Does this picture reveal who Darth Vader really is?

If you thought there were lots of unanswered questions about Rey, just wait because now we’re going to talk about Supreme Leader Snoke. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he’s the shadowy figure pulling strings behind the holographic curtain. Who is he? Where is he? And could he be Darth Vader? Spoilers ahead for Force Awakens — but friends, it’s been for weeks. If you wanted to see it, you’ve seen it already.

First, let’s discuss Snoke. Snoke is introduced as the guy who both Kylo Ren and General Hux report to. He’s some giant, holographic being tucked away in some massive chamber on Starkiller Base. It’s implied that he’s Force sensitive, but it’s never explicitly stated. In the movie, he’s played by Andy Serkis via motion capture, and Snoke is one bad guy, even though we never see him leave his chair.

How does Darth Vader fit into this? Well, let the following picture speak for itself. Vader could be masquerading as Snoke. If you’re flipping out about this, just imagine Vader fanboy Kylo Ren flipping out about this.

There’s no use trying to deny the uncanny resemblance, because that head scar speaks for itself. However, everything established at the end of Return of the Jedi works against this connection.

For one, we saw Vader die, and then his son Luke Skywalker set him ablaze in a funeral pyre. Two, and most important, Vader came back to the Light Side from the Dark. He was the one who killed the Emperor, not Luke, and for a few brief moments true balance was restored to the Force. All along there have been theories that he’s not truly dead, but there’s no solid proof. Besides, a zombie-Vader controlling Kylo Ren doesn’t make much sense (a Force-holographic-ghost doesn’t make much sense either).

BUT LOOK AT THAT PICTURE. And consider the fact that Kylo Ren has been training for the Dark Side, and needs a master. There’s a line at the beginning of the movie where Hux says to Kylo Ren “it’s in your ~personal~ interest not to cross Snoke” (I paraphrased that from memory, from the four times I’ve seen the movie).

Thinking back that line, it could suggest that Kylo Ren actually has a much deeper connection to Snoke, because they’re grandfather and grandson. It’s a realtionship that Hux is well aware of, because I guess The First Order is keeping SO MANY secrets.

OK, so maybe you’re thinking that this makes a little bit of sense. But what about the fact that Kylo Ren is talking to Vader’s helmet when he could just go talk to the giant holographic about his woes? I don’t know. I’ve gotta go see the movie three more times before I can explain THAT.

(Image via Lucasfilm)