Maz Kanata Is The Worst New Star Wars Character

In spite of her great potential and Lupita Nyong'o's amazing portrayal, Maz Kanata has emerged as the worst character in the current Star Wars trilogy.Maz's introduction in The Force Awakens left audiences with more questions than answers, and her role in The Last Jedi was perfunctory at best. At present, Maz hasn't been confirmed to return for Episode IX, at least according to Nyong'o, but Maz's scaled back roles haven't given fans much to get excited about. Like Captain Phasma, she remains a blip on the plot radar with little to do.Related: How The Last Jedi Retconned The Force Awakens' Original PlanThe wizened-but-wise orange alien could be so much more, especially given such a talented actress and the character's original concept. Why has she been such a disappointment, and is there any way to redeem Kanata?This Page: The Problem With Maz Kanata

Maz's Scenes Are The Worst In The Sequel Trilogy

Admittedly, characters with wasted potential are par for the course with the Star Wars movies. Every trilogy has a few bad characters as well as frustratingly underused personas like Boba Fett, Darth Maul (pre-Clone Wars) and General Grievous. Of all the current trilogy's new personalities, though, Maz Kanata is one of the worst characters because she gets so little characterization despite her plot involvement. She's intriguing, but her appearances feel more like exposition dumps.

Maz is introduced in Episode VII as an old acquaintance of Han Solo. As the proprietor of her own hive of scum and villainy on Takodana, Maz at first glance seems to be a repository of vital galactic info from the many travelers who pass through her doors. But while supplemental materials like Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy did add more layers to her, that's hardly present for general audiences who rarely dig deeper than the theater. Taking only her screen time into consideration, Maz's main function in The Force Awakens was to whisk Rey along on her destiny to find Luke Skywalker. Maz ends up leaving many unanswered questions in her wake.

Worst of all, she is responsible for introducing perhaps the biggest plot hole to the sequel trilogy: how exactly did Maz get ahold of the Skywalker family lightsaber? Her frustrating non-explanation that this is "a tale for another time" received no elaboration from Rian Johnson in The Last Jedi, understandably infuriating fans.

Although that's not her biggest problem in Episode VIII. Maz's cameo in The Last Jedi only compounds her status as an exposition device who merely helps move the other characters along to the next plot point. When Finn and Rose Tico contact her to be their codebreaker, she instead points them towards their subplot to Canto Bight (after some eyebrow-raising innuendo). Despite Maz's unique appearance and sheen of cleverness, none of her appearances gave the audience any real reason to care about her character. Considering what Maz could've been, it's a genuine missed opportunity. Although that so much changed may be part of the problem.

Maz Was Originally A Very Different Character

Maz was originally a different character. This only makes her script-shortchange that much more disappointing, but also sheds some light on why she's been so ill-defined.

Kanata was initially conceived by Episode VII's original screenwriter Michael Arndt as a Yoda-like guru; at one point, she was even a Force-sensitive member of Yoda's species. Then, director Abrams wrestled with making Maz a puppet or animatronic while the film was in development before opting for motion-capture instead.

By that point, Maz's role and character were altered for the movie. Her character's ability to wield the Force was excised; a deleted scene would have featured her pulling down the ceiling on some intrusive First Order Stormtroopers during the Takadona attack. Another deleted scene had her traveling to D'Qar to give Luke's lightsaber directly to Leia, suggesting that she'd play a larger role in the Resistance. Even though the scene was seen in an early trailer, Abrams gave it the ax, feeling that it moved the plot sideways. These cuts probably pushed Rian Johnson to abandon early plans to include Kanata in the Resistance.

From her inception as a Force-powerful, Yoda-like mentor, Maz was significantly whittled down to a footnote in service of the plot. There's still hope for the 1000-year-old space-tavern proprietor, though.

Can J.J. Abrams Make Maz Kanata Interesting in Star Wars 9?

The filmmaker most responsible for Maz Kanata will return to direct Star Wars 9, which could turn out to be good news for Maz and her fans. Even though J.J. Abrams scuttled much of Kanata's character development, clearly he has an affinity for the diminutive sage and hope remains Maz will be included in the final chapter of the trilogy. Rian Johnson's effective tie-up of loose plot threads in Episode VIII also leaves Abrams with relatively few mystery boxes to unwrap; J.J can focus on the main characters' dramatic arcs and hopefully, he will make giving Maz a complete arc worthy of the character one of his priorities.

At the end of Episode VIII, the entire Resistance barely filled the Millennium Falcon and is drastically short on resources, providing an easy entry point for Maz. She is someone key Rebels like Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron know and trust, and clearly has skills that'll be useful in taking on the First Order; her wisdom and connections throughout the galaxy can resupply and bolster the Rebellion so that they can take on the now-dominant Empire descendants.

Sometimes, where a character comes from is less interesting than what they accomplish. While not every character in Star Wars necessarily needs a full on-screen backstory, Maz Kanata deserves to be utilized more and in a better, more impactful way. Worst case: if the sequel trilogy can only muster a Boba Fett-level amount of exposure for her, Maz is ripe for exporation in the wider canon. Comic books, novelizations, or perhaps even a spinoff film would be a great way to give her more depth and meaning (there's even a rumor Maz will show up in Solo: A Star Wars Story).

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