Has she been watching over the Skywalker family for decades… or perhaps even longer?
While it’s been made fairly clear that The Force Awakens will not be relying on the prequel trilogy for story material, Lucasfilm has sent the message that they have no intention of disregarding the second trilogy at all. One of the most tantalizing things in Star Wars fandom right now is wondering how the sequel trilogy will connect to the previous installments. Of course, the farther back those connections go… the more interesting it gets.
Well, our reader Ryan Limbo (thanks Ryan!) pointed us in the direction of a rather serendipitous little connection: Maz Kanata‘s kinda sorta in The Phantom Menace.
… how can she be in The Phantom Menace?
Well, let’s remember that she’s older than Yoda. When you’re a millennia old you have an opportunity to get some sightseeing done… especially if you’re a pirate. However, this cameo is a little more… disembodied than that:
Where in the movie does that take place?
It’s in Anakin’s room where he has C-3P0 stored. He has a little statue off on the side.
What does that mean?
Well, if we’re reaching a bit here it might actually be reasonable to assume Maz has been around so long that she’s gained something of a following. While perhaps she hasn’t be deified, she’s garnered enough of a presence in the galaxy (perhaps as a pirate?) to warrant some idles made in her likeness.
After all, as a boy Anakin was all about adventure and space travel. Hearing about a renown space pirate probably lit his imagination up. Maybe, just maybe, Anakin was a bit Maz Kanata fan.
That or the prop in his room just happens to look like a character design sixteen years later… but where’s the fun in thinking that?
