3) Maz Kanata
Seeing as she was highlighted on the poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and is being very much kept under wraps, it’s clear that Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata is going to be a key part of this movie. Beyond that though? Well, while she may be as ancient as Yoda with a unique ability to “see” what’s in store for people, it’s hard to imagine this newly introduced character being needed in Episode VIII and beyond.
That doesn’t necessarily mean she needs to be killed off of course, but a closer look at the trailer and TV spots for the movie definitely points to that potentially being the case. After all, we see The First Order seemingly destroying her bar, and so Maz being among the casualties is possible, though the fact she’s been spotted with Finn during the battle that follows may actually indicate otherwise.
[zergpaid]Someone like Captain Phasma or Kylo Ren murdering Maz to help establish them as hateful villains would work in the aftermath of that fight, and if she can help the heroes track down Luke and see that someone has the makings of becoming a Jedi, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get rid of a character who could very easily become little more than a way of easily and lazily moving the plot forwards.
Star Wars is a franchise which has never held back when it comes to killing off its characters regardless of their future potential, and of all the relatively minor new additions here, I’d say Maz Kanata is definitely the one who is most at risk right now.