Lupita Nyong'o Might Not Appear In Star Wars Episode IX

It's a good time to be Lupita Nyong'o. A star of not one but two global blockbuster franchises, Nyong'o has become a household name, with roles in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the revamped Star Wars series. Both of those franchises have famously drawn billions and billions of dollars in ticket sales — and a lot of that just recently. 

But big changes may be coming to the actress' relationship with Star Wars. While Nyong'o will most certainly be playing the Wakandan rebel Nakia in the upcoming Black Panther, the status of her other big gig is, surprisingly, a little up in the air. 

According to a new profile on Nyong'o in The Hollywood Reporter, it hasn't yet been determined whether or not her character, Maz Kanata will even appear in Episode IX, set for release in 2019 from The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. 

When asked if she would be appearing in the next entry, currently in development, Nyong'o kept her answer simple. "I don't know yet," she said. "I'll know soon."

While one might think Abrams, who also received screenplay credit for the series' Episode VII, would want to return to Maz Kanata's story to bring things around full circle, the events of The Last Jedi have us questioning just about everything regarding what we expect out of the series' next entry.

With Maz being a CGI creation who looks more like a foot than one of the most beautiful people on the modern silver screen, some super-pedantic people could argue that Nyong'o has never "appeared" in a Star Wars movie at all, which, sure, go away. The real news out of this story would seem to be the confirmation that a lot of things about the coming Episode IX haven't really come together yet in a plot sense, with a lot of volatile unknowns in play.

This isn't the worst thing in the world, of course. They're developing a story, and they have plenty of time — this ain't no Solo situation. But if the filmmakers are reportedly reconsidering the purpose of Nyong'o's character in the narrative, what else might they be having second thoughts about?

One of the clearest criticisms of The Last Jedi that held true among both supporters and detractors was that there was a real sense that the story of this trilogy was being made up as it went along. Which is not a bad thing, necessarily — it's just a little bit different from knowing that there is a plan. Will the next movie have a time jump? Who knows. Will all the characters come back? Probably not, actually. Where does the story go from here? It sounds like even the writers don't know. 

We'll let you know when they come to a decision. Until then, keep counting down those days to Solo: A Star Wars Story, which allegedly, reportedly, actually might really exist. So far. We've been told.

Solo hits theaters on May 25.