Since Lupita Nyong'o was cast in Star Wars: Episode VII last June, information on her character—and much of the film, period—has been scarce. In honour of Star Wars Day yesterday (#MayThe4thBeWithYou), Vanity Fair dropped the first cast photos from the film.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, JJ Abrams and <a href="https://twitter.com/Lupita_Nyongo">@Lupita_Nyongo</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheForceAwakens?src=hash">#TheForceAwakens</a> set! <a href="https://twitter.com/VanityFair">@VanityFair</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWarsDay?src=hash">#StarWarsDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWars?src=hash">#StarWars</a> <a href="http://t.co/Lo7LTpvHPW">pic.twitter.com/Lo7LTpvHPW</a></p>&mdash; The Force Awakens (@StarWars_VII) <a href="https://twitter.com/StarWars_VII/status/595263454900047872">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Lupita is shown having her face tracked for artists at Industrial Light & Magic.According to the mag, they will be making her into a CGI character, pirate Maz Kanata:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Lupita_Nyongo">@Lupita_Nyongo</a> at Industrial Light &amp; Magic, being transformed into the CGI character Maz Kanata. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWarsDay?src=hash">#StarWarsDay</a> <a href="http://t.co/nTgt5lYOql">pic.twitter.com/nTgt5lYOql</a></p>&mdash; The Force Awakens (@StarWars_VII) <a href="https://twitter.com/StarWars_VII/status/595236268897865728">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Nothing much is known about Maz (like whether she's one of the good—or bad—guys), but she does have a castle that hosts "galactic travelers, smugglers, and other assorted riffraff."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Galactic travellers, smugglers &amp; other riffraff fill the main hall of pirate Maz Kanata’s castle. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWarsDay?src=hash">#StarWarsDay</a> <a href="http://t.co/wacENm2ATV">pic.twitter.com/wacENm2ATV</a></p>&mdash; The Force Awakens (@StarWars_VII) <a href="https://twitter.com/StarWars_VII/status/595234905988190209">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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We also got a peek at Gwendoline Christie and Adam Driver's characters:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Captain Phasma (<a href="https://twitter.com/lovegwendoline">@lovegwendoline</a>), Officer of the First Order, inspects the rubble following an attack. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWarsDay?src=hash">#StarWarsDay</a> <a href="http://t.co/LtMd5GYUJH">pic.twitter.com/LtMd5GYUJH</a></p>&mdash; The Force Awakens (@StarWars_VII) <a href="https://twitter.com/StarWars_VII/status/595274987235323908">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) commands snowtroopers loyal to the First Order on the frozen plains of their secret base. <a href="http://t.co/UsyKEJdIqf">pic.twitter.com/UsyKEJdIqf</a></p>&mdash; The Force Awakens (@StarWars_VII) <a href="https://twitter.com/StarWars_VII/status/595238292083322880">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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*Broody*
See more photos of the cast here.

From the editors of ELLE.com

From: ELLE US