"Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi" is perhaps one of the most controversial "Star Wars" movie ever, partly due to the fact that it killed off a lot of characters without even expanding their stories or revealing more about their background. One such character is the enigmatic Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) whose actor finally revealed why the evil dark side commander is heavily disfigured.
Serkis did state that there was a good reason Snoke's backstory was best kept a mystery, and he revealed this as well as additional information on the character he played during his interview with Entertainment Weekly. Serkis admitted that since he was a newly introduced villain, most of his appeal came from how mysterious he is, hence the lack of certain expositions for the character.
"We wanted him to have a great deal of mystery, but we did ... J.J. [Abrams] and I discussed it, and Rian [Johnson] and I did discuss backstories to him, where he came from. I've been asked to not shed anything, should we want to bring him back in any way whether [in a] prequel or whatever. I think there's something cool about that. It still does remain a mystery for people. I know that some people find it incredibly frustrating, but I think it allows for further exploration and layering at a further point."
The reason, however, the reason why the character appears the way he is in "The Last Jedi" was because of previous interactions with the Jedi. It can be recalled that Snoke had a huge scar running across his face making him appear horribly disfigured as well as having somewhat of a fragile physique. Serkis stated that it had something to do with Snoke's previous battles coupled with a certain level of decay that the character is experiencing since he is also quite old, which the actor guessed was probably about two hundred years of age.
Whatever the reason for Snoke's appearance, fans will never know based on the film's canon due to his death, though those still interested in Snoke's past can always keep an eye out for unofficial sources or "Star Wars" literature.
