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“ | You're a true friend. | „ |
~ Rey to BB-8 |
BB-8 is a major character in the Star Wars franchise. He is an astromech droid who operated approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor. The droid was at one point operating in the desert of the planet Jakku. He had a domed head, similar to R2 series astromech droids, with the bulk of it's body made up of a ball that the droid rolled on. BB-8 was mostly white with some silver and some orange parts on it's body, as well as a black eye-piece. BB-8's owner was Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. Like other BB units he was able to fit into a T-70 X-wing fighter's droid socket. He largely replaced C-3PO and R2-D2 as the main droid character in Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
BB-8's vocal effects were provided by Ben Schwartz and Bill Hader while the droid is portrayed by Dave Chapman and Brian Herring via puppeteering. Hader also voiced Firewater in Sausage Party, Alpha in Power Rangers (2017), and portrayed Richie Tozier in It: Chapter Two, while Schwartz also voiced Dewey Duck in DuckTales and Sonic the Hedgehog in the 2020 film of the same name.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
BB-8 was manufactured about 29 years after the Battle of Yavin by Industrial Automation, and was given masculine programming during his construction. He came into the service of Poe Dameron, who was an X-wing pilot with the New Republic, and followed Dameron when he left the New Republic military for the Resistance
The Force Awakens[]
BB-8 was captured by the natives of Jakku, but they were ordered by Rey to release the robot. BB-8 then kept following Rey, despite the fact she refused to be followed by the robot. Rey was a scavenger who roamed Jakku for scraps of valuable metals in exchange for food. The Jakku "junkman" usually only gave out small portions for what Rey would find and offer, but he suddenly offered a large amount of portions if Rey gave him BB-8. She desperately desired the huge bounty of food, but didn't have the heart to give BB-8 away, which made the junkman furious and told the First Order (being led by Kylo Ren) about BB-8 and Rey. The First Order then attacks BB-8, Rey and Finn, who commandeer the Millennium Falcon (though Rey wanted to infiltrate one of better-quality, which was blown to pieces) and escape Jakku. He then followed Han Solo and Chewbacca when the latter came aboard the ship.
BB-8 doesn't play a big role in the movie following this scene, other than that he met with C-3PO, who is depressed that his friend R2-D2 has been offline for some time. BB-8 remarked that C-3PO ought to do something about his red arm, a sentiment that the protocol droid agrees with. Near the end of the movie, R2 finally woke up and he presented the hologram of the map that was missing one small but critical fraction, which BB-8 was carrying. BB-8 combines his map hologram with R2's, and therefore the map to Luke's locations was complete. The Resistance successfully locates Luke, who is all by himself on the planet setting up the events for The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi[]
BB-8 helped reroute power onboard Poe's X-wing, enabling Poe to launch a successful attack on the First Order's Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought. Even though the dreadnought managed to destroy most of the Resistance bombers, the Resistance was able to destroy the ship Poe called a fleet killer.
The Rise of Skywalker[]
BB-8 is a supporting character in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
At the Battle of Exegol, he helped Finn and a group of former stormtroopers attack the Sith Eternal's fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, while his friend R2-D2 accompanied Poe in his X-wing. After the final defeat of the Sith, he was present on Ajan Kloss to see the Resistance celebrate the First Order's fall. He then accompanied Rey to Tattooine so she could she were Master Skywalker had grown up, as well as bury the lightsabers of her mentors.
Personality[]
“ | Such a clever little droid. | „ |
~ Agent Terex on BB-8. |
BB-8 is gentle droid and being a weak, vulnerable droid, refuses to be alone, relying on others for guidance and protection. The droid is rather clingy to new friends it makes. It easily takes a liking to anyone who works for the Resistance, especially Rey, Poe, and R2-D2. BB-8 is highly emotional, having displayed joy, sadness, and fear throughout the film. He makes up for his clinginess by being courageous, saving Poe's life from Agent Terex, and putting his life on the line for the Resistance. In addition, he is Poe's closet companion, considering his confidant, going to BB-8 as a "sounding board" when Dameron couldn't (or didn’t) trust his squad.
Trivia[]
- BB-8's design was inspired from early sketches of R2-D2's appearance.
- Prior to The Force Awakens there was some confusion over whether BB-8 should be considered as a male or female droid. While Abrams initially felt that the droid should be female, ultimately it was decided BB-8 had masculine programming.