STAR WARS: EPISODE 7 (2015): R2-D2 is First Confirmed Character

R2-D2 is Star Wars 7’s 1st Confirmed Character. R2-D2 is the first official character to be announced for Star Wars: Episode VII, a film directed by J.J. Abrams. R2-D2 has appeared in all six Star Wars films and it looks like Star Wars: Episode 7 will be no exception. There is no word yet on how R2-D2 factors into the film’s plot but if R2-D2 is in the film, there is a strong possibility that other familiar faces will show up…unless Star Wars: Episode 7 is set hundreds of years after Star Wars: Episode 6: Return of the Jedi ended.

A Lee Towersey, Oliver Steeples, J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy,  R2-D2, Star Wars: Episode 7 set image:

Lee Towersey Oliver Steeples JJ Abrams Kathleen Kennedy R2-D2 Star Wars Episode 7

On the behind the scenes image of R2- D2 from Star Wars: Episode 7:

The Bad Robot twitter feed posted an image of R2 with Episode VII director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy last week, but today not only confirmed he’ll be in the film, they revealed he was built by two fans, Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples, who met Kennedy at a Star Wars Celebration.

On R2-D2:

R2-D2 (called “R2” for short and phonetically spelled “Artoo-Detoo”) is a robot character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid (referred to in the novel as a ‘thermocapsulary dehousing assister’), R2-D2 is a major character in all six Star Wars films. Along with his protocol droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga. R2-D2 was played by Kenny Baker. Along with Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and C-3PO, he is one of only four characters to appear in all six Star Wars films.

R2-D2 was originally designed and built by Tony Dyson, at the White Horse Toy Company Ltd using the body of an airconditioning unit from a Convair CV240 airliner being dismantled at the time. Some involvement was by John Stears, who worked on the prototypes with models specifically created by the Australian firm Petric Engineering building club and the English firm C&L Developments. Many scenes also made use of radio controlled and CGI versions of the character. Original props of R2-D2 and C-3PO are used as audio-animatronics in the queue area of Disney’s Star Tours: The Adventures Continue attraction.