"12 Years A Slave" actress Lupita Nyong'o has become quite the rising star over the past two years, especially after winning an Oscar award for her first feature film role as the whimsical slave Patsey in Steve McQueen's historical drama.
And her star just continues to shine, now that she has nabbed meaty roles both in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and Disney's live action movie "The Jungle Book," both highly anticipated movies that are sure to break box office records.
During Disney's D23 Expo, Nyong'o sat down with Entertainment Weekly and dished out on her involvement in the intergalactic franchise and the beloved animated film turned live action film based on Rudyard Kipling's book, and expressed gratefulness for being given the opportunity to portray such interesting characters.
In "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," she will play the pirate Maz Kanata, who is a motion-capture character. "'Star Wars' is another world altogether. To be able to have that experience and the continuation of Han Solo, and Luke, and Leia's journey is really a blessing, to be able to play a small part in that," the actress gushed.
Nyong'o will be one of the new faces of the franchise, and she will be joining Daisy Ridley as Rey, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, and John Boyega as Finn. Meanwhile, Harrison Ford will be reprising his role as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. The "Star Wars" film will once again be helmed by J.J. Abrams.
In "The Jungle Book," which would be directed by Jon Favreau, Nyong'o will portray Raksha, who becomes orphan boy Mowgli's mother figure in the jungle. "I really enjoy that process, playing a mother of this boy," she said. "Just the love between a human and a wolf was something really cool to explore."
Nyong'o will be joined by an ensemble cast including Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, and many others.
It seems like Nyong'o is really suited to playing a motherly role, since she will continue to do so in the film "Queen of Katwe," which is a true-to-life story of the ambitious African chess player Phiona Mutesi.
"It's a really magical - and real - story about a girl who had a dream to be a chess master," Nyong'o said, "and through hard work and just complete commitment to it, she went against all odds and achieved that."
