Maz Kanata


Maz Kanata
Continuity:	Star Wars
Notability:	Supporting character
Gender:	Female
Race:	Unknown
Location:	Takodana
Status:	Alive
First:	Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Actor:	Lupita Nyong'o

Maz Kanata is a fictional alien featured in the Star Wars multimedia franchise. Played by actress Lupita Nyong'o, she first appeared in the 2015 sequel film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Nyong'o reprised the role of Maz Kanata for Star Wars Episode VIII.

Biography[]

Maz Kanata was a diminutive humanoid alien with large eyes and orange skin. She was over a thousand years old and maintained a castle on the planet Takodana. Maz was knowledgeable in the ways of the Force, but was not a Jedi. She had history with New Republic hero Han Solo and jokingly referred to his wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca, as her "boyfriend". At some point in her life, she acquired the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker, which had been passed down to his son, Luke Skywalker.

Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Han Solo and Chewbacca came to Maz's castle with two refugees, Finn and Rey, as well as a droid named BB-8. All three of them were wanted by the First Order, and Han needed Maz's help getting them a "clean" ship to get them back to the Republic Resistance base on D'Qar. Rey ventured into the basement of Maz's castle, where she found a trunk containing the lightsaber of Luke Skywalker. Maz told her that her destiny was tied to this saber, but Rey wanted nothing to do with it. It was actually Finn who ended up taking possession of the saber for a short time.

A spy within Maz's castle alerted the First Order to the presence of the wanted droid. They sent in a squad of First Order Stormtroopers, as well as an airstrike and laid siege to the castle. Maz managed to escape from the castle just as members of the Resistance showed up to mount a counter-offensive. ^[1]

Notes & Trivia[]

The character of Maz Kanata was created by director J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan based on concepts originally developed by George Lucas.

The name of Maz Kanata's race is not identified in the film.

Maz Kanata stands 1.24 meters tall. ^[2]

Maz Kanata appeared on the standard promotional poster for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Lupita Nyong'o wore a motion capture suit while playing Maz, and the visual effects were brought to life using computer graphic imaging.

Fan speculation has posited the notion that we may have seen Maz Kanata before. In the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, there is a statuette in Anakin Skywalker's room, which looks similar to a member of Maz's race. ^[3]