Everyone loves BB-8, right? It was always a tall order to fill in for legendary bleeping trash can R2-D2, but his symbolic progeny won the hearts of audiences from the second we saw him roll into action in the first trailer for The Force Awakens, and his many funny (and extremely gif-able) moments in the final film went a long way to capturing that classic Star Wars aura.
Thankfully, the little droid that could will be back for more in The Last Jedi and earlier today during a panel at Celebration, director Rian Johnson compared him to none other than slapstick legend Buster Keaton.
“The best advice I had was from [J.J. Abrams’] editors who said you can’t get enough of BB-8. He’s the Buster Keaton of [The Last Jedi].”
Keaton is one of the greatest physical comedians of all-time – with his death-defying stunts in films like Sherlock Jr., The General and Steamboat Bill, Jr. still impressive almost a century after they first hit screens. So, this is the highest of high praise from the director, and ensures that the little droid will be once more delighting audiences in December.
Still, it remains to be seen what precisely BB-8 will be getting up to in The Last Jedi. The Force Awakens saw him as the target of The First Order’s manhunt, with their search for him making the character a particularly charming rolling MacGuffin that kicked off most of the events of the film.
Hopefully he’ll still be near the centre of the action this time, maybe with a couple more interactions with his spiritual parents C-3PO and R2-D2. Let’s just hope they don’t spread him too thin, as he certainly has the potential to be a real highlight of The Last Jedi when it opens this December.
