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Lupita Nyong’o Reportedly Struggled With ‘Star Wars’ Character, Was Forced To Re-Record Dialogue, Scenes Cut [Report]

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 15:12 PST, Dec 2, 2015

Did Lupita Nyong’o struggle with becoming her character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens? According to a report from The Sun, the 12 Years a Slave actress struggled to grasp her character, which resulted in having to re-record her lines. The report also suggests that some of Nyong’o’s scenes were cut as a result.

According to the report, director JJ Abrams just wasn’t impressed by Nyong’o’s performance and found her to be wooden. Because of that, it’s said that Abrams was “forced” to cut some of her scenes in post. He also had ordered for her dialogue to be rerecorded.

According to a source close to the set, “The CGI seemed to be what Lupita struggled with, perhaps because it meant she felt less of a connection to the character. There was a general sense that something wasn’t working so a lot of her scenes ended up being either re-worked or cut. Unfortunately she just didn’t end up delivering.”

Nyong’o plays the role of Maz Kanata, a role that’s entirely in CGI. A source said that scenes of someone with Lupita’s stature in Hollywood usually doesn’t get left on the cutting room floor. “It does happen in Hollywood, but not usually with Academy Award winners. Her part in the final film will now be a lot smaller than was initially expected. It’s ultimately quite embarrassing for Lupita but she’s still thrilled to even be in such an iconic movie.”

Lupita’s reps did not respond to the story, and they’re likely not to given the secrecy surrounding the latest Star Wars installment.
As the Inquisitr reported, Lupita was asked about her character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, and she didn’t say many specifics about the role, but rather what goes into portraying Maz Kanta.

“As an actor for films, your eyes are a lot of the way you communicate anyway. So it was definitely a gift to have that be the means to her magic as a motion-capture character.”

Abrams also spoke about the character and his initial vision for Maz.

“I had some specific ideas about how she would work and what she would do. 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.”

Although no one from the production revealed details about Maz, there are spoilers floating around the internet.

“She has been a smuggler for a long time and has been running this watering hole for a thousand years. She is the sort of barkeep you go to for help.”

It’s unlikely if we will ever know just how much Abrams cut of Lupita’s performance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but we’re sure fans will speculate over what could have been shown for Maz.

As it is fans have wondered why little footage has been shown of Maz in the promotions for Star Wars.

So far fans are on the fence about the reports.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18.

[Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images]

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