Star Wars: Episode 8 director Rian Johnson teases new image of Maz Kanata

There’s no telling what the little orange alien is up to, but director Rian Johnson has sent out a behind-the-scenes image of actress Lupita Nyong’o performing as Maz Kanata for next year’s Star Wars: Episode VIII.

The filmmaker, who is picking up the franchise from The Force Awakens helmer J.J. Abrams, posted the below shot without comment Monday to his Tumblr account, showing a close-up of the bespectacled being, with Oscar-winner Nyong’o in her motion-capture suit in the background on a non-descript volume set. Arrayed around the perimeter are a series of performance capture cameras, documenting her every movement.http://rcjohnso.tumblr.com/post/142244762595

Johnson previously released a backstage shot of cinematographer Steve Yedlin near the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon to mark the end of Week 4 of shooting.http://rcjohnso.tumblr.com/post/140845667440/cinematographer-steve-yedlin-hard-to-believe

Episode VIII is set for release on Dec. 15, 2017.