Maz Kanata Wasn't a Motion Capture Character in The Rise of Skywalker

Maz Kanata returns once again to help the Resistance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Lupita Nyong'o has brought this character to life in the previous movies in the sequel trilogy with the help of motion capture technology as well as providing the voice. It makes sense that the studio would do something similar in Episode IX, but as it turns out, that's not exactly the case.

In a recent interview with Cinema Blend, Creature And Special Make-up Effects Creative Superior Neal Scanlan revealed that in The Rise of Skywalker, Maz Kanata was actually an animatronic, a puppet that he designed himself. "In many ways she is the most advanced animatronic that I believe, certainly, that we've ever made," he said. "She's a highly mechanized animatronic."

The process of operating the puppet was also interesting and unique. "The major thing was that often we de something in animatronic, we perform that character almost in a remote situation," Scanlan added. "So the character may be there in front of the camera, but the puppeteers are somewhere else."

Scanlan revealed that they used a "data suit" which was worn by a puppeteer, Maz Kanta would then mimic the movements of the person in the said suit. Scanlan also mentioned that there was another puppeteer responsible for Maz's dialogue, and another one who was in charge of the eye line and expressions of the character. "Those puppeteers could be right next to J.J. [Abrams], and they could see Maz, and they could be in the scene," he added.

That being said, it's intriguing that they decided to go with animatronics considering that there weren't any negative comments about Maz's CGI in particular, but Scanlan went on to explain that Maz represented something more to them than just an animatronic, and brought something more intimate in the scene. "And obviously because it was involved with the Leia sequences, that was something that J.J. had pushed us to try and do as well," he added. "He wanted those that were involved in those sequences to be intimately involved, and that included the animatronics.

Do you prefer this version of Maz Kanata compared to the two previous movies? Tell us in the comments below!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now showing.

Also Read: Carrie Fisher's Daughter Played Young Leia in The Rise of Skywalker Flashback Scene