SPECULATION The Official Maz Kanata Discussion Thread

I don't have the slightest idea who she might be playing. Back when all this speculation about dark side witches came up I was convinced she and Gwendoline Christie would be nightsisters, but now I think it might just be some sort of glorified cameo. I find it nearly impossible to picture any non-convoluted storyline involving all these characters that have been rumored to appear in ep VII over the last couple of months... The fact alone that we're getting two trios of leads - the old folks on their last glorious adventure and the new guys we have to spend enough time with to care about them when they fully take over in ep VIII - is hard enough to pull off in terms of storytelling. But giving every character something meaningful to do seems nearly impossible without crossing over into "Pirates of the Carribean" territory, if you know what I mean ;-).
I think it's highly likely that some of these actors' parts are right in line with those of Jimmy Smitts, Terence Stamp and Joel Edgerton in the prequels: A handful of lines and very limited screentime.

 

I don't know if I agree with you Wayne. You could be right though. Your point about Pirates of the Carribean is well-taken. I know that George Lucas used a lot of great actors in minor roles for the Prequels. But Lupita N'yongo is an academy award-winning actress with some serious chops. She might just be the best actor of the whole cast, and that would be saying something. I don't think JJ would waste her on a glorified cameo. She'll probably have a larger role that develops throughout the series at least. I would expect her to have some really emotionally engaging scenes since that's kind of her thing.

 

I know what you mean, Jarjarstinks - casting her in such a role would truly be a waste of her talent, and I doubt she would accept the deal at this point in her career without bein offered a larger part in the sequels.
I just don't want them to make the same mistakes TPM made when they could easily pull a Lando and introduce new characters in EP VIII. TPM had way too many secondary characters for a first episode, and people couldn't invest in the story because they couldn't tell who the main protagonist was halfway through the movie...

 

I totally agree with you Wayne. I do think they will have a clear protagonist or protagonists early on though with Daisy Ridley or John Boyega or hell, even Han Solo being the focus of the film with strong supporting characters. I know the newer people are probably going to take a sort of backseat in this film so integrating them fluidly as sort of set pieces in the background, establishing their histories, and moving on will probably be the way to go.

What's good is that although there are multiple good guys going into this movie, we're already acquainted with them and we know who to root for. This is different than the Qui-Gon-Obi-Wan-Anakin-Padme thing in TPM where you're not sure who the story is supposed to be about. We know it's about Han, Luke and Leia and presumably their offspring. I would argue that although ANH had one main protagonist, by the end of Jedi we had at least three and that was ok because it was built up properly. So easing in a couple more at a time is just fine since the benefit of sequels is that a certain amount has been established. That leaves more time to introduce new heroes and villains alike. And Lupita doesn't necessarily have to even have a massive part in order to play a good role. Think of Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin for instance. The role wasn't tiny but it certainly wasn't huge and yet Cushing still got to deliver an excellent performance. Or maybe we'll just see N'yongo in this film and she gets a larger role in subsequent films. She would likely accept a multi-picture deal at this point in her career, especially since a role in star wars is so coveted.

 

My guess is that she is playing a Mon Mothma type character.

 

I'm still clinging to the idea of her playing Ventress. And yes, I know this will probably provoke a lot of criticism, but we know very little about the Dathomirians canonically - yes, there's plenty of stuff to be found on Wookieepedia, but a lot of it is still EU (Legends). She was an amazing character, and that pic that her Photoshopped into Ventress was just awesome.

Edit: Sorry about the size of the image, Mods - any way to shrink it down within the confines of the board's tags?

 

I do no care who or what she is playing. I finally got around to seeing 12 years a slave and she could play a cardboard box and it would be compelling.

 

All the more jarring when she falls to the dark side! Dominating

 

I heard early on they were casting a lead male or female for the role of Lando's offspring. Depending on who was cast was if it was a son or daughter. Leaves it to be either John or Lupita.

 

Rehash? Where's the rehash come from? She's an amazing character with loads of potential! She's not clear-cut evil like the Sith, so she's got the whole "morally grey", "chaotic neutral" thing going on, which means she's not as predictable as some of the other characters and keeps her interesting. The last time we see her, she's a Force-sensitive Sith acolyte turned bounty hunter, which means her story could take her anywhere in the galaxy, definitely leaving potential for her to get caught up in the Ep VII storyline. Maybe she ran across Luke at some point in the many years between the end of TCW and the end of RotJ, and completed her training with him that Dooku started? Maybe one of her missions landed her looking for someone who works for / is in allegiance with the "Ancient Fear" (whom- / whatever that is)? Etc., etc. There's also the possibility of her double-crossing various different characters for her own nefarious needs.... The potential is endless.

On what basis, Kyle? What sort of source do you claim to have to derive this info from? If you do have a credible source, what other bits of info can you divulge?

 

I read a weird article earlier tonight saying that Lupita would be playing Han and Leia's daughter.

 

I think it would be cool to see her as Lando's child, but she probably won't have the Calrissian name. She could be like someone said the Mon Mothma type character but I think it would be neat to see her as an alien in a really cool costume. Maybe something we haven't seen or maybe a Twi'lek. Just some ideas.

 

Or Crystal Clarke as I'm leaning toward.

 

I also heard that she would have a small role in 7 and a bigger role in 8. It was said that she would wind up being Boyega's love interest.

 

Ohbforgot about her.

 

Does anyone remember the picture that surfaced of what appeared (in a very blur type of pic) a women with a painted face very menacing looking. I think at the time people were speculating that it was a sith witch or night sister. I don't know if the pic was ever confirmed to be associated with swear can't recall if it was definitely u ked as a fraud. But if not I could see her as a villain of that type. I will try to find the picture and addbut thathat's what I would like to see from her.... a Ruthless and very power female villain.