The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy has introduced a lot of new characters to the galaxy far, far away, but among the cutest is BB-8, the spherical droid who’s taken part in various missions for The Resistance. To no one’s surprise, BB-8 will be back for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker later this year, but it looks like his appearance has been slightly altered, as indicated by a BB-8 toy that’s coming out soon.
from r/StarWarsLeaks
Just like the rest of the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is getting the Funko! Pop Vinyl treatment, and it's been revealed through leaked images that BB-8 will be among the figures you can purchase starting October 4. However, it was pointed out on Reddit that if you look closely at the Rise of Skywalker BB-8 figure, you’ll notice that one of his orange panels is missing, suggesting that at some point during the movie, we’ll get a look at his innards.
This certainly wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen an exposed droid in the Star Wars universe, as C-3PO famously lacked his body plates in The Phantom Menace. And judging by the teaser trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, it seems as though BB-8 will lose this panel during the course of the story as opposed to starting off without it, akin to how C-3PO returned in The Force Awakens with a red arm.
As for the reasoning for why BB-8’s panel is missing, that’s unclear. Perhaps he’s damaged during The Rise of Skywalker, requiring Poe Dameron and Finn to remove that panel and fix him up. It’s also speculated that BB-8’s new droid buddy, D/O (seen above), is capable of fitting inside his larger ball, hence why the panel would need to be removed.
In any case, whether or not BB-8 will get that panel replaced before the story finishes remains to be seen, although it’d be nice if the little guy looked as close to his best before the Skywalker Saga wraps up. He’s been through a lot over the last several years, and while plot details for The Rise of Skywalker are still being kept under wraps, one can imagine he’ll be put through the ringer again.
Puppeteer Brian Herring returned to operate BB-8 on the set of The Rise of Skywalker, and naturally the same manipulated voices of Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz will be used to supply the droid’s beeps again. When we last saw BB-8 in The Last Jedi, he was among the few Resistance survivors who managed to make it off Crait, and one can presume he’s continued carrying out integral work for The Resistance in the year that’s passed since then.
Along with plenty of other familiar faces from the Sequel Trilogy returning for The Rise of Skywalker, the movie will introduce characters like Naomi Ackie’s Jannah, Richard E. Grant’s Allegiant General Pryde and Keri Russell’s Zorri Bliss. The Rise of Skywalker will also feature the return of Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian and Ian McDiarmid’s Palpatine.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage and scan through our 2019 release schedule to find out when the rest of this year’s movies are arriving.
