This week, Lucasfilm introduced the world to a new droid making its debut in the upcoming prequel film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and it will be interesting to see whether the Imperial astromech will have the staying power of any of the aforementioned robot supporting characters.
C2-B5 was revealed on the latest episode of Lucasfilm’s online series The Star Wars Show, with the hosts offering up a few interesting details about the newcomer to the sci-fi saga’s universe. (The segment on C2-B5 begins around the 2:08 mark in the video.)
According to Lucasfilm, C2-B5 is an Imperial astromech — a similar model to R2-D2, for those who aren’t up to speed on Star Wars droid classifications. As part of his service to the Empire, he is subjected to frequent memory wipes. Unlike the astromechs used by the rebel forces, which are given relative autonomy by the humans they serve, the Imperial droids are apparently subject to the whims of the Imperial agents they serve.
How C2-B5’s history of memory wipes will affect the droid’s personality appears to be a key element of the character, so fans will have to wait and see how that manifests in Rogue One.
Directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set between the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, and follows a ragtag team of rebel agents tasked with stealing the plans to the Empire’s greatest weapon: The Death Star. (These are same plans that Princess Leia ends up with during the opening scenes of A New Hope.)
Rogue One stars Oscar-nominated The Theory of Everything actress Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, and she’s joined in the cast by Diego Luna (Milk), Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal), and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler). Firefly actor Alan Tudyk provides the motion-capture performance for the robot K-2SO.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is scheduled to hit theaters December 16.
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