One notable quote from Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens became far more meaningful after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Like the Galactic Empire, the First Order uses stormtroopers as a key part of their military, though unlike the Empire, the First Order’s stormtroopers are not recruited. First Order stormtroopers were kidnapped as infants and indoctrinated in the First Order’s neo-Imperial ideology, making most of the troops fanatically loyal to the First Order and Supreme Leader Snoke.

Snoke was introduced in The Force Awakens as an enigmatic figure, resulting in speculation among Star Wars viewers regarding his origins and potential true idenтιтy. Snoke is first mentioned by Kylo Ren following Finn (formerly FN-2187) escaping the First Order with Poe Dameron.

Kylo Ren chides General Hux, stating “(the stormtroopers are) obviously skilled at committing high treason. Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army.” At the time, this was simply a reference to the heroic Clone Army of the Galactic Republic, but later Star Wars properties would make this line an unintentional instance of foreshadowing.

We Now Know Hux’s Father Ran Project Necromancer

General Hux’s father, Brendol Hux, was once an Imperial officer, a member of the Imperial Shadow Council, and one of the leaders of Project Necromancer. Project Necromancer involved research into cloning Force-sensitives and replicating their connection to the Force via midi-chlorians.

The project is heavily implied to be tied to Emperor Palpatine’s resurrection in The Rise of Skywalker, which saw Palpatine’s disembodied spirit inhabiting a decrepit cloned body. While Armitage Hux did not use clones for the First Order’s army of stormtroopers, his father led a project that likely contributed to the cloned body that Palpatine would inhabit on Exegol.

Supreme Leader Snoke Was A Strandcast Clone Himself!

The line became even more meaningful after Snoke’s origin was revealed. In The Rise of Skywalker, the reborn Emperor Palpatine reveals to Kylo Ren that he “made” Snoke, and other Star Wars properties would establish that Snoke was a strand-cast – a clone-like artificial being. While Palpatine secretly ruled the First Order and Sith Eternal from Exegol, Snoke served as his proxy, leading the First Order publicly.

Snoke was initially created as a potential body for Palpatine’s consciousness, but after the Emperor deemed him unfit for that purpose, he served a new one as Palpatine’s proxy. Snoke’s creation is owed to a combination of unnatural Sith dark side techniques and the Empire’s clone research, implying that Snoke himself was in some ways a product of Project Necromancer. With this in mind, Kylo Ren’s line about a First Order Clone Army in Star Wars: The Force Awakens retroactively references Snoke’s own origin.