Is the New ‘Star Wars’ Villain a Nazi?

By Lior Zaltzman August 26, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I CAN’T WAIT for the new Star Wars movie. Yes, I rejoice at the idea of being reunited with Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens,” But beyond that, I’m also curious about which World War II parable we will be privy to in this installment.

After all, Stormtroopers were inspired by the Nazi Stormtroopers; the Great Jedi Purge alludes to the Holocaust. Planets , Hoth and Tatooine (Tataouine was a WWII arena of war) are also WWII references. And there’s more.

Read: 9 Jewish Things About Star Wars

So what about “The Force Awakens?”

Here’s what we know: The villains in the upcoming sequel are Supreme Leader Snoke (played by the amazing Andy Serkis) and his minion (we assume!) Kylo Ren (played by ‘Girls” Adam Driver). In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, J.J Abrams elaborated on the villains’ origins:

“Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force.”

Yet it that seems that unlike George Lucas, who alludes to actual events, Jewish director J.J Abrams was inspired by a hypothetical dystopian world, in which the Nazis who escaped Germany “rise again” and try to finish Hitler’s job:

“That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?’ What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?”

That sounds scary! And awesome. Will this be a “Star Wars” meets “Inglorious Basterds” type thing?

To paraphrase on Chandler Bing, “Could we be more excited about this movie?

Lior Zaltzman was the Forward’s Digital Fellow. Follow her on twitter @liorca.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO