Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 10 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets We Learnt From ILM

6. Maz's Design Is Full Of Hints To Her Backstory

Set thirty years after Return Of The Jedi and starting an entire new trilogy, there was a lot of backstory to the The Force Awakens, and that's before you get to all the newly minted characters. But while not all of it was made clear in the movie itself, that doesn't mean the history of the likes of Lor San Tekka or Maz Kanata weren't meticulously mapped out. In fact, the character model for Maz was full of nods to her detailed history:

"A lot of her design was influenced by her backstory as well. She's an adventurer, she's a pirate. If you look at the details in her clothes we've got seven different types of fabric just in her boots. There's all these little details that tell her backstory all of its own."

As for the origins of the general design, it may seem she's somewhat drawn from the same sketchbook as Yoda - between the squat stature, bright coloured skin and affinity with the Force, the only thing missing is the ears - the definition of the character skews a little away from the Jedi Master to another iconic practical creation from ILM's past:

"With Maz, yeah, there's certainly an element of Yoda to her design. I think somebody was saying if you have Yoda at one end and ET at the other then Maz hits about the middle."