Maz Kanata was a welcome addition to the Star Wars canon. An ancient, Force-sensitive alien, Maz played a pivotal role in the plot. The Force Awakens raised a lot of interesting questions about her history with the Luke, but the film never mentioned her again after the heroes leave her castle; its even up in the air whether she survived the First Orders attack or not. Some critics, like Colliders Matt Goldberg, have taken issue with The Force Awakens misuse of the character, saying the movie short-changed her and didnt explain her place in the Star Wars universe enough. Maz was the focus of a few late in the game reshoots by J.J. Abrams. Abrams explained in an Entertainment Weekly interview that Maz tagged along with Finn to the Resistance base in The Force Awakens original cut, but wound up sitting around with nothing to do. Abrams' decision to reduce Mazs role ultimately benefited the character and helped her not to overstay her welcome. If Abrams overplayed Maz, she would lose some of her mystique or wind up being a distraction. By cutting her screen time down, Abrams left the door open for subsequent sequels to further develop her character, but he certainly didn't weaken her in doing so.