been speaking with Vader’s helmet, which might have been preserved by Snoke. Additionally, Kylo saving Snoke from Luke’s light saber might have appealed to the future leader of the First Order. Perhaps this is where Kylo’s relationship with the Dark Side truly began and only flourished under Snoke’s guidance (though there are other theories that suggest Kylo may have been influenced by Palpatine).

With the addition of the Vader Immortal game scene, Snoke’s collaborative efforts with Vader would go a long way to explain how he eventually came to lead the First Order. When did he meet Darth Vader? How did they begin working together? Was Snoke drawn to Kylo because of his relation to Vader? There’s plenty of questions, but no definitive answers. Episode IX could fix that.

Given this footage, there’s a high chance for this theory to come to fruition. After all, the Star Wars franchise does enjoy expanding on characters’ background stories, as previously done with Darth Vader, Palpatine, and even Han Solo. It might sound far fetched, but considering Snoke’s impact on Kylo and the First Order, the idea of him appearing in a flashback isn’t outside the realm of possibility for Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters December 20, 2019.