A popular rumor has become viral, suggesting that Supreme Leader Snoke is the creator of Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader. This rumor has since been debunked, and while it may not be true, actor Adam Driver, who plays the villain, Ben Solo or Kylo Ren, has commented on what fans can expect in "Star Wars: Episode VIII."
The rumor of Snoke being Anakin's creator sparked from a YouTube video by Star Wars Theory. According to the video clip, a portion of the film's script has been leaked, and the section detailed Rey (Daisy Ridley), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) sharing a scene together.
In the video, Snoke allegedly states that he only used Rey to get Luke's attention and then brings up Darth Vader. When Luke asks how Snoke knows about Darth Vader, the villain replies that he is Vader's creator, hinting it was he who manipulated the Force, leading to the creation and birth of Anakin Skywalker.
However, Cheat Sheet points out that this is very likely a hoax, given that in all the four decades that the franchise has been around, not once were the scripts leaked during production. The movies are also known for maintaining a high level of secrecy until release, and it would be unlikely that such a key plot point would be leaked to a random YouTube account.
While the news of Snoke being Anakin's creator is likely false, Adam Driver did note what fans can expect in the next movie and from director Rian Johnson. Speaking to Collider, he confirmed that "Episode VIII" would be similar to "Empire Strikes Back" in a sense that it would present a different tone from the movie that came before.
"Rian is coming into something that we kind of set up and he just took it to the next level in a really great way. He wrote it, too, and Rian's writing is so clear. I learned a lot of things about my character through his writing," Driver stated. "He trusts that his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity. He's not dumbing anything down for someone and that's really fun to play," he went on to say.
"Star Wars: Episode VIII" is scheduled to premiere on Dec. 15, 2017.
