What To Know About Andor's Lovable New Droid B2EMO
No "Star Wars" project is complete without a loyal droid at the main character's side. The trend has stuck with the franchise since its inception. R2-D2 and C3PO were the main droids of the original and prequel trilogies, BB-8 took over in the sequels, and Chopper captured fans' hearts throughout "Star Wars: Rebels."
Including a lovable dog-like companion for the heroes in modern-day "Star Wars" began as an homage to legendary creator George Lucas but has since become a staple piece for the franchise. Lucas even said to Rolling Stone that he envisioned R2-D2 as the true "Star Wars" hero, saying, "Even with R2, who is clever and ultimately the hero of the whole piece. He's the Lassie of the movies: Whenever there's a pivotal moment of real danger, he's the one that gets everybody out of it."
The spy thriller "Andor" is the next "Star Wars" project, and it will absolutely include a new droid sidekick for the titular character. The upcoming Disney+ series diverges a bit from the traditional "Star Wars" formula, aiming to bring a more grounded and realistic story into the universe. "Andor" takes place five years before the events of "Rogue One" and gives fans a better look at the Empire's galactic oppression and how the revolution against it came to be.
"Andor" will introduce "Star Wars" fans to B2EMO, and Tony Gilroy revealed what fans can expect from the droid.
B2EMO is here to capture every fan's heart
"Andor" creator Tony Gilroy knew from the beginning that he wanted to include a small droid to star alongside series star Diego Luna. He told Entertainment Weekly the original idea was to give the Andor family a salvage droid, but one that acted as an old family dog. The design team eventually landed on the red boxy groundmech that fans will see in the show. Luna called B2EMO the perfect droid and great friend, praising the design team for bringing the expressive droid to life.
"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]," Luna said. "There's nothing he couldn't do that he will do in the series. It's all mechanical."
Designer Neal Scanlan and his team brought the droid to life so the "Andor" actors could act alongside something real and not have to act towards an object that the studio would cover with CGI in post-production. Scanlan and the team built a completely practical droid, and Diego Luna had to get used to talking to a real droid. Alan Tudyk, who played Luna's "Rogue One" companion K2-SO, performed the motion capture for the droid, so their scenes just included two actors.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Lucasfilm put the real B2EMO on display. A description next to the droid read, "B2EMO — or Bee-two or simply, Bee — is a very old and weary groundmech salvage assist unit that's been towing scrap for the Andor family for years. The droid has a wide array of mechanical tools and various capabilities to meet the functions required" (via Inverse).