As trailers, posters, and tidbits for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens have been released, little has been revealed about Lupita Nyong’o’s character (though this remains mostly true for every character.) Fans’ first look at Nyong’o in the sci-fi flick came on Star Wars Day via Vanity Fair. It was revealed then that the actress would play Maz Kanata, a C.G.I. character, and it turns out, she hasn’t been so hidden after all.
Nyong’o’s Maz is a tiny alien who wears dark goggles because she has special eye powers. “I had some specific ideas about how she would work and what she would do,” director J.J. Abrams said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I had this pitch about these goggles that she wore. Her eyes are an important aspect of her character, and you’ll see how it plays out.” Abrams added that Maz used to be a pirate, and she’s like a thousand years old.
It’s not much to go by, but it’s enough to speculate wildly about.