With all of the trailer excitement surrounding STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, I forgot all about Andy Serkis‘ cryptic narration over the initial teaser for J.J. Abrams‘ film. With all of the character reveals we have seen in recent months, Serkis’ role has still bee a mystery. That is, until now.

In a follow up to the Vanity Fair photo spread by Annie Leibowitz, StarWars.com has published a new image of Serkis in a motion capture suit along with his character’s identity: Supreme Leader Snoke.

Speaking about an awakening of the Force, Serkis’ booming voice sounds like that of a villain. Supreme Leader doesn’t exactly sound like a positive role model which leads me to believe he is the new head of the First Order/Empire. J.J. Abrams seems to be mimicking the model of the original STAR WARS movies. My theory is Kylo Ren is the new Darth Vader while Supreme Leader Snoke is potentially the replacement for Emperor Palpatine. Supreme Leader is a little reminiscent of Supreme Chancellor, isn’t it?

Serkis is a master of motion capture and I hope that he will embody a foe that will become more significant as the new trilogy moves forward. I also hope Lucasfilm is able to keep his final appearance under wraps until the film hits the Christmas.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens on December 18, 2015.