What Maz Kanata From Star Wars Looks Like In Real Life

When director J. J. Abrams debuted "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015, all eyes were on the franchise's fresh new faces. While there was plenty of hoopla surrounding Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), tons of fans were obsessed by the mysterious and wise Maz Kanata. Reportedly 1,000 years old, Kanata was introduced as a smuggler whose day job involved managing a bar on Takodana. Having crossed paths with Han (Harrison Ford), she's well aware of the galaxy's criminal underbelly and plays a part in making that part of the world run smoothly. 

Force sensitive and an ally for the Rebellion, Kanata gives Rey the lightsaber which belonged to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). (An easter egg attempted to explain how Kanata got Luke's saber, but we still don't know how she got her hands on it.) There are tons of clues regarding Kanata's backstory, but the character is still a huge mystery for "Star Wars" fans. What isn't a mystery, on the other hand, is how the character was brought to life.

The "Star Wars" crew initially wanted Kanata to be a puppet, but the team later pivoted to CGI and motion capture. To breathe life into the puzzling character, Abrams and co. recruited Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o to star as the supporting character. While Nyong'o continued to voice the character, Maz's appearance was switched up over the course of the sequel trilogy. By the time "Rise of the Skywalker" debuted, Maz became an animatronic puppet, which is why she looks a bit different in that film. 

Best known for her performances in films like "12 Years a Slave" and "Non-Stop" prior to her role as Maz Kanata, fans were excited to see Lupita Nyong'o step into the "Star Wars" universe. Who she played, however, was a surprise for many, as Nyong'o looks nothing like her "Force Awakens" character. Unlike Maz Kanata, who stands at 4', the actress is considerably taller at 5'5". While motion capture was used to bring Maz to life and there are semblances of Nyong'o's facial structure in the out-of-this-world character, they look completely different. 

This is largely due to Kanata's age and wrinkles. At the time of release, Nyong'o was just over 32 years old, playing a character well into their thousands — making Kanata one of the oldest characters in the "Star Wars" universe. For the Oscar winner, playing Kanata was difficult, as this was not only her first franchise, but also the first time she stepped into the world of motion capture. "The whole process was very challenging," she candidly told The Source. "Just getting used to the fact I wasn't gonna be in costume [...] It's an added challenge to the imagination to keep in mind who you are in your character and how that body would navigate and relationships."

Nyong'o continued to appear in the franchise's subsequent sequels and voiced the character in the animated series "Star Wars Forces of Destiny." She later returned to motion capture for 2016's "The Jungle Book."