Maz Kanata almost certainly will be returning for the next installment of Star Wars. The wise alien played by Lupita Nyongo’o was teased in a photo posted by none other than director of Star Wars: Episode 8, Rian Johnson. While it’s not clear if Nyongo’o herself is present, the photo appears to be taken from a motion capture set for the upcoming film. Take a look for yourself below:
As the director of Episode 8, it wouldn’t make sense for Johnson to post the photo if he wasn’t planning on reintroducing Maz Kanata. We can assume that Nyong’o’s character will make an appearance in Episode 8, and hopefully we’ll get some official confirmation soon.
Last time we saw Maz Kanata, her castle was under siege from Kylo Ren and the First Order. It was never made clear whether or not she made it out alive, but there should be no question now. We know that Luke Skywalker will begin to train Rey in Episode 8, but it will be interesting to see if Maz Kanata and Rey develop some sort of Yoda-Luke relationship. The mysterious little alien is full of wisdom and introduced The Force and Luke’s lightsaber to Rey before the imperial army invaded.
There’s even speculation that Maz Kanata could be a Jedi herself. An SFX supervisor for The Force Awakens revealed that a deleted scene featured the alien using her “powers” to prevent Stormtroopers from destroying her in the castle. A master Jedi in hiding would certainly be a plot twist.
We’ll find out for sure next year. Star Wars: Episode 8 arrives in theaters Dec. 17, 2017.
