If there's any character from FORCE AWAKENS that's casuing a lot of theory-swirling it's Maz Kanata, played entirely using motion capture by Lupita Nyong'o. The yellow-ish character with so-small-its-freaky eyes gave Rey (Daisy Ridley) some much needed knowledge and advice on her journey, leading many to wonder about her history, and what role she has to play going forward. During an interview with Collider, Nyong’o talked about her experience working with STAR WARS EPISODE VIII director Rian Johnson, in that she has none:
“Rian! I haven’t worked with him yet; I’ve yet to shoot. That’s in my future.”
This is curious and a little startling because news came out a while ago that Johnson wrapped production and is now editing, as evidenced by his two social media posts (seen below) from July and August. I don't know much about fancy movie producing, but I would to think that wrapping production and then starting the editing process means you're, like, done.
It seems odd that filming scenes for such a potentially important character would be held off until post-production, especially considering all the CGI work that’s involved. Maybe this is a hint that Kanata doesn’t have as big a role in EPISODE VIII as many would hope. However, the reason is probably as simple as Johnson and Co. having to wait for Nyong’o’s very busy schedule to open up (she is currently promoting her new movie, QUEEN OF KATWE), and seeing as her character is entirely done with mo-cap the actress doesn’t need to be surrounded by, you know, other human beings, per-se. Such a lonely life, being a CGI character.
Lupita Nyong'o will return as Maz Kanata in STAR WARS EPISODE VIII on December 17, 2017, and you can see her in QUEEN OF KATWE on September 23.