As star who’s been featured in a variety of blockbuster franchises, Lupita Nyong’o knows the need for secrecy. But when it comes to Star Wars, Lucasfilm’s tactics are a bit ridiculous.
The actor spoke with the Hollywood Reporter ahead of the premiere of Black Panther, switching gears and speaking of her role as Maz Kanata in the Star Wars franchise.
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Nyong’o was on vacation in Morocco in May 2014 when she received a call from J.J. Abrams, asking if she’d like to appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
She said the next day, “an assistant was flown to my hotel, with a script in a locked contraption. It looked like something out of Star Wars. And he made me sign something and gave me instructions. I had a certain number of hours to read the script, and the assistant was just waiting, waiting in Morocco for me to finish reading so that he could put it in that locked thing and take it back.”
In the age of hackers targeting studios and scripts leaking online, this isn’t exactly “overboard,” especially when it comes to a franchise like Star Wars. When episodes of Game of Thrones are leaking online and plots for DC Films projects are revealed months in advance, one can never be too careful.
It’s just interesting to hear that Lucasfilm was willing to fly someone to wherever in the world Nyong’o was on her vacation, in this case Morocco, for just a few hours until she could read the script and give it back. It almost sounds like a matter of national security.
Writer and director Rian Johnson revealed that he had a specific laptop used for writing the script for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and locked it in a safe at Pinewood Studios whenever he wasn’t using it.
Nyong’o reprised her role as Maz Kanata for a brief scene in The Last Jedi, but isn’t sure if she’ll return for Star Wars: Episode IX.
“I don’t know yet,” Nyong’o said. “I’ll know soon.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now playing in theaters.
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