The Star Wars franchise has always felt like a family affair. It's not just the fact that the films are suitable for families to watch together or the fact that the main story centers on the drama of one particular family. The cast and crew have frequently reunited to work on these films over the years, and it lends a sense that each performer has a connection to the galaxy far, far away. That tradition will continue next year when the Han Solo movie finally debuts in theaters, and newly released details about Warwick Davis' role in the project seem to suggest that he's portraying a cool new droid with some seriously deadly abilities.
A new rumor has surfaced online from the folks at Makingstarwars.net, and it appears that Warwick Davis will show up in the Han Solo movie as badass new droid. Named Fight Droid 2, the character is a Power Droid with chainsaw and buzz saw blades in the place of his hands, and his quietly cool persona has reportedly led some on the set of Ron Howard's film to refer to him as the Boba Fett of droids. That said, specific details about his relationship to the film's plot remain vague at this point, so it remains unclear if he's a good guy, a villain, or simply a background character who will appear during some new version of the cantina scene.
Power Droids are nothing new to the Star Wars franchise, although it's worth noting that we have never really seen one quite like Fight Droid 2. In most Star Wars properties, they're typically depicted as boxy and timid -- with arguably the most famous Power Droid being the one tortured in Jabba's palace in Return of the Jedi.
As far as performances go, Warwick Davis has become one of the most consistently prolific actors in the entire Star Wars universe. His tenure in the franchise began with his role as Wicket in Return of the Jedi (which he would later to go into reprise two more times in Ewok-centric TV specials), and he returned to the franchise almost two decades later for a cameo during the podracing sequence in The Phantom Menace, as well as a cameo as Yoda when Obi-Wan Kenobi finally becomes a full-fledged Jedi Knight. In recent years, he has made appearances in The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and he also has a confirmed cameo in The Last Jedi later this year.
Han Solo's spinoff movie will debut in theaters next summer on May 25, 2018. As for this year, make sure to get ready for the next step in the main Star Wars saga when The Last Jedi debuts in theaters on December 15, 2017.
