STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - Get to Know the Alien Pirate Maz Kanata



You may not see the real life, physical appearance of Oscar winning actor Lupita Nyong'o in STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, but you will see her motion capture performance and hear her voice in the movie as the alien pirate Maz Kanata. You've already heard her voice in the trailer saying, “I have lived long enough to see the same eyes in different people. I see your eyes. I know your eyes.”

 So who is Maz? Well, you've already see her on the official movie poster. She is the alien with those goggles on right in the middle (see image below).

But what's her backstory? Writer and director J.J. Abrams teased it a bit in the new double-issue of Entertainment Weekly.

"Her history is that she was a pirate for a long time. She’s lived over a thousand years. She’s had this watering hole for about a century, and it’s like another bar that you’d find in a corner of the Star Wars universe.”

What about those goggles she wears? Abrams continued...

"I had this pitch about these goggles that she wore. Her eyes are an important aspect of her character, and you’ll see how it plays out.”

It seems that Maz's role in the film will be one of being an older and wise mentor for the young cast during their big adventure. While Luke Skywalker is still a missing piece of the puzzle — and per Abrams he will be until you're in your theater seat — Maz appears to be in a similar role had by old Ben Kenobi or Yoda in the Original Trilogy.