8) Maz Kanata
There’s a scene in one of the early Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailers of Maz Kanata handing Luke’s old lightsaber over to Leia, so it’s hard to escape the feeling that a big chunk of her role in the movie has been scrapped.
Regardless, what we do see of this unique new alien (played by Lupita Nyong’o) is still intriguing and she’s hopefully someone we’ll see a lot more of down the line.
After all, she does have a history with Han Solo and Chewbacca, so the former character’s upcoming spinoff is one possibility where she could show up, while it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Maz pop up again in Episode VIII.
Regardless, her being the one to set Rey on the path to becoming a Jedi was a smart way to handle that subplot, and she definitely connected with audiences by being the one to who has possession of Luke’s lightsaber.