'Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi' spoilers, plot news: Maz Kanata will have significant role in sequel

Daisy Ridley returns as Rey in "The Last Jedi"YouTube/Star Wars

Audiences have only seen Lupita Nyong'o's Maz Kanata for a short while during "The Force Awakens," but it seems that her role in "The Last Jedi" will be much more significant. The seventh installment of the "Star Wars" movies left audiences with a lot more questions regarding several characters and one of them concerns Kanata.

For one, how did she end up with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber? Fortunately, that question might be answered in "The Last Jedi." Given how old the character is, it is safe to say that she knows a lot more than the rest of the viewers. Kanata runs a bar for traveling smugglers in a place where the First Order nor the Resistance have any knowledge about.

That is until the First Order caught wind of what was going on and decided to lay waste on the place. Everyone knows that she and Han Solo go way back, but even he did not know how she had the lightsaber. Apparently, according to a fan who commented in "Find the Force" campaign for Making Star Wars, Kanata will play an important part in Finn and Rose's mission to infiltrate the First Order. This is when she gets the members of the Resistance to contact the character "DJ," played by Benicio del Toro.

Kanata will introduce the Resistance to DJ, while it forces her to take on a bigger role in the criminal underbelly of the galaxy. The amount of screen time she will get in the movie remains to be seen, but based on what she does in the film, she appears to be very important.

Meanwhile, a new image revealed that Daisy Ridley's Rey will start training in Ahch-To. Yahoo! Movies released their movie previews, one of them being "The Last Jedi," showing Rey with her back turned and standing on a cliff, overlooking the ocean of Ahch-To. Rey holds her staff in one hand, and is stuck in a moment to prepare herself before she begins her training exercise.

The photo may not show much, but it does confirm that Luke will train her in the ways of the Force. From what was heard in the teaser trailer for the eighth installment, it seems that the Jedi master has learned some new things during his disappearance.

"Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi" will premiere on Dec. 15.