9 Film Characters Who Randomly Disappear With No Explanation

9. Maz Kanata - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens are for the most part brilliant. One of the most fascinating new additions is Lupita Nyong'o's Maz Kanata, who plays an absolutely key role in the narrative, guiding Rey as she begins to realise her force sensitivity and gifting her Luke Skywalker's lightsaber.

At over one thousand years old and enigmatically wise, she basically fulfils the purpose of Yoda. The movie thus seems totally set to keep Maz around as a main player (she even teases an exciting answer to the question (Where on earth did you get Luke's lightsaber down the line) but then it just... doesn't.

After Kylo Ren attacks her castle, forcing the main cast to flee, she disappears like a slain Obi-Wan Kenobi and isn't seen for the rest of the film. It turns out, however, that there is an explanation. In a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, J.J. Abrams revealed that Maz was originally supposed to travel with the main characters to the Resistance base, and that Lupita Nyong'o actually shot some scenes, but that they just felt like pointless filler.

She came back later of course, but it's still hard to think she was anything but mostly pointless in the end...