Star Wars' latest droid, B2EMO, has been revealed in new images from the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story spinoff series, Andor. Set five years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, the new series will chronicle Cassian Andor's (Diego Luna) rise in the ranks of the Rebel Alliance as the resistance grows against the evil, tyrannical Galactic Empire. The show will tell the tale of how Cassian became the Rebel leader featured in Rogue One while detailing the development of the Rebellion into becoming the militaristic force as seen in the original Star Wars trilogy.
With season 1 covering an entire year of Cassian's life, and season 2 covering the remaining four, the show is looking to journey into the world of Star Wars as never been seen before in the long-running science-fiction fantasy franchise. Luna will be joined by familiar faces such as Genevieve O'Reilly, who portrayed Mon Mothma in Rogue One and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and Forest Whitaker, who played Saw Gerrera in Rogue One and Star Wars: Rebels, the leader of a militant splinter cell violently waging war against Empire. However, there are plenty of new faces in the Andor series, such as Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael, Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, and a brand new droid in the form of B2EMO.
EW recently shared new images from the upcoming Andor television series introducing B2EMO, the latest adorable droid companion to Star Wars. B2EMO is a waist-high rusty red salvage droid that serves the Andor family. Andor series creator, Tony Gilroy, likens the droid to a pet, "I said, 'Okay, I want to have a salvage droid, and I want to have a family dog. It's an old dog. That's where we started." Luna calls the droid "perfect" and praises the robot's design calling it "fantastic." A British special effects artist, Neal Scanlan, built the droid from scratch. It is entirely practical and is controlled with a remote. Read what Luna said about his robotic costar below.
"B2 is a fantastic friend. It's like the perfect droid. I have to say, it's a fantastic piece of design, first of all. The team behind it is amazing. He's so expressive. With very little, he gives you so much."
"It was wonderful to work with him because he's real. He's there, and he interacts with you the way you'll get to see him [on screen]. There's nothing he couldn't do that he will do in the series. It's all mechanical."
"It was weird, to be honest, the first few days. I was like, 'Holy s---!' Before, in Rogue One with K2, I was in front of a great actor. But here with B2, it was actually a piece of metal moving, but a metal that was as expressive as any actor I've worked with and as precise, too. That's another thing that is not easy. The team making him move and talk is just the best of the best."
As Luna explained, he is no stranger to acting alongside a droid. In Rogue One, Cassian was partnered with K2-SO (Alan Tudyk), an Imperial KX-series security droid re-purposed to serve the Rebellion. However, Tudyk performed the actions of the droid in a motion-capture suit. This allowed Luna to interact with an actor instead of an inanimate object that visual effects artists would later replace. The ability to have a physical B2EMO robot that can be manipulated while on-set removes the added challenge of imagining what a CG character might look like in the final scene, allowing the actor to be more immersed in the moment.
Gilroy described the diminutive robot as a "family dog," implying that B2EMO will be incredibly loyal to the Andor family. There may be scenes where the innocuous droid places itself in danger to protect Cassian from the Empire. Unfortunately, with the Andor series being the first time the Star Wars audience is treated to B2EMO, the droid may be destroyed before Cassian partners with K2-SO in Rogue One. With Andor's premiere only a week away, fans do not have to wait much longer for B2EMO to roll onto their screens.
Source: EW
