Unknown Species

The Unknown Species category in the Black Series is small and deliberate — two figures covering characters whose species affiliation is either unresolved in canon or intentionally withheld. This is a meaningful distinction from most alien figures in the line, where the species designation is established and documented. Unknown species figures are characters whose identity the franchise has chosen not to fully disclose, which is itself a narrative and creative decision worth examining.

Deliberate Mystery as Character Design

Star Wars has a long tradition of using species ambiguity as a form of character depth. The most famous example is Yoda’s species — still officially unnamed in Canon after decades, a decision Lucasfilm has maintained through the introduction of Grogu, the second member of the same unnamed species, and through The Acolyte’s Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh’s companion Yoda’s-species characters. The refusal to name it is a choice: some things are richer for remaining undefined.

Maz Kanata occupies a similar position. The franchise knows she’s not human. It knows she has Force sensitivity of a kind, exceptional longevity, and the specific wisdom that comes from having been present for more of galactic history than most living beings. Her species has never been officially named or categorised in Canon material, which means she exists as herself rather than as a representative of a known people. Her identity is individual rather than taxonomic, which gives her a different quality of mystery than most alien characters.

This is a legitimate creative approach to alien design — treating some characters as sui generis rather than as members of a species with documented biology and culture. It emphasises the individual over the category and creates figures who feel unique rather than representative. In the Black Series species index, both characters in the Unknown category are more interesting for what isn’t known about them than for what is.

Maz Kanata

Maz Kanata is one of The Force Awakens’ most intriguing supporting characters — the ancient castle-keeper of Takodana whose collection of artefacts includes Luke Skywalker’s first lightsaber, whose eyes have seen enough of the galaxy to read situations and people with unsettling accuracy, and whose exact nature the sequel trilogy never quite commits to explaining.

She’s introduced as someone who has been at the intersection of the galaxy’s various conflicts for a very long time. Her castle is a neutral ground — smugglers, resistance fighters, and First Order informants all use it. She knows the Force is real, she has handled objects significant to its history, and she has a relationship with the light side that she describes in terms of the eyes rather than formal training. Whether she’s Force-sensitive in the trained sense, attuned in a less formal way, or something else entirely, the films leave ambiguous.

Her expanded universe appearances — including The Clone Wars comic material and various reference publications — add detail without resolving the fundamental ambiguity. Maz has been around for over a thousand years and has her own agenda, which the sequel trilogy was presumably going to develop further than it did.

The Red Line Phase 3 figure from 2017 is her only Black Series release — produced for The Last Jedi wave, covering her sequel trilogy configuration. The figure captures her small stature, her distinctive goggles, and the specific aesthetic of a character who exists somewhere between wizard and barkeep. As an alien figure the production era is less relevant than it would be for a human character, and the figure remains the definitive 6-inch Maz Kanata.

For display purposes she sits naturally in the Starkiller Base display — her Takodana sequences connect directly to the TFA cast — though her presence at the Resistance base in The Last Jedi extends her association to the ROTJ-era Resistance figures as well.

Galaxy’s Edge Galactic Creatures

The Galaxy’s Edge Galactic Creatures pack is a different kind of Unknown Species entry — a themed collection of alien animals from the Black Spire Outpost setting, designed for the theme park experience rather than narrative function. The creatures in the pack are small alien animals whose species designations are either new to Galaxy’s Edge canon or unofficial within the main continuity.

As a category entry they represent the Star Wars galaxy’s fauna rather than its intelligent species — animals rather than beings, part of the environmental texture of a specific location. Their Unknown classification reflects both their novelty in canon and the specific way Galaxy’s Edge figures work: designed for the park experience first, integrated into the broader continuity second.

What the Unknown Category Tells Us

Two figures in the Unknown category is a small but telling number. The line has covered hundreds of characters and assigned species to almost all of them. The two that remain unclassified are a thousand-year-old castle keeper whose nature the sequel trilogy chose to leave mysterious, and a collection of theme park alien animals whose category is fluid by design.

That’s not a production oversight — it’s a reflection of how deliberately the franchise uses species ambiguity. When Star Wars doesn’t tell you what something is, that’s usually a choice. Maz Kanata is more interesting as herself than as a member of a named species with documented homeworld, culture, and biology. The Unknown category is where the franchise puts the characters it wants to keep individual rather than taxonomic.

All Unknown Species Figures in the Black Series

Check off the figures you own with the Black Series Checklist.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Species Index. Related: Starkiller Base | Galaxy’s Edge | Yoda Species | Species Index.